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Approximately 15 percent[1][2] of citizens in Saudi Arabia are Shia Muslims, most of whom belong to the Baharna Twelver Shia community living in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations in Qatif, Al-Hasa, and Dammam (in addition to a small Twelver Shia minority in Medina called the Nakhawila). A large Isma'ili Shia concentration is found in Najran along the border with Yemen.
The modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formed in 1932, is based on a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam founded by a scholar named Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab (Encyclopædia Britannica). The majority of the 25 million Saudis follow this branch of Islam; however, a sizable Shia minority exists within the kingdom, and is focused primarily in the oil-rich Eastern Province of Al-Qatif. It is estimated that between 10 and 15 % of Saudis adhere to the Shia Islamic faith, and those who do often face persecution and discrimination that begins in childhood.
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In modern day Saudi Arabia, the Sunni rulers limit Shia political participation to a game of notables. These notables benefit from their ties to power and in turn, are expected to control their community.[3] Saudi Shias are a minority comprising only about 10-15%, about 3.5 million, of the some 25 million Saudi population.[4] Although some live in Medina, Mecca, and even Riyadh, the majority are concentrated in the oases of al-Hasa and Qatif in the oil-rich areas of the Eastern Province. For years, they have faced religious and economic discrimination because they’re viewed as Iranian puppets. They have usually been denounced as heretics, traitors, and non-Muslims. Shias were accused of sabotage, most notably for bombing oil pipelines in 1988. A number of Shias were even executed. In response to Iran’s militancy, the Saudi government collectively punished the Shia community in Saudi Arabia by placing restrictions on their freedoms and marginalizing them economically. Wahabi ulama were given the green light to sanction violence against the Shia. What followed were fatwas passed by the country’s leading cleric, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz which denounced the Shias as apostates. Another by Adul-Rahman al-Jibrin, a member of the Higher Council of Ulama even sanctioned the killing of Shias. This call was reiterated in Wahabi religious literature as late as 2002.[4]
Human Rights Watch published a report condemning Saudi Arabia's policies towards its Shia citizens and called on Saudi authorities to treat the Shia minority as equal citizens.[5] Unlike Iraq and Lebanon which have sizable Shia wealthy elites, Saudi Arabia has nothing resembling a Shia elite of any kind. There have been no Shia cabinet ministers. They are kept out of critical jobs in the armed forces and the security services. There are no Shia mayors or police chiefs, and not one of the three hundred Shia girls’ schools in the Eastern Province has a Shia principal.[4]
The government has restricted the names that Shias can use for their children in an attempt to discourage them from showing their identity. Saudi textbooks, criticized for their anti-Semitism, are equally hostile to Shiism often characterizing the faith as a form of heresy worse than Christianity and Judaism. Wahabi teachers frequently tell classrooms full of young Shia schoolchildren that they are heretics.[6]
In the eastern city of Dammam, where three quarters of residents are Shia, Ashura is banned, and there is no distinctly Shia call to prayer. There is no Shia cemetery for the 450,000 Shias that live there. There is only one mosque for the city's Shias. The Saudi government has often been viewed as an active oppressor of Shias because of the funding of the Wahabi ideology which denounces the Shia faith.[7]
Mohammad Taqi has written that "the Saudi regime is also acutely aware that, in the final analysis, the Shiite grievances are not merely doctrinal issues but stem from socioeconomic deprivation, as a result of religious repression and political marginalization bordering on apartheid."[8] Amir Taheri quotes a Shi'ite businessman from Dhahran as saying "It is not normal that there are no Shi'ite army officers, ministers, governors, mayors and ambassadors in this kingdom. This form of religious apartheid is as intolerable as was apartheid based on race." [9]
Testifying before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Saudi Institute, stated "Saudi Arabia is a glaring example of religious apartheid. The religious institutions from government clerics to judges, to religious curriculums, and all religious instructions in media are restricted to the Wahhabi understanding of Islam, adhered to by less than 40% of the population. The Saudi government communized Islam, through its monopoly of both religious thoughts and practice. Wahhabi Islam is imposed and enforced on all Saudis regardless of their religious orientations. The Wahhabi sect does not tolerate other religious or ideological beliefs, Muslim or not. Religious symbols by Muslims, Christians, Jewish and other believers are all banned. The Saudi embassy in Washington is a living example of religious apartheid. In its 50 years, there has not been a single non-Sunni Muslim diplomat in the embassy. The branch of Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University in Fairfax, Virginia instructs its students that Shia Islam is a Jewish conspiracy."[10]
The Day of Ashura is a commemoration made by Shia Muslims to remember the martyrdom of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn bin Ali.[11] As one of the most important religious days, Shia Muslims remember the occasion with many somber events. However, the Wahhabi government has refused to allow Shia teachers and students exemption from school to partake in the activities. In 2009, during Ashura commencements, Shia religious and community leaders were arrested.[12]
Shiites are often banned from building mosques and other religious centers, and sometimes perform Friday prayers in various homes (Al-Hassan). In the Eastern city of Al-Khobar, whose population is predominately Shia, mosques and prayer centers were closed, beginning in July 2008.[12] Saudi Arabia's religious police mandate prayers and all those in public buildings during prayer time are required to stop what they are doing to pray. Because there are minor differences between the way that Shiites and Sunnis pray and between prayer times, Shiites are forced to either pray the Sunni way or face much discrimination.
