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Saudis

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For a specific analysis of the population of Saudi Arabia, see Demographics of Saudi Arabia.

Saudis (Arabic: سعوديون, romanized: Suʿūdiyyūn) or Saudi Arabians are an ethnic group and nation native to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, a Central Semitic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. They are mainly composed of Arabs and live in the five historical Regions: Najd, Hejaz, Asir, Tihamah and Al-Ahsa; the regions which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded on or what was formerly known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd in the Arabian Peninsula. Saudis speak one of the dialects of Peninsular Arabic, including the Hejazi, Najdi, Gulf and Southern Arabic dialects (which includes Bareqi), as a mother tongue.

Saudi Arabians
سعوديون
Map of Saudis in The World
Total population
c. 20,000,000
Regions with significant populations
 Saudi Arabia 18,800,000[1]
 Egypt1,771,894[2]
 United States667,511[2]
 Kuwait540,773[2]
 United Arab Emirates150,247[2]
 Lebanon108,842[2]
 United Kingdom102,604[2]
 Australia91,900[2]
 Turkey90,878
 Jordan86,622
 Qatar83,560
 Iran82,314
 Canada80,000
 Malaysia72,000
 Brazil45,000[2]
Languages
Arabic (Modern Standard, Hejazi, Najdi, Gulf, Bahrani)
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
other Arabs, Semites and North-Afroasiates

History

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Further information: History of Saudi Arabia


Culture

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Main article: Culture of Saudi Arabia

The cultural setting of Saudi Arabia is Arab and Islam, and is often religious, conservative, traditional, and family oriented. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited, for example, however things are slowly changing now.[3]

Daily life is dominated by Islamic observance and ruling. Regardless of whether the inhabitants of that city are non-Muslim, this is still observed. Although they are not required to fulfil religious rituals or obligations, clothing must meet a certain standard. Five times each day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques scattered throughout the country. Because Friday is the holiest day for Muslims, the weekend is Friday-Saturday.[4] In accordance with Salafi doctrine, only two religious holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, were publicly recognized, until 2006 when a non-religious holiday, the 23 September national holiday (which commemorates the unification of the kingdom) was reintroduced.[5]

Social life and customs

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Urban

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Urban center of Jeddah in the 20th century (1938)
Main article: Ancient towns in Saudi Arabia

The original inhabitants of cities are known as (Arabic: حَضَر, romanized: ḥaḍar) sedentary people; they settled in villages, towns and cities across Saudi Arabia. Some of the famous cities of the past were Jeddah, Tabuk, Al-Ula, Jubbah, Madain Saleh, Riyadh, Tayma, Dumat al-Jandal, Al-Ahsa, Thaj, Tarout Island, Qaryat al-Faw, Al-Ukhdud, Ha'il, Qatif, Al-Yamamah, Mecca, Medina, Taif, Aflaj, Manfouha, Tirmidah, and Al-Qassim Region.

There are prominent Saudis (mostly Hejazis) of various origins including Bosniak (e.g. Deputy Minister of Touris, Human Capabilities Development Mohammed Bushnaq), Egyptian, Hadremi (e.g. Bin Laden family), Jawi (e.g. former minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Saleh Benten), Turkish (e.g. Dr. Muhammad Khashoggi), Bukhari (e.g. footballer Amin Bukhari) and South Asian (e.g. footballer Abdulbasit Hindi). They are mostly from the cities of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah.

Bedouins

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A 20th century photograph from the Hejaz (Bedouins).
Main article: Bedouins

A portion of the original inhabitants of the area that is now Saudi were known as Bedouin (nomads) (Arabic: بَدُو, romanized: badu). They remain a significant and very influential minority of the indigenous Saudi population, though many who call themselves "bedou" no longer engage in "traditional tribal activities and settled."[6] According to authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North, Bedouin make up most of the judiciary, religious leaders and National Guard (which protects the throne) of the country. Bedouin culture is "actively" preserved by the government.[6] Nowadays most the bedouins have been urbanized are living in towns or cities but they still designate themselves as bedouins.

