Culture of Saudi Arabia
Encyclopedia
The cultural setting of Saudi Arabia
is Arab
and Muslim
, and features many elements from historical ritual and folk culture such as dance and music. Traditional values and cultural mores are adapted into legal prohibitions, even for non-Muslims. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited as is pork products. Popular forms of media entertainment are banned or permitted under tight controls to prohibit the spread of immoral words, images or ideas.
, movie theaters were banned, and this ban has only recently begun to be liberalized for special holidays, and to encourage the development of Saudi cinema. Certain films and television shows on VHS, and more recently DVD, are prohibited, while other films and television shows are permitted with censorship. Other forms of popular entertainment, music cassettes and CDs, novels, magazines, comic books, computer software, and video games are generally permitted, if they can be officially censored for immorality, or causing political offense to the government, especially the royal family.
, the Muslim world, and the world at large,
but freedom of the press and public expression of opinion
are not recognized by the government. News stories, public speeches and other acts of personal expression cannot conflict with traditional Islamic values, or dissent from government policy, insult government officials, especially the royal family, and cannot delve too deeply into certain sensitive and taboo subject matters that might embarrass the government or spread dissent, i.e. the role of women in Saudi society, the treatment of Shiite Muslims, damage caused by natural disasters, or social problems such as AIDS
-HIV
pandemic and human trafficking.
, the country's national dance. This sword dance
is based on ancient Bedouin
traditions: drummers beat out a rhythm and a poet chants verses while sword-carrying men dance shoulder to shoulder. Al-sihba folk music, from the Hejaz
, has its origins in al-Andalus
. In Mecca
, Medina
and Jeddah
, dance and song incorporate the sound of the mizmar
, an oboe
-like woodwind instrument
in the performance of the mizmar dance
. The drum
is also an important instrument according to traditional and tribal customs. Samri
is a popular traditional form of music and dance in which poetry is sung.
There is also the Dabka dance in the north, and belly dance
for ladies with many styles, such as khaleeji style in the east, and saedi style in Hijaz. One other dance popular in the Arabian world is called the Dabka, a traditional form of unisex line dancing found in the Eastern Arab World. The dance is based on rhythmic stomping, stepping and jumping, completely synchronized to the drummer. This dance is usually danced in weddings and engagements by everyone of all ages.
Guitars are also prohibited, as they also do not 'fit' with Islam. Songs (words sung with musical instruments) are also not allowed; instead nasheeds are sung, which are basically a capella, songs without instruments. Nasheeds are usually religiously based, but not all are sung about religion.
(the Islamic principle of modesty
, especially in dress). The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering, garments are helpful in Saudi Arabia's desert
climate. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb
), with a keffiyeh
(a large checkered square of cotton held in place by a cord coil) or a ghutra
(a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by a cord coil) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel
-hair cloak (bisht
) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliqués. Women are required to wear an abaya
, niqab
or burqa
when in public. The Saudi niqāb usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth. Many also have two or more sheer layers attached to the upper band, which can be worn flipped down to cover the eyes.
In recent years, there has been a blending of traditional attire with more fashion-forward styles.
forbid the eating of pork and the drinking of alcohol
, and this law is enforced strictly throughout Saudi Arabia. The most popular food in Saudi Arabia is kabsa
, which is rice and meat. Arabic unleavened bread, or khubz
, is eaten with almost all meals. Other staples include lamb, grilled chicken
, falafel
(deep-fried chickpea balls), shawarma
(spit-cooked sliced lamb), and Ful medames
(a paste of fava beans
, garlic
and lemon
). Traditional coffeehouse
s used to be ubiquitous, but are now being displaced by food-hall style cafes. Arabic tea
is also a famous custom, which is used in both casual and formal meetings between friends, family and even strangers. The tea is black (without milk) and has herbal flavoring that comes in many variations.
and cinemas
had been prohibited for over three decades, as Sunni tradition deemed those institutions to be incompatible with Islam. However, in June 2009, citizens finally got a chance to go to the movies when Menahi
, a film produced by Rotana, owned by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
, began showing in the King Fahd cultural centre in Riyadh
.
