Shia Emergence in Saudi Arabia

Saudis march in the Shiite town of Qatif in response to an attack on a Shiite mosque, killing 21

Since the formation of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the Shiite people, which consist of 10-15% of the population, have undergone continuous under-representation and oppression by the Saudi government. Some head clerics of the predominately Sunni government use a rhetoric that makes the Shiite people appear as inferior; thus reinforcing harsh treatment towards the Shiite population. Up until the late 1950's, Shiite people living within Saudi Arabia (mostly in the oil rich Eastern province) remained silent, but years of ideological, cultural and economic discrimination led more people towards political activism.

One man who helped turn the small flicker of Shiite interest in political activism into a flame was Hassan al-Saffar. Saffar, a Shiite cleric, emerged around the 1970's and became a vital figure in the Shiite resistance movement. He was heavily inspired by the writings and speeches of Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammed al-Shirazi, who came to the gulf after fleeing Iraq, where he began the Shirazi movement. The rhetoric used by Shirazi urged for a more active Shiite voice and reorganization of government. Saffar took this to heart, and became educated in Islamic studies at various Hawza schools in the Gulf region where he grew more political. Saffar used his knowledge and skills in rhetoric to tour around the gulf region with other members aligned with Shirazi's ideology known as shiraziyyum to recruit more people into the movement. His skills in communication were emphasized by one of his followers, "[He was an] Important link between the older generations of the Shia notables and the leftists and the Shiraziyyan." In addition, Saffar was able to connect with college and high school students. "The presence of young preachers was a novelty and resonated well with the youth." By touring around the gulf handing out pamphlets, lecturing at Shia festivals and playing recordings of Shirazi's lectures, Saffar was able to reach not only workers at ARAMCO, a Saudi oil company in the Eastern province, but in addition, young unmarried women in joining the cause. Although the Shirazi movement was growing in membership, it still needed an event to trigger the Shiite minority into action.

The success of a powerful Shiite government emerging under Ayatollah Khomeini after the 1979 revolution in Iran provided inspiration to the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia. Before the revolution, most opponents were not aligned so much behind religious figures, but more so behind leftist movements such as Communism. This would change after 1979. Saffar and his followers as a direct result of the revolution established a new movement, the Organization for the Islamic Revolution in the Arabian Peninsula. Although many of the organization's elements were aligned with the ideology Khomeini preached in Iran, Saffar drew more alignment with the Shirazi ideology found throughout the region. Ultimately the OIRAD's objective was to announce its grievances and to spark a revolution to overthrow the Saudi monarchy.

The opportunity to spark action came during a religious holiday. Since 1913 the Shiite were prohibited from conducting religious festivities in public, but in November of 1979, in the city of Qatif, the members of OIRAD decided to defy this ban during the holiday Muharram, which marks the first day on the Islamic calendar. Those who participated on the streets quickly encountered clashes with authorities. These clashes marked the beginning of the 1979 uprisings and quickly spread to other cities in the Eastern province such as Sihat and Awwamiyya. Coincidently, the uprisings occurred around the same time of the takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Sunni rebels. The Saudi officials had a considerable amount at stake during the four month uprising. Many Americans working in the oil rich region fled from the violence, and continuous radio broadcasts from Iran and pamphlets advocating for revolution helped the uprising last. After four months the Saudi government officially put an end to the uprisings in the oil rich region, and arrested and exiled many of those who participated. As a result of the uprisings, Saudi officials promised to acknowledge some of the Shiite grievances to bring an end to public demonstration.

Those who were exiled continued to publish abroad and speak publicly about the abuses committed by the Saudi government on the Shiite people. Post '79 left many opponents quiet, and caused led Saffar to transition the OIRAP mission to being less focused on revolution, but more of pacifism. In turn, the OIRAP became the Islamic Reform Movement in 1993, and made its goal on cultural authenticity. However, the failure of the OIRAP did not quiet Shiite opposition voices. Although dealing with the censorship and oppression of government officials, underground Shiite based organizations continued to exist. In 1987, a new group closer aligned to Ayatollah Khomeini's rhetoric emerged called Hizbullah al-Hijaz. Hizbullah al-Hijaz is modeled after the Lebanese Hezbollah and labels itself as pro-Iranian. In recent years Hizbullah al-Hijaz has been decalred as a terrorist organization in Saudi Arabia and blamed for random terrorist attacks in the country since the 1990's. Regardless, various Shiite based movements continue to exist today in Saudi Arabia and continue to voice opposition.

Annotated Bibliography:

Commins, David Dean, and Malise Ruthven. Islam in Saudi Arabia. Print. This source was used to gain a better understanding of the Sunni and Shia split in Saudi Arabia.

Majidyar, Ahmad. "Saudi Arabia's Forgotten Shi'ite Spring - AEI." American Enterprise Institute. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. <http://www.aei.org/publication/saudi-arabias-forgotten-shiite-spring/>. This source was important in helping to get a basic introduction to the problems faced by the Shia minorities in Saudi Arabia.

Matthiesen, Toby. "Hizbullah Al-Hijaz: A History of The Most Radical Saudi Shi'a Opposition Group." Academia. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. This source was used to gather information about a Shiite based moment that emerged after the attempted 1979 uprising in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

Matthiesen, Toby. The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism. Print. This book was key to research on the Shirazi movement, al- Saffar and OIRAP and the 1979 uprisings and their impact on Shiite opposition in Saudi Arabia.

Further Reading:

Looking for Allah as a Shiite in Saudi Arabia

1979: Remembering the 'Siege of Mecca'