Afro-Saudi

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Main article: Afro-Saudis

However, many or most members of the Afro-Saudi minority are descendants of former slaves, in particular descendants of the slaves who had been freed in 1962.[7] Afro-Saudi activists complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.[8][circular reference] Many suffer from racial discrimination in employment and education. Many Saudis view them as inferior.[9][10]


Greetings

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Greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called "formal and proscribed" and lengthy. Saudis (specifically men) tend "to take their time and converse for a bit when meeting". Inquiries "about health and family" are customary, but never about a man's wife, as this "is considered disrespectful."[11][12][better source needed]

Dress

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Main articles: Abaya, Bisht (clothing), and thawb

The religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate not only conservative dress for men and women, but a uniformity of dress unique to most of West Asia.[13] Traditionally, the different regions of Saudi have had different dress, but since the re-establishment of Saudi rule these have been reserved for festive occasions, and "altered if not entirely displaced" by the dress of the homeland of their rulers (i.e. Najd). [14]

In Saudi Arabia, women were required to cover in public.[15] However, in March 2018, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed that women could choose what to wear in public, provided it met certain standards, when he stated, "The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear".[16][17] Until late 2019, all women were required to wear an abaya, a long cloak that covers all but the hands, hair, and face in public. Modest dress is compulsory for women in Islam, but the color black for women and white for men is apparently based on tradition not religious scripture.[18] Foreign women were required to wear an abaya, but did not need to cover their hair. Many Saudi women also normally wear a full face veil, such as a niqāb. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliqués.

In recent years it is common to wear Western dress underneath the abaya. Foreign women in Saudi Arabia are "encouraged" by the religious police to wear an abaya, or at least cover their hair, according to the New York Times.[19] Authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North encourage women to wear an abaya in "more conservative" areas of the kingdom, i.e. in the interior.[20]

 
Saudi woman wearing a niqāb in Riyadh.

Saudi men and boys, whatever their job or social status, wear the traditional dress called a thobe or thawb, which has been called the "Arabic dress".[21] During warm and hot weather, Saudi men and boys wear white thobes. During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon. At special times, men often wear a bisht or mishlah over the thobe. These are long white, brown or black cloaks trimmed in gold. A man's headdress consists of three things: the tagia, a small white cap that keeps the gutra from slipping off the head; the gutra itself, which is a large square of cloth; and the igal, a doubled black cord that holds the gutra in place. Not wearing an igal is considered a sign of piety. The gutra is usually made of cotton and traditionally is either all white or a red and white checked. The gutra is worn folded into a triangle and centred on the head.

  • Ghutrah (Arabic: غترة pronounced [ɣʊtra]) is a traditional keffiyeh headdress worn by men in the Arabian peninsula. It is made of a square of usually finer cotton cloth ("scarf"), folded and wrapped in various styles (usually a triangle) around the head. It is commonly worn in areas with an arid climate, to provide protection from direct sun exposure, and also protection of the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand.
  • Agal (Arabic: عقال pronounced [ʕɪɡaːl]) is an item of Arab headgear constructed of cord which is fastened around the keffiyeh to hold it in place. The agal is usually black in colour.
  • Abaya (Arabic: عباية pronounced [ʕabaːja]) is a women's hijab worn by women when leaving the house. It is a black cloak that covers the entire body except for the head, although some abayas also cover the top of the head.
  • Imama (Arabic: عمامة pronounced [ʕɪmaːma]) is a type of the turban headdress native to the region of Hejaz in modern-day western Saudi Arabia; it is but one version of Arabian turbans that have been worn in the Arabian Peninsula from the pre-Islamic era to the present day, but in general nowadays most Hejazis wear Shumagh (Arabic: شُماغ pronounced [ʃʊmaːɣ]) instead.
  • Thawb (Arabic: ثوب pronounced [θo̞ːb, t-]) is the standard Arabic word for garment. It is ankle length, woven from wool or cotton, usually with long sleeves similar to a robe.
  • Bisht (Arabic: بشت pronounced [bɪʃt]) is a traditional long, white, brown or black Arabic cloak trimmed in gold worn by men. It is usually only worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings, or in chilly weather.

More recently, Western dress, particularly T-shirts and jeans have become quite common leisurewear, particularly in Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province.[22] Traditional footwear is leather sandals but most footwear is now imported.[14]

Religion

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Main article: Religion in Saudi Arabia
 
Abdullaziz ibn Abdullah Alashheikh, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia since 1999 A.D.
 