However, an IMAX
theatre is available, and in private compounds such as Dhahran
and Ras Tanura
public theaters can be found, but often are more popular for local music, arts, and theatre productions rather than the exhibition of motion pictures. DVD
retail sales, including Arabic, English and Indian language movies, are legal and widely available.
ists have had their books published in Aden
, Yemen
, because of censorship
in Saudi Arabia. Despite signs of increasing openness, Saudi novelists and artist
s in film
, theatre
, and the visual arts
face greater restrictions on their freedom of expression than in the West. Contemporary Saudi novelists include:
Moreover, the public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited.
The Saudi Mutaween
(Arabic: مطوعين), or Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (i.e., the religious police), enforces the prohibition on the public practice of non-Muslim religions.
For this reason, Saudi culture lacks the diversity of religious expression, buildings, annual festivals and public events that is seen in countries where religious freedom is permitted.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
is Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and features many elements from historical ritual and folk culture such as dance and music. Traditional values and cultural mores are adapted into legal prohibitions, even for non-Muslims. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited as is pork products. Popular forms of media entertainment are banned or permitted under tight controls to prohibit the spread of immoral words, images or ideas.
Restrictions on cinema
In the 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, movie theaters were banned, and this ban has only recently begun to be liberalized for special holidays, and to encourage the development of Saudi cinema. Certain films and television shows on VHS, and more recently DVD, are prohibited, while other films and television shows are permitted with censorship. Other forms of popular entertainment, music cassettes and CDs, novels, magazines, comic books, computer software, and video games are generally permitted, if they can be officially censored for immorality, or causing political offense to the government, especially the royal family.
News media
Educated Saudis are well informed of issues of the Arab worldArab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
, the Muslim world, and the world at large,
but freedom of the press and public expression of opinion
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
are not recognized by the government. News stories, public speeches and other acts of personal expression cannot conflict with traditional Islamic values, or dissent from government policy, insult government officials, especially the royal family, and cannot delve too deeply into certain sensitive and taboo subject matters that might embarrass the government or spread dissent, i.e. the role of women in Saudi society, the treatment of Shiite Muslims, damage caused by natural disasters, or social problems such as AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
pandemic and human trafficking.
Civil society
Informal public discussion of public policy is not actively encouraged, although it is not expressly illegal per se, unless it is deemed to be promoting immorality, dissent or disloyalty. The government has created a national Consultative Council, and given permission for certain "societies" to exist; and limited non-partisan municipal elections were held in 2005. Yet, the Consultative Council is an appointed body with limited powers, and the legal societies have little ability to influence government policy. Labor unions are prohibited, as are political parties, although a few underground political parties do exist.Music and dance
One of Saudi Arabia's most compelling folk rituals is the Al ArdhaArdha
Ardah is a type of folkloric dance performed by the Bedouin tribes of Najd. It was traditionally performed before going to war. Originally "ardah" is for Shammr tribe, but nowadays is performed at celebrations or cultural events, such as the Jenadriyah festival. The dance, which is performed by...
, the country's national dance. This sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...
is based on ancient Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
traditions: drummers beat out a rhythm and a poet chants verses while sword-carrying men dance shoulder to shoulder. Al-sihba folk music, from the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
, has its origins in al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. In Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
and Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, dance and song incorporate the sound of the mizmar
Mizmar
In Arabic music, a mizmar is any single or double reed wind instrument. In Egypt, the term mizmar usually refers to the conical shawm that is called zurna in Turkey....
, an oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
-like woodwind instrument
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
in the performance of the mizmar dance
Mizmar (dance)
Mizmar is the name of a folkloric dance native to the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. The dance involves moving while twirling a bamboo cane, to the music of drums. The dance and music have strong African influences...
