Saudi Arabia By Katelyn Burch Annie Maxim Emam

Saudi Arabia By Katelyn Burch Annie Maxim Emam Imran

Introduction Located in the Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen Is the birthplace of Islam and home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina Bordering countries Iraq • Qatar Jordan • UAE Kuwait • Yemen Oman The largest country in the world without a river Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron, gold, copper

Demographics As of January 2016, the population is 31, 000 The growth rate as of 2014 is 1. 49% The ethnic composition of Saudi citizens is 90% Arab 10% Afro-Asian The official language is Arabic

Demographics Religion Majority is Sunni Muslim 85 -90% Shiite, the largest Muslim minority, 10 -15% The other Muslim minorities such as the Ismailis and Zaidis reside in the south Shia Muslims are concentrated in the Eastern Province, where they take over two-third of the population Uncertain amount of Christians Eastern Orthodox Protestant Roman Catholic

Demographics Other religious groups include Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists Despite having a large community of various faiths (more than 30% of the population), most forms of different public religious expressions are not allowed There is also a majority of Asian immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines About 51% of the population is under the age of 25 The median age of a Saudi is 25

Pre-current Political Structure The Royal Family Al Saud From Nejd, central Arabia Began 1744 Founder, Muhammed Bin Saud joined with religious leader Muhammed Ibn Abd al-Wahhab First Saudi State Est. 1744 in Riyadh Destroyed 1818 by Ottomans Second Saudi State Est. 1824 in Nejd 1891 - Disputes with the Al Rashid family lead to the Al Saud dynasty being driven into exile

Almost Current Political Structure Early 20 th Century Ottomans still ruling the peninsula Arabia was made up of Tribal Rulers Hejaz ruled by Sharif of Mecca 1902 -Abdul Aziz recaptures Riyadh and brings Al Saud back to Nejd Abdul Aziz is later known as Ibn Saud Ikhwan, a tribal army supports him 1913 -Ikhwan support helped Ibn Saud capture Al-Asha from Ottomans 1916 -Hussein bin Ali led pan-Arab Revolt against Ottomans Hussein bin Ali is the Sharif of Mecca Led to the creation of a united Arab state 1916 -1918 Arab Revolt did not succeed Allies success in WWI did however lead to the end of the Ottomans and their control of Arabia

Basically Almost there Current Political Structure Ibn Saud continued to deal with the Al Rashid's 1921 became Sultan of Nejd after victory against Al Rashid 1924 -1925 Ikhwan helped conquer the Hejaz January 10, 1925 Ibn Saud declared himself King of Hejaz Next year he titled himself King of Nejd He ruled the kingdoms separately for the next 5 years

After the Hejaz was conquered the Ikhwan's, main objective switched Decided to expand to Wahhabism realm Would be expanding into the British protectorates Area that is controlled and protected by another Ibn Saud disagreed Thought that a direct conflict with the British would be a bad idea Ikhwan was done with Ibn Saud's policies Favored modernization Non-Muslim immigrants let in Disagreement lead to a 2 year war 1929 Battle of Sabilla the Ikhawns were defeated Ikhwans leaders were massacred 1932 -Ibn Saud combined Hejaz and Nejd into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Current Political Structure Heditary Monarchy Of Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1932 -Founded by Ibn Saud Current ruler Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud January 23, 2015 Born December 31, 1935 Was Deputy Govenor and Governor of Riyadh Appointed as Minister of Defense Became King after half-brother died Is also Deputy Prime Minister

How they are Governed Basic law of Governance Says Government rights and responsibilities Estabilshed (by royal decrees) in 1992 Executive Branch King Prime Minister Chief of State Head of Government Commander in Chief of the Saudi Arabian Army King's Cabinet (Council of Ministers) Appointed every 4 years (by King) Many are family members 22 government ministires are part of the cabiniet 2009 appointed first female cabinet member Norah Al-Fayez

Legislative Branch Consulative Council Majilis as-Shura or Shura Council 150 members Appointed by King 4 year renewable term Members assigned to committees Human Rights Education Culture Health 2011 -King announced women could be on council Appointed 30 women Law made sayin 20% of council must be women 2013 -Council wanted to start voting in members No elections have been announced