A photograph of the minarets at sunrise in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims.[23] The government does not legally protect the freedom of religion.[23] Any overseas national attempting to acquire Saudi nationality must convert to Islam.[24] Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its implementation of Islamic law and its poor human rights record.[25][26]

Islam

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Main article: Islam in Saudi Arabia

The official form of Islam is Sunni of the Hanbali school, in its Salafi version. According to official statistics, 90% of Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims, and 10% Shia.[27] More than 30% of the population is made up of foreign workers[27] who are predominantly but not entirely Muslim. It is unknown how many Ahmadi there are in the country.[28] The two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, are in Saudi Arabia. For many reasons, non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the holy cities although some Western non-Muslims have been able to enter, disguised as Muslims.[29][30]

Non-Muslims

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The large number of foreign workers living in Saudi Arabia (7.5 million expatriates in 2013[31]) includes non-Muslims. For Saudis, you cannot be a Saudi citizen without being Muslim.[32]

Policy of exclusion

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According to scholar Bernard Lewis, the Saudi Arabian policy of excluding non-Muslims from permanent residence in the country is a continuation of an old and widely accepted Muslim policy.

 
Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Foreign Affairs.

The classical Arabic historians tell us that in the year 20 after the hijra (Muhammad's move from Mecca to Medina), corresponding to 641 of the Christian calendar, the Caliph Umar decreed that Jews and Christians should be removed from Arabia to fulfill an injunction the Prophet uttered on his deathbed: "Let there not be two religions in Arabia." The people in question were the Jews of the oasis of Khaybar in the north and the Christians of Najran in the south.

[The hadith] was generally accepted as authentic, and Umar put it into effect. ... Compared with European expulsions, Umar's decree was both limited and compassionate. It did not include southern and southeastern Arabia, which were not seen as part of Islam's holy land. ...the Jews and Christians of Arabia were resettled on lands assigned to them – the Jews in Syria, the Christians in Iraq. The process was also gradual rather than sudden, and there are reports of Jews and Christians remaining in Khaybar and Najran for some time after Umar's edict.

But the decree was final and irreversible, and from then until now the holy land of the Hijaz has been forbidden territory for non-Muslims. According to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, accepted by both the Saudis and the declaration's signatories, for a non-Muslim even to set foot on the sacred soil is a major offense. In the rest of the kingdom, non-Muslims, while admitted as temporary visitors, were not permitted to establish residence or practice their religion.[33]

While Saudi Arabia does allow non-Muslims to live in Saudi Arabia to work or do business, they may not practice religion publicly. According to the government of the United Kingdom:

The public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal; as is an intention to convert others. However, the Saudi authorities accept the private practice of religions other than Islam, and you can bring a Bible into the country as long as it is for your personal use. Importing larger quantities than this can carry severe penalties.[34]

Saudi Arabia still gives citizenship to people from other countries.[35]

Census

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The first official population census of Saudi Arabia was in 1974. It had 6,218,361 Saudi nationals and 791,105 non-nationals for a total of 7,009,466. Of those, 5,147,056 people were settled and the number of nomads recorded were 1.86 million.[36]

Until the 1960s, much of the population was nomadic or seminomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. 80% of Saudis live in three major urban centers—Riyadh, Jeddah, or Dammam.[37] Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,600 people/sq mi).[37] Despite the rapid growth in Saudi Arabia over the past decades, it is experiencing a rapid decline not only in mortality, followed by fertility rates, which fell from about seven children on average per woman in the last century to 2.4 in 2016, based on the latest population survey conducted by the General Authority for Statistics.[38] Saudi Arabia has lagged far behind in increasing its population compared to its neighbors, such as Iraq and Syria.

According to the 2022 census, Saudi nationals represented approximately 18,800,000 making up 58.4% of the total population of Saudi Arabia.[1]

Genetics

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Further information: Genetic studies on Arabs

DNA tests of Y chromosomes from representative sample of Saudis were analyzed for composition and frequencies of haplogroups, a plurality (71.02%) belong to Haplogroup J1-M267. Other frequent haplogroups divided between Haplogroup J2-M172 (2.68%), A (0.83%), B (1.67%), E1b1a (1.50%), E1b1b (11.05%), G (1.34%), H (0.33%), L (1.00%), Q (1.34%), R1a (2.34%), R1b (0.83%), T (2.51%), P (1.50%).[39]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to People of Saudi Arabia.

