The Modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Essay

The Saudi Arabia history dated back to the early biblical days. Saudi Arabia has the land mass that covers two million square miles and the residents of this country of twenty six million people. The Islam religion has started in Saudi Arabia where the two holy areas are in Mecca and Medina mosques. Saudi Arabia has the world oil reserved that consist of seventeen percent. Ibn Saud was the first Saudi King back in 1932 when was the Kingdom was founded.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest arid country (Al-Ibrahim, 1991). The country covers some 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula (Al-Hamzi, 1992). The area of Saudi Arabia is 2.25 million square kilometers, equivalent (1.4) million square miles (Batayneh, 2012). The total number population in Saudi Arabia is 25.7 million (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012). Saudi Arabia climate is broiling in the summer and chilly in the winter, and Saudi Arabia does not have well-defined season. In addition, Saudi Arabia is waterless country, and it does not have rivers or lakes (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012).

From the 1800’s to present day, the Middle East has undergone many changes and continuities causing formation of their national identity, main factors that contributed were social aspects on society, government structure, and the strong religious roots they possess. The majority of changes occurred through the society aspects with the treatment of women and the discovery of oil. In Middle Eastern history women have had limited rights and have always been unequal to men. Women have always remained very conservative; being sheltered from other men not being able to go in public being covered from head to toe. The discovery of oil has also created many opportunities for the Middle East giving them a national identity and increasing economy.

The United States relationship with Saudi Arabia is one that begun on February 14, 1945 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met King Al-Saud at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. After World War II the United States became the most influential foreign power in Saudi Arabia. US’s main interest was focused in the direction of the oil industry. Then in 1960 Saudi Arabia was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). During the Cold War, Saudis favored the United States while the two also continued to but heads over the issue concerning the ever present Israeli-Arab conflict. Americas constant support for Israel has, and will continue to be an issue that brings about confrontation between the Saudis and the United States. Foreign relation ties never were as intense as they were during the Persian Gulf War. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait posed a potential threat to the Saudis provoking the United States to intervene. The Saudis allowed the United States to have access to their bases during this time. Since that time, our troops have remained there which is something that has led to much controversy because many Islamist believe that we our occupying their holy land. This has sparked many extremist to take action, most notably Osama Bin Laden who used this reasoning to justify the horrors of 9/11. Post 9/11 opened a new chapter to US-Saudi

The countries present their ideologies to the outside world as holy nations. Recently there has been significant evidence on major shifts with increasing polarization and creation of new alliances. These strategic actions produce both risks and opportunities; however, in the Middle East, there has been growing sectarianism in the conflicts (El Fadl, 2005). The sectarianism plays a great role in the political conflicts within Saudi Arabia and Iran. While both Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to have theocracy model states based on Islam, Saudi Arabia is considered a Theo-monarchy with strong relations to Wahhabism, a branch of Sunni Islam, while Iran’s political system has democratic components and is based on Shiism (Al-Rasheed, 1996). The differences in religious practices and ethnicity between the two nations have contributed to the dilemma of instability in the Middle

Somehow, I knew I was losing Ms. Basha’ir. I could tell she was not the same person. Her energy in teaching was slowly disappearing. Her dream to one day be freed of limitations was getting smaller each day. And I understood perfectly what she was going through. With all those restrictions I would probably feel the same way.  During my free time when I would step outside from school I saw that gender segregation is common in all areas of public life in Saudi Arabia, from the more obvious places, like swimming pools in public clubs, gyms and resorts to the less obvious, such as restaurants, coffee shops and even in ice cream shops. While you will hardly ever encounter a single Saudi woman on the streets, a woman living in Saudi Arabia who would like to dine out alone in the evening can usually do so in the family area of most restaurants.

Governed by a monarchy, Saudi Arabia’s current prosperity can be attributed to the royal family.

An advantage of a country like Saudi Arabia is the control the leaders have over what is known and not known.

Crimes punishable by the death sentence in Saudi Arabia include murder, serious attacks on the Islam religion, adultery, dress codes, and since 1987, drug smuggling. Under Saudi Arabian law, serious crimes merit serious consequences. Repeated theft is punishable by amputation of the right hand, administered under anesthetic. Because most meals in Saudi Arabia are eaten by hand from a communal bowl and only the right hand may touch the food, this punishment effectively bans the convicted thief from society. The severity of this punishment has led to a slight softening of the law in recent years; now if the thief repents and makes restitution before the case is brought before a judge, the punishment can be reduced... furthermore, the victim

Women Voting Rights in saudi arabia: How has social and political conditions change over the years for women?

There is an extreme male dominance over the women of Saudi Arabia. The men control the women in government, in education, in society, and even in their own homes. A vast majority of women fight for their rights to break free. The Saudi Arabian women’s restrictions need to be changed before the men overpower the women, which can wistfully turn to domestic abuse or even the women become rebellious and break traditions set out for them.

It is unbelievable how traditions, religions, and rules can make two women different in their lifestyles. That is the case between the country of Saudi Arabia and United States women. Saudi Arabia is a country located in the continent of Asia, in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is considered, as one of the strictest countries in terms of religion. Its makes its citizens, especially women, live in a capture, were women have special rules and traditions to follow, that make them so different, from the women that live in the US. . The different situations that women face in Saudi are considered for many, uncomfortable, a problem and an expression of machismo for men, which is eliciting many protests and revelation against the rules in Saudi,

Let’s begin by admitting that Saudi Arabia was the source “from which the bloody waters of global jihad flowed”. (Peters, 2016) Since the House of Saud became oil-wealthy, they have promoted the radical Wahhabi cult of Islam. (Crooke, 2014) And, let’s not forget that all of the 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

Throughout Saudi Arabia, there are small divisions that are based on who you are affiliated with and where you live. For an example, according to Commisceo Global (Retrieved 2017), tribal affiliations, (Sunni/Shia), location (rural vs urban) and levels of education. Therefore, if people in Saudi Arabia have connections with the higher power, the rich, the king, you become more powerful than others.

     In the heart of the Middle East is a country known by many Westerners for its oil production and, often, extremist beliefs of groups within the country. The country is Saudi Arabia, and though it is thought of by many as a rather backward country, Saudi Arabia has a rich history and culture, and it is a country that revolves around Islam and the worship of Allah as the one true God.