Judicial Branch Governed according to Islamic Law Saudi Court System Three Main Parts • Shari’ah Courts • • Courts of the First Instance Summary and General Courts of Cassation Supreme Judicial Council • Board of Grievances • Cases that involve the government • Various Committees • Address specific disputes • Labor Disputes for example

History Since World War l Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 by King Abdulaziz Al Saud Abdulaziz ruled an absolute monarch (1932 -1953) All 6 of his sons ruled at some point after his death in 1953 Oil reserves were discovered in 1938 in the Al-Hasa region, by the Persian Gulf Coast Development of processing the oil began in 1941 Oil production began in 1949 King Abdulaziz agreed with President Franklin Roosevelt to supply oil to the US in 1945

History Since WWI 1. Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – 1 st son to succeed in ruling Ruled from 1953 -1964 Experienced wealth and prosperity from oil production Government officials were careless and inefficient. Developed deficits and had to borrow money from foreign countries. 2. Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud- 2 nd son to succeed Ruled from 1964 -1975 Took power in hope of reform for the country. Saved the country's political significance through the 1973 Oil Crisis. Saudi Arabia partook in the Arab Oil Boycott against supplying oil to the US and Netherlands during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Oil prices increased for US and other countries after the war As a result, Saudi Arabia gained back much of its wealth and began to modernize.

History Since WWI 3. Khalid bin Adbulaziz Al Saud- 3 rd son to succeed Ruled from 1975 -1982 Enacted to have himself be the final decider on all major policies Was not an extremely effective leader Ruled when Islamic extremists temporarily seized control of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979. Strict Islamic Code was enacted in response 4. Fahd bin Adbulaziz Al Saud- 4 th son to succeed Ruled from 1982 -2005 Became the largest oil producer in the world while Fahd was in power. Allied with the US in the Gulf War, which angered Islamists. Terrorist Attacks began to take place in the early 2000's Fahd is known for introducing The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia.

History Since World War l 5. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud- 5 th son to succeed Ruled from 2005 -2015 Made many small reforms to the country No reforms were made to help the Arab Spring protests (2011) Welfare spending increased 6. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud-6 th son to succeed Ruled from 2015 - present day Under Salman's rule, Saudi Arabia military has stepped in on the Yemeni Civil War

U. S. Relations with Saudi Arabia 1933 -U. S. started to look for oil • • Chevron was allowed to explore Saudi Arabia Discovered oil in 1938 • Allowed because they were afraid of the colonial powers Egypt 1945 • FDR met with King Abdlaziz on USS Murphy • Solidified the US-Saudi relationship There have been strains • • • Differences on issues 2011 Arab protests Iran Saudi and US officials stress the importance of the relationship and common interests

On the Rocks The Thing with Oil Saudi Arabia was the primary source of oil to the US • The US has major deposits of shale underground Cheaper • We don’t have to ship across an ocean Ghawar Oil Field has enough Terrorist Supporters or No oil for 4, 770, 897 Olympic size swimming pools An Olympic swimming Backing jihadist rebels in Syria pool holds 660, 253. 09 gallons May have supported the 9/11 attacks • Funding Muslim radicalism in mosques and charities at the time the Sept. 11, 2001 Congress passed bill in September letting families affected by 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia

On the Rocks Part 2 Iran Nuclear Deal • Iran and Saudi Arabia do not get along • Mostly because of religious differences • Saudi Arabia being Sunni and Iran being Shia • Political agendas are different • Both countries deal with exporting oil Since the US signed it tensions have increased between the US and Saudi Arabia

Random Facts about Saudi Arabia that are Somewhat Weird Swordsman Shortage In 2015 an average of one person killed every other day Catching Witches Water is more expensive than oil Diyya Paying for freedom $106, 000 to avoid punishment for premeditated murder Sidewalk Skiing The Highest Room of the Tallest Tower 1 km taller than the worlds tallest building 3280 feet Finished in 2020

http: //edition. cnn. com/videos/tv/2016/04/21/exp-connect-the-worldbecky-anderson-us-saudi-relations. cnn