References

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  1. ^ "GASTAT Portal".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "World Migration". International Organization for Migration. Archived from the original on 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  3. ^ "Saudi Arabia's first cinema in over 35 years opens with Black Panther". TheGuardian.com. 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Weekend shift: A welcome change", SaudiGazette.com.sa, 24 June 2013 "Weekend shift: A welcome change | Front Page | Saudi Gazette". Archived from the original on 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  5. ^ Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. Viking. p. 267. ISBN 9780670021185. "... for decades the sheikhs successfully resisted attempts to add September 23 to the short list of official conges. But with the accession of Abdullah, the battlefield changed. If the king wanted a holiday, the king could grant it, and whatever the clerics might mutter, the people approved. Since 2006 A.D. the night of September 23 has become an occasion for national mayhem in Saudi Arabia, the streets blocked with green-flag-waving cars, many of them sprayed with green foam for the night.
  6. ^ a b Long, Culture and Customs, 2009: p.79-80
  7. ^ "Graveyard of Clerics: Everyday Activism in Saudi Arabia 9781503612471".
  8. ^ "Afro-Saudis".
  9. ^ "Middle East Racism". 4 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Treatment of racial minorities, particularly black African Saudi nationals, by society and authorities (2012-2013)".
  11. ^ McLaughlin, Elle. "Saudi Arabia Culture & Protocol". USA Today. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  12. ^ Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.89
  13. ^ Sharp, Arthur G. "What's a Wahhabi?". net places. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  14. ^ a b Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.57-9
  15. ^ Sanders, Eli. Interpreting veils: Meanings have changed with politics, history. Archived December 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine The Seattle Times. 27 May 2003. Web. 30 Oct. 2009.
  16. ^ Kalin, S. Saudi women should be able to choose whether to wear head cover or black abaya in public, says Crown Prince. Retrieved 19.03.2018
  17. ^ "Saudi women should have choice whether to wear abaya robe: crown..." U.S. Reuters Editorial. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  18. ^ Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.92-4
  19. ^ SHARKEY, JOE (March 14, 2011). "On a Visit to Saudi Arabia, Doing What the Saudis Do". The New York Times. New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015. [U.S.] State Department guidelines note, for example, that the religious police can "pressure women to wear" the full-length black covering known as an abaya, "and to cover their heads."
  20. ^ Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.108
  21. ^ Bradley, John R. (2005). Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis. macmillan. p. 5. ISBN 9781403970770. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  22. ^ Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.60-1
  23. ^ a b "International Religious Freedom Report 2004". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  24. ^ "Saudi Arabian Citizenship System" (PDF). Ministry of Interior. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  25. ^ Human Rights Watch, World Report 2013 Archived 2017-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. Saudi Arabia.] Freedom of Expression, Belief, and Assembly.
  26. ^ Amnesty International, Annual Report 2013, Saudi Arabia Archived 2015-01-30 at the Wayback Machine, Discrimination – Shi’a minority
  27. ^ a b "The World Factbook". 2012. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  28. ^ "Saudi Arabia: 2 Years Behind Bars on Apostasy Accusation". Human Rights Watch. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  29. ^ (Sir Richard Burton in 1853) The Highly Civilized Man: Richard Burton and the Victorian world| By Dane KENNEDY, Dane Keith Kennedy| Harvard University Press|
  30. ^ (Ludovico di Barthema in 1503) The Arabian Nights: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1001 Nights ...)[permanent dead link‍] edited by Richard F. Burton
  31. ^ "New plan to nab illegals revealed". Arab News. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  32. ^ "Saudi Arabia". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  33. ^ Lewis, Bernard (November–December 1998). "License to Kill: Usama bin Ladin's Declaration of Jihad". Foreign Affairs. 77 (6): 14–19. doi:10.2307/20049126. JSTOR 20049126. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  34. ^ "Foreign travel advice. Saudi Arabia. Local laws and customs". Gov.UK. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  35. ^ "Expatriates Can Apply for Citizenship from May 23". 24 April 2005.
  36. ^ "The first census, 1974". Saudicensus.sa. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  37. ^ a b House, Karen Elliott (2012). On Saudi Arabia: Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future. Knopf. p. 69.
  38. ^ "General Authority for Statistics". Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  39. ^ Yahya M. Khubrani; Jon H. Wetton; Mark A. Jobling (2017). "Extensive geographical and social structure in the paternal lineages of Saudi Arabia revealed by analysis of 27 Y-STRs". Forensic Science International: Genetics. 33: 98–105. doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.11.015. hdl:2381/40816. PMID 29220824.
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