Afro-Saudis are Saudi people of

Black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...

heritage. Afro-Saudis are the largest

Afro-Arab Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. These include populations within mainly the Sudanese Arabs, Sudanese, Emiratis, Al-Akhdam, Yemenis, Afro-Saudis, Saudis, Afro-Omanis, Omanis, Sahrawis, Mauritanians, Algerians, Egyp ...

group. They are spread all around the country but are mostly found in the major cities of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. Afro-Saudis speak

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and adhere to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Their origins date back centuries ago to African Muslim migrants settling in

, and to the

Arab slave trade History of slavery in the Muslim world refers to various periods in which a slave trade has been carried out under the auspices of Arab peoples or Arab countries. Examples include: * Trans-Saharan slave trade * Indian Ocean slave trade * Barbary sl ...

History

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

have been in contact starting with the obsidian exchange networks of the 7th millennium BC. These networks were strengthened by the rise of Egyptian dynasties of the 4th millennium BC. Anthropologists have indicated the likely existence of settlements in Arabia, from the people of the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, as early as the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC.

Population

In 2021, their population is 3,500,000, or 10% of Saudi Arabia’s 35,000,000 people.

Social condition

Unlike in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

of the 19th century, slaves in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

were allowed to own land and their children were generally not born into slavery. Also conversion to

precluded further servitude and gave freedom. Skin color played a distinctive role even amongst slaves. Many activists amongst Afro-Saudis complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.

Notable Afro-Saudis

Majed Abdullah Majed Ahmed Abdullah ( ar, ماجد احمد عبد الله; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played for Al-Nassr and the Saudi national team. Abdullah is the all-time leading goalscorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 ...

Adil al-Kalbani Adil al-Kalbani () is a Saudi Arabian Muslim cleric of Afro-Saudi background who served as the Imam of the Great Mosque of Mecca. Biography Early years and studies Adil al-Kalbani was born in Riyadh on April 4, 1958 to poor emigrants from Ras ...

* Tareg Hamedi * Hawsawi family *

Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-'Amoudi ( ar, محمد حسين علي العمودي; born 1946) is a Saudi billionaire businessman. He was born Ethiopia in 1946 to a Yemeni father from Hadhramaut and Ethiopian Amhara mother from Wollo. In 201 ...

Muhammad Saad al-Beshi Muhammad Saad al-Beshi (Arabic: ''محمد سعد البيشي;'' born 1961) has been an executioner for the government of Saudi Arabia since 1998. He has been described as "Saudi Arabia's leading executioner". Beshi claims to have executed ten p ...

Fahad Al-Muwallad Fahad Mosaed al-Muwallad ( ar, فهد المولد, born 14 September 1994) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Al-Shabab. He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was only 16 year ...

* Mohamed Kanno

References

{{Portal bar, Saudi Arabia, Africa Saudi Arabian people Ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian people of African descent African diaspora in the Middle East African diaspora in Asia

History

Population

Social condition

Notable Afro-Saudis

See also

References