The cultural setting of Saudi Arabia is greatly influenced by the Arab and Islamic culture. The society is, in general, religious, conservative, traditional, and family-oriented. Many attitudes and traditions are 300 years old by 2027, derived from Arab civilization and Islamic heritage. However, its culture has also been affected by rapid change, as the country was transformed from an impoverished Bedouin society into a rich commodity producer in just a few years in the 1970s. This change has also been affected by and the result of a number of factors including the communications revolution and external scholarships. The most current ruler of Saudi Arabia is King Salman.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.28
The Wahhabi movement, which arose in the 18th century and is sometimes described as conservative, now predominates in the country. Following the principle of "enjoining good and forbidding wrong", there are many limitations and prohibitions on behavior and dress which are strictly enforced both legally and socially, in line with the country's Islamic traditions. However, many of the traditional restrictions have been lifted recently by the government including allowing women to drive and many other women rights and opportonities, as well as introducing measured social reforms as part of vision 2030.
Daily life is dominated by Islamic observance. Five times each day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques scattered throughout the country. Because Friday is the holiest day for Muslims, the weekend is Friday to Saturday."Weekend shift: A welcome change", SaudiGazette.com.sa, June 24, 2013 In accordance with Islamic doctrine, only two religious holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, were publicly recognized, until 2006 when a non-religious holiday, the September 23 national holiday (which commemorates the unification of the kingdom) was reintroduced.
In terms of gender relations, Saudi Arabia's norms used to discourage non-familial free mixing between the sexes.Govender, Veloshnee, and Loveday Penn-Kekana. "Gender biases and discrimination: a review of health care interpersonal interactions." Global public health 3.S1 (2008): 90–103 Though weddings and other events are mostly sex-separated, it is common to see non-familial free mixing between the sexes happen in public at work events, dinner parties, restaurants and more.
History The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of mainly four distinct historical regions: Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa), and Southern Arabia ('Asir). It was founded in 1932 by Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, also known as Ibn Saud in Western countries. Abdulaziz united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family. Saudi Arabia has since been an absolute monarchy governed along Islamist lines. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques", in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca) and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
Religion
The land of Hijaz, particularly Mecca and Medina, is the place where Islam was firstly established. Thus, the majority of its population are Muslims. Moreover, Qur'an is considered the constitution of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic law "sharia'" is the main legal source. In Saudi Arabia, Islam is not just adhered politically by the government but also it has a great influence on the people's culture and everyday life.
Religious demography
90% of the Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims while 10% belong to Shia's school. 80% of Shia' are Twelvers who live in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and Medina. In Najran Province there are approximately 700,000 seveners Shia'. Moreover, the majority of expatriate in Saudi Arabia are Muslims.
Islamic rituals in the community Since the 2019 stripping of the power of the "religious police" or Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (also known as Haia or Mutaween), a cultural renaissance has happened where traditional rules about clothing and gender-mixing have become optional. Saudi Arabia no longer requires shops and other public facilities to close during prayer time, which takes place five times a day, but employees and customers will still kneel in prayer at these times, and the call to prayer is broadcast five times daily from loudspeakers on mosques.
Women are no longer required to wear the traditional long black abayas in public, but it's required to dress modestly as a form of respecting the Saudi culture.
Cinema theatres were shut down in 1980, and it was reopened since April 2018.
Calendar The kingdom uses the lunar Islamic calendar, with the start of each lunar month determined not ahead of time by astronomical calculation, but only after the crescent moon is sighted by the proper religious authorities.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p. 154–155 Civil workers in the governmental sector used to receive their salaries not according to the international Gregorian calendar, but the lunar Islamic calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar has been followed by many international companies operating in the country. Moreover, by 2016, a number of reforms took place in Saudi Arabia. One of them was to use the Gregorian calendar to pay for the civil servants. This measure has been taken to reduce the governmental spending as employees have lost 11 payment days.
Weekends
Friday is the holiest day for Muslims. In 2013, the late King Abdullah Al-Saud issued a royal decree switching the weekend to Friday-Saturday, from what was previously Thursday-Friday.the time varying according to sunrise and sunset timesTripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.214 This step was taken to reduce the adverse effects suffered by Saudi businesses due to the difference in weekdays and weekends between Saudi Arabia and the other regional and international counterparts. Like all other Muslims, on Fridays Saudis attend Jomua'h prayer that is held by afternoon and accompanied with a sermon.
The holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a holy month for all Muslims. In Saudi Arabia, this month is especially important and different as the lifestyle of the people gets more spiritual. During the month, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Thus, in Saudi Arabia, the working hours are reduced as most of the employees go two hours later than usual. Moreover, friends and families gather by sunset to enjoy breaking their fast together. By night and particularly after the obligatory Isha' prayer, people stay in mosques to pray the voluntary prayer of Taraweeh. Before the dawn prayer, Fajr, families wake up to eat Suhur, their last meal before they start fasting.
Saudi Arabia celebrates two public holidays, namely, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Fitr comes after the holy month of Ramadan and employees enjoy a customary 5 to 10 days away from work. Eid al-Adha comes by the end of Hajj -pilgrimage- and employees get similar off days. However, some other religious days that are considered as public holidays in other Muslim countries are not given days off in Saudi Arabia including, the Islamic New Year, Mawlid Alnabi – Prophet Muhammad's Birthday – and 'Ashura day.
"Fierce religious resistance" had to be overcome to permit such innovations as paper money (in 1951), female education (1964), television (1965) and the abolition of slavery (1962).Review. "Unloved in Arabia" By Max Rodenbeck. The New York Review of Books, Volume 51, Number 16 · October 21, 2004 There were a number of terrorist attacks targeting foreigners between 2001 and 2004, but these have been brought under control."Saudi Arabia, a kingdom divided" The Nation, May 22, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2011,
Annual festivals such as the Jenadriyah Festival which celebrates Saudi Culture, custom and handicraft held in a specialized arena just north of Riyadh and public events such as The Annual Book Fair are open to the public and are very popular.
The festivals (such as Day of Ashura) and communal public worshipIslamic Political Culture, Democracy, and Human Rights: A Comparative Study, p 93 Daniel E. Price – 1999 of Shia Muslims who make up an estimated 10-15%Saudi Arabia's Shia press for rights| bbc|by Anees al-Qudaihi | March 24, 2009Council on Foreign Relations | Author: Lionel Beehner| June 16, 2006Nasr, Shia Revival (2006) p. 236 are suppressed. Celebration of other (non-Wahhabi) Islamic holidays, such as the Muhammad's birthday and the Day of Ashura (an important holiday for Shiites), are tolerated only when celebrated locally and on a small scale. Shia also face systematic discrimination in employment, education, the justice system according to Human Rights Watch.
No churches, temples or other non-Muslim houses of worship permitted in the country (although there are nearly a million Christians as well as Hindus and Buddhists among the foreign workers).
The celebration of Christmas is no longer banned in Saudi Arabia, and is embraced a little more each year as the country welcomes more foreign tourists, with some stores selling non-religious Christmas decorations, and hotels and restaurants offering holiday feasts and specials.
And at least one religious minority, the Ahmadiyya, are banned with adherents being deported according to a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch.
Proselytizing by non-Muslims and conversion by Muslims to another religion is illegal. According to the HeartCry Missionary Society, in 2014 the Saudi government "issued an official statement signifying that capital punishment may now be used" on those who distribute the Bible and all other "publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam."Samuel Smith (December 18, 2014) "Saudi Arabia's New Law Imposes Death Sentence for Bible Smugglers?". The Christian Post."SAUDI ARABIA IMPOSES DEATH SENTENCE FOR BIBLE SMUGGLING" . handsoffcain.info. November 28, 2014
In legal compensation court cases (Diyya) non-Muslim are awarded less than Muslims. Atheists are legally designated as terrorists. Saudis or foreign residents who call "into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based" may be subject to as much as 20 years in prison.Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents, The Independent, March 4, 2014
Social life and customs Saudi society lives within the circle of customs and traditions in which it was ingrained by the Arab culture of Islam and the Islamic culture, but the regions of the Kingdom differ from each other in the customs of clothing, food, dialects, songs, and even in marriage traditions. Saudi Arabia has a family-oriented culture; the family in Saudi Arabia is the most important social institution, so the bonds are strong between their members. Key aspects include the concepts of obedience and mutual respect,Blog, Gurfati (2017-04-28). "العادات والتقاليد السعودية". Gurfati Blog (باللغة الإنجليزية). مؤرشف من الأصل في 14 أكتوبر 2018. اطلع عليه بتاريخ 11 مارس 2019. in addition to preserving family traditions and kinship ties.
Al Badou A large portion of the original inhabitants of the area that is now Saudi were desert nomads known as Bedouin. They remain a significant and very influential minority of the indigenous Saudi population, though many who call themselves "bedou" no longer engage in "traditional tribal activities of herding sheep and riding camels."Long, Culture and Customs, 2009: p.79-80 According to authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North, Bedouin make up most of the judiciary, religious leaders and National Guard (which protects the throne) of the country. Bedouin culture is "actively" preserved by the government.
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