One of the five pillars of Islam requires all able-bodied Muslims to visit the holy city of Mecca and perform Hajj once in their lives. While this is supposed to be a time of immense spirituality, in 2009 when a group of Shiites went to perform their pilgrimage they were arrested by Sunni religious police.[12] A fifteen-year-old pilgrim was shot in the chest and an unknown civilian stabbed a Shiite sheikh in the back, shouting “Kill the rejectionist [Shia]”.[12]
Religious police even mandate the smallest[says who?] things that the Shia community partakes in. Women were arrested in the Eastern Province for organizing classes for Quranic studies and those selling clothing for religious ceremonies were arrested as well.[12]
Education in Saudi Arabia forms much of its base from religious material based on Wahhabi teachings. From a very young age, students are taught that Shiites are not Muslims and that Shiism is a conspiracy from the Jews, and so Shiites are worthy of death (Al-Hassan). This hatred towards Shiites runs so deep that government scholars, such as Abdulqader Shaibat Alhamd, went on public radio proclaiming that Sunni Muslims should not “eat their [Shia] food, marry from them, or bury their dead in Muslims' graveyards” (Al-Hassan). Furthermore, scholars proclaim that there is no hope for any kind of harmony amongst Shiites and Sunnis, because they are heretics and deviants. Another religious scholar, Abdulla Ibn Jareen called for Jihad against Shiites, to prevent them from spreading or practicing their polytheist faith (Al-Hassan).
Because this attitude is engrained from the beginning, it follows people from childhood to adulthood. This prejudice is found not only in textbooks, but also within the teachers in the classroom, who continue to pass down this idea from generation to generation (Al-Hassan). Teachers who proclaim that Shiites are atheists and deserve death face no repercussions for their actions, barely even receiving punishment (Al-Hassan). Even in the university setting, there is still ignorance and hatred against Shiites present. At a seminar about the internet, held in King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, professor Dr. Bader Hmood Albader explained how the internet was beneficial to society, but at the same time there were many Shia websites proclaiming to be Muslim websites, which needed to be stopped (Al-Hassan).
In addition to the discrimination found in schools, much discrimination occurs in the workforce as well. Shiites are prohibited from becoming teachers of religious subjects, which constitute for about half of the courses in secondary education (Al-Hassan). Furthermore, Shiites are discriminated against further in schools, and cannot even become principles (Al-Hassan). Shiite professors in universities often face harassment from students and faculty alike, simply because of their faith (Al-Hassan). Shiites are disqualified as witnesses in court, cannot serve as judges in ordinary court, and are banned from high-ranking government or security posts, including becoming pilots in Saudi Airlines (Business Week). Shiites are also banned from gaining admission to military academies (Human Rights Watch).
The 2011 Arab Spring brought much concern to many states within the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia. The neighboring Kingdom of Bahrain presented the most challenge. Separated by only 25 kilometers (Samirad), Saudi Arabia faced much fear when protests broke out in Bahrain. Protests began on 14 February, with the Shia majority calling out for equal rights from the Sunni King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. However, when rights were not given, the protests turned violent. Saudi Arabia sent troops to help silence the protestors, which angered much of the Shiite population, leading to protests in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Protestors were not only showing solidarity with their Bahraini brothers and sisters, but also calling for the release of Shia political prisoners (BBC). During protests, police open-fired at protestors, with various injuries being reported (BBC).
Shiites today face much discrimination both in schools and in the workforce. Human Rights Watch reports that Shiites want to be treated as equals and desire to be free from discrimination (Human Rights Watch). King Abdullah has attempted to bring Sunnis and Shiites together and advance towards religious tolerance. However, the country as whole has not moved forward and the Shia minority is still marginalized on a large scale (Human Rights Watch).
"Saudi Arabia". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia.
Al-Hassan, Mohammed J. "Discrimination against Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia." هذه قصتي - الطائفية في السعودية - بالتفصيل الممل. 23 May 2003. Web. <http://www.saudinf.com/main/g13.htm>.
"Battle of Karbala' (Islamic History) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312214/Battle-of-Karbala>.
"King Fahd Causeway (Bahrain Causeway)." SAMIRAD (Saudi Arabia Market Information Resource). Web. <>.
Meyer, Henry. "Saudi Arabia Risks Shiite Unrest in Wake of Bahrain Turmoil - Businessweek." Businessweek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 20 Feb. 2011. Web. <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-20/saudi-arabia-risks-shiite-unrest-in-wake-of-bahrain-turmoil.html>.
"Saudi Arabia -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia>.
"Saudi Arabia Police Open Fire at Protest in Qatif." BBC. 10 Mar. 2011. Web.
"Saudi Arabia: Treat Shia Equally | Human Rights Watch." Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide. 3 Sept. 2009. Web. <http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/09/02/saudi-arabia-treat-shia-equally>.
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