Repression begets rebellion in
Saudi Arabia By Chris Zambelis
Against a backdrop of ongoing simmering
dissent in the Arab world, growing unrest in Saudi
Arabia, in contrast, has gone virtually unnoticed.
In a climate of increasing political openness,
popular Arab demands for the fall of longtime
dictatorships have served as vehicles for airing
deeply embedded resentments. In this context,
narrow segments of Arab societies that have
traditionally been subject to targeted
discrimination, including ethnic and religious
minorities, have become encouraged to articulate
their grievances.
The mobilization of
Saudi Arabia's Shi'a Muslim minority in the
kingdom's Eastern Province (al-Mintaqah
al-Sharqiyah) since 2011 and the resulting
crackdown by Saudi security forces attests to the
fact that the kingdom is not impervious to the kind
of unrest being seen in
fellow Arab countries.
The fallout from
the July 8 arrest of Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr on
charges of sedition by Saudi security forces is
demonstrative of the sectarian tensions
percolating inside the reclusive Kingdom and the
broader geopolitical currents driving Saudi
behavior. Al-Nimr, a prominent Shi'a cleric and
outspoken critic of the Saudi royal family and the
regime's persecution of its Shi'a citizens, was
reportedly shot in the leg during his arrest while
driving near his home in the village of
al-Awamiyah in Eastern Province.
Al-Nimr,
who is regarded as the spiritual leader of Saudi
Arabia's Shi'a community, remains in Saudi custody
at a military hospital where, according to members
of his family, he has endured torture. Al-Nimr has
since gone on a hunger strike to protest his
detention. The sheikh's arrest has sparked
protests across Eastern Province, including in
Qatif, al-Awamiyah, al-Hasa, and Safwa.
The protesters are demanding justice and
equality, the release of all political prisoners,
and the initiation of political reforms in the
kingdom. Demonstrators have also called for the
Saudi royal family to step down. Saudi security
forces have used live fire and other repressive
tactics to suppress the protests, killing and
injuring a number of demonstrators in the process.
Scores of protesters have also been detained
throughout Eastern Province. The Saudi regime has
blockaded major centers of dissent such as Qatif
and other locations to collectively punish
residents by inhibiting freedom of movement and
economic activity .
Al-Nimr's latest
arrest - the sheikh was arrested previously in
2004 and 2006 on similar charges - has emboldened
Shi'a activists in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has
scoffed at al-Nimr's scathing denunciations of the
Saudi royal family and demands for greater rights
for the Shi'a. For its part, the Saudi regime sees
al-Nimr as a dangerous subversive and accuses him
of calling for the secession of the Eastern
Province. Saudi Arabia also frequently labels
al-Nimr as an instrument of an aggressive Iranian
foreign policy that aims to undermine unity and
stability in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia's
reaction to dissent among its Shi'a population
provides insight into the way it interprets its
evolving geopolitical position in a rapidly
changing Middle East. In a broad sense, the Saudi
regime perceives the popular demands for freedom
and democracy being voiced by Arabs as a serious
threat to its long-term sustainability. Saudi
Arabia also sees an Iranian hand behind Shi'a-led
activism in the region. As evidenced by its
decision to deploy security forces in neighboring
Bahrain in March 2011 to crush an uprising led
largely by a marginalized Shi'a majority that is
agitating for greater freedoms under a Sunni-led,
pro-Saudi monarchy, the kingdom worries that its
own Shi'a community will rise up in turn.
Saudi Shi'a, many of whom maintain tribal
and familial links with their Bahraini
counterparts, organized protests in solidarity
with Bahrainis while calling on Riyadh to remove
its military from Bahrain. In this regard, Saudi
Arabia views the organized and sustained political
opposition among its Shi'a community in the
context of its regional rivalry with Iran.
To further malign al-Nimr's reputation,
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdelaziz
went so far as to question the cleric's mental
health. In a report issued by the Saudi Press
Agency, the prince declared that "Nimr is someone
who stirs sedition ... The way he speaks reflects
a mental deficiency and imbalance". Al-Nimr's
supporters deny these accusations and accuse the
Saudi royal family of seeking to avert attention
from the most salient issues at hand, namely, the
institutionalized marginalization of Shi'a in
Saudi society and the persistence of
authoritarianism in the Kingdom.
Saudi
Arabia is well known for its status as the world's
top exporter of crude oil and its strategic
alliance with the United States. It is also one of
the world's most culturally and politically
repressive countries. The rigid brand of
ultraconservative Sunni Islam espoused by the
kingdom treats Shi'a Muslims as apostates and
differing schools of Islam as heretical. The Saudi
clerical establishment regularly refers to Shi'a
Muslims, for instance, with the pejorative label
of rafidah (rejectionists). Estimated to
represent approximately 10-15 % of Saudi Arabia's
population of around 28 million, the Shi'a
minority is concentrated in Eastern Province, a
region where the majority of the kingdom's oil
reserves are located.
The Eastern Province
has been fertile ground for organized opposition
to the Saudi monarchy extending back decades.
Despite the widely acknowledged social and
economic problems endemic to Saudi society, the
Kingdom continues to be seen as relatively immune
to the political turbulence on display in other
Arab countries. This assessment is derived from
Saudi Arabia's strategic importance as an oil
producer, which provides the kingdom with the
ability to ward off internal rebellion by doling
out social services and other benefits as well as
its alliance with the United States. However, the
recent events in Eastern Province indicate
otherwise.
Riyadh has gone to great
lengths to suppress the outflow of information
from the Eastern Province. Activist groups in the
region, such as the Eastern Province Revolution,
however, continue to broadcast information from
the scene on online social media outlets,
including footage of public demonstrations,
violent responses by Saudi security forces and
evidence of human rights abuses allegedly
perpetrated by the Saudi regime. The Eastern
Province Revolution seeks to create "a
consultative and electoral ruling system that
represents the will of the people." The movement
also aims to "end dictatorial rule through
organizing revolutionary and legal activities and
popular protests" in Saudi Arabia. [1]
Despite the Saudi regime's oppressive
reaction to the displays of opposition, the
demonstrations to date have remained largely
peaceful. Reports that a Saudi security patrol in
Qatif came under fire by protesters following a
demonstration on August 3, however, indicates
there is potential for an escalation in
hostilities. At least one protester was reportedly
killed in the ensuing clashes, while one Saudi
soldier was killed and another wounded. In light
of recent events, public demonstrations of dissent
appear poised to persist in Saudi Arabia's Eastern
Province.
Note 1. See the
official YouTube channel of the Eastern Province
Revolution, available here
. The official Facebook and Twitter pages of the
Eastern Province Revolution are available here
and here.
Chris Zambelis is an analyst and
researcher specializing in Middle East affairs
with Helios Global, Inc., a risk management group
based in the Washington, DC area. The opinions
expressed here are the author's alone and do not
necessarily reflect the position of Helios Global
Inc.
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