Racism in Saudi Arabia extends to allegations of
imprisonment,
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
,
murder,
overwork
Overwork is the expression used to define the cause of working too hard, too much, or too long. It can be also related to the act of working beyond one's strength or capacity, causing physical and/or mental distress in the process.
Compulsory, m ...
, and
wage theft
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum-wage laws; the misclassificati ...
, especially of foreign workers who are given little protections under the law.
Religious-based
Muslims
Shia
The most prominent religion discrimination in Saudi Arabia is against the
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
sect of Islam minority in the Eastern and southern regions of Saudi.
According to a 2009
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
report, Shiite citizens in Saudi Arabia "face systematic discrimination in religion, education, justice, and employment".
Non-Wahhabi Sunnis
Though majority of Saudis are Sunni, they still include many non-
Wahhabis
Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...
. These subgroups include different schools of thoughts and jurisprudence such as
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
,
Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
and
Shafi’i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
with some also subscribing to
Sufism.
Members of non-Wahhabi Sunni subgroups face varying levels of scrutiny and discrimination, including restricted religious freedoms due to the Wahhabi's definition of Sunni Islam along strict lines. Celebration of religious ceremonies such as ''
Mawlid'', which is forbidden in Saudi Arabia, is a prime example of that.
Non-Muslims
Although there is discrimination against non-Muslims (usually
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
foreigners, Jews,
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
, etc.), in general this goes unnoticed as these cases are relatively uncommon compared to those of other minorities.
Antisemitism
In Saudi Arabia,
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
is commonplace.
Saudi Arabian media often denounces Jews in books, news articles and with what some describe as
antisemitic satire. Saudi Arabian government officials and state religious leaders often promote the idea that
Jews are conspiring to take over the entire world; as proof of their claims they publish and frequently cite the fictional work, ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'' as factual.
Nationality-based
Foreign workers
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW) describes the working conditions of foreign workers, most of whom come from
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, as "near-
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
" and attributes them to "deeply rooted gender, religious, and racial discrimination". Workers are often unwilling to report their employers for fear of losing their jobs or further abuse.
Saudi Arabia has more than 10.24 million foreign workers, who are engaged in manual, accounting, service and domestic work, accounting for one-third of the Kingdom's population and more than half of its workforce.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia reportedly asked the
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
to remove
Sami Zayn
Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline.
Prior to jo ...
from the super showdown event that is taking place in Saudi Arabia due to his Syrian ethnicity.
Tribal-based
Intra-tribal
In the Arabian peninsula generally the tribe (''qabila)'' refers not only to a blood relation but also to a social status. Tribal (''qabili'' or ''asil'') people assign themselves into inferior and superior tribes that assume purity in blood and root (''asl'').
This form of discrimination has roots in the vicious tribal wars and conflicts which predated Saudi Arabia.
Matrimony between individuals of ''qabila'' and ''khadiri'' stock, and between individuals of superior and inferior tribes, is frowned upon. This is because ''qabili'' status itself depends on purity of paternal lineage. Children of mixed marriages would carry mixed blood which would reflect on the position of the tribe as a whole.
Favoritism of one's own tribe to others in many matters, including those in which it is prohibited to do so such as in governmental affairs, is common.
Khadiri
In
Najd region, all freeborn citizens who cannot claim tribal descent are unofficially called non-''asil or'' ''Khadiri''.
This group included many of the urban tradesmen, artisans, merchants, and scholars of pre-oil Arabia.
Historically, rule in Najd villages towns, and larger politics was regularly held by the tribal (''asil'') groups while ''Khadiri'' people generally were held to an inferior social status.
Intermarrying with ''Khadiri'' can lead to an ''asil'' and resulting progeny losing their designation.
Descendants of slaves (''abid'') are often considered ''Khadiri'' even if some have the name of tribes. This is because slaves used to take the name of the people they were serving. Use of the term ''abid'' is considered an insult.
Hejazi Hadar
Hejazi Hadar are Saudi citizens of non-tribal, non-
Bedouin origins in the urban areas of
Hejaz region, colloquially called ''Hadar'' (city-dwellers). These include multi-ethnic citizens from
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
and
Taif
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
in the
Hejaz area, and from
Jeddah,
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
, and
Yanbu
Yanbu ( ar, ينبع, lit=Spring, translit=Yanbu'), also known simply as Yambu or Yenbo, is a city in the Al Madinah Province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Jeddah (at ). The population is 222,360 (2 ...
in the Hejazi part of the
Tihamah
Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.
Etymology
Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for ' sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in m ...
. The Hadar in these places are known by their distinctive
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
yet contrasting physical features. Their diversity is largely due to their ancestors migration to Hejaz, cradle of Islam, from all over the world prior or in the early days of the Saudi reign.
Saudi Bedouins call Saudis of non-Bedouin origins "Sea Refuse" (Tarsh Bahar), a derogatory term largely used for Hejazi Hadar that dates back to the fall of the
kingdom of Hejaz. "Pilgrims’ remains" (''bagaya hujjaj'') is another phrase used unflatteringly.
Hejazi Hadar, on the other hand, consider themselves more sophisticated and civilized, while the Bedouin population see themselves as racially pure.
Hejazi Hadar sometimes answer back by calling
Bedouins
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...
''Soroob'', meaning backward or savage people. However, the term ''Badawi,'' singular form of Bedouin, is sometimes used on its own to disparagingly mean a provincial, naive, and unsophisticated person.
Hejazi Hadar, as a minority, face many forms of formal and informal discrimination. Employment discrimination is one of those where they are underrepresented in leadership and government positions and are not usually allowed into the military services, with exceptions. Social discrimination in marriages also exist on both sides.
Religious discrimination also exists. Though the majority of Hejazi Hadar are Sunni, they, unlike the majority of Bedouin, belong to a variety of Islamic schools of jurisprudence like Sufism. All those who don't consider themselves Wahhabis face discrimination for that as well.
Notable incidents
Saudi Arabia has long been against Iranians and Shias. It supported Iraq during the Iran Iran war
Following
Hamza Kashgari
Hamza Kashgari Mohamad Najeeb (often Hamza Kashgari, ar, حمزة كاشغري; born 1989) is a Saudi poet and a former columnist for the Saudi daily newspaper '' Al-Bilad''. In 2011, he was on a Mabahith watchlist of pro-democracy activists ...
's controversial messages, racist comments in reference to his
Turkmen family background were made against him on Twitter as "
ot beingenough of a 'pure' Saudi".
In 2013, Saudi Arabia deported some UAE male models back to Abu Dhabi for no reasons, other than the fact that they looked good.
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (; ar, جمال أحمد خاشقجي, Jamāl ʾAḥmad Ḵāšuqjī, ; 13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a ge ...
was a prominent Hejazi Hadar of
Turkish origin, who was later murdered in 2018.
Racism in media
Racism or Tribalism of any kind is prohibited in Saudi media. Violators are punished and may be banned from media platforms. Recently
King Salman
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of Kin ...
's nephew was banned from media after referring to an individual as "tarsh bahar" during a call to a sports program.
References
{{Asia topic, Racism in
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...