. The drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
is also an important instrument according to traditional and tribal customs. Samri
Samri
Samri is the name of a folkloric music and dance native to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It involves singing poetry while the daff drum is being played. Two rows of men, seated on the knees sway to the rhythm....
is a popular traditional form of music and dance in which poetry is sung.
There is also the Dabka dance in the north, and belly dance
Belly dance
Belly dance or Bellydance is a "Western"-coined name for a traditional "Middle Eastern" dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli...
for ladies with many styles, such as khaleeji style in the east, and saedi style in Hijaz. One other dance popular in the Arabian world is called the Dabka, a traditional form of unisex line dancing found in the Eastern Arab World. The dance is based on rhythmic stomping, stepping and jumping, completely synchronized to the drummer. This dance is usually danced in weddings and engagements by everyone of all ages.
Guitars are also prohibited, as they also do not 'fit' with Islam. Songs (words sung with musical instruments) are also not allowed; instead nasheeds are sung, which are basically a capella, songs without instruments. Nasheeds are usually religiously based, but not all are sung about religion.
Dress
Saudi Arabian dress follows strictly the principles of hijabHijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
(the Islamic principle of modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
, especially in dress). The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering, garments are helpful in Saudi Arabia's desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
climate. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb
Thawb
A thawb or thobe , dishdasha , kandura , or suriyah in Libya, is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. It is commonly worn in Arab countries. An Izaar is commonly worn underneath.-Background:...
), with a keffiyeh
Keffiyeh
The keffiyeh/kufiya , also known as a ghutrah , ' , mashadah , shemagh or in Persian chafiye , Kurdish cemedanî and Turkish puşi, is a traditional Arab headdress fashioned from a square, usually cotton, scarf. It is typically worn by Arab men, as well as some Kurds...
(a large checkered square of cotton held in place by a cord coil) or a ghutra
Keffiyeh
The keffiyeh/kufiya , also known as a ghutrah , ' , mashadah , shemagh or in Persian chafiye , Kurdish cemedanî and Turkish puşi, is a traditional Arab headdress fashioned from a square, usually cotton, scarf. It is typically worn by Arab men, as well as some Kurds...
(a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by a cord coil) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
-hair cloak (bisht
Bisht (clothing)
Bisht is a traditional Arabic men’s cloak popular in Saudi Arabia and some Arab countries. It is essentially a flowing outer cloak made of wool, worn over the thobe. Unlike the thobe, the bisht is soft, and it is usually black, brown, beige, cream or grey in colour...
) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliqués. Women are required to wear an abaya
Abaya
The abaya "cloak" , sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Islamic world including in Turkey, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
, niqab
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
or burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
when in public. The Saudi niqāb usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth. Many also have two or more sheer layers attached to the upper band, which can be worn flipped down to cover the eyes.
In recent years, there has been a blending of traditional attire with more fashion-forward styles.
Food
Islamic dietary lawsIslamic dietary laws
Islamic dietary laws provide direction on what is to be considered clean and unclean regarding diet and related issues.-Overview:Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are ' and which are '...
forbid the eating of pork and the drinking of alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
, and this law is enforced strictly throughout Saudi Arabia. The most popular food in Saudi Arabia is kabsa
Kabsa
Kabsa is a family of rice dishes that are served mostly in Saudi Arabia — where it is commonly regarded as a national dish — and the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Kabsa, though, is believed to be indigenous to Yemen...
, which is rice and meat. Arabic unleavened bread, or khubz
Khubz
Khubz, khoubz or khobz , an Arabic word for bread, but usually used by non-Arabic speakers to refer to a flatbread that forms a staple of the local diet in Arabic-speaking countries from the Arabian Peninsula to Morocco....
, is eaten with almost all meals. Other staples include lamb, grilled chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
, falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
(deep-fried chickpea balls), shawarma
Shawarma
Shawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...
(spit-cooked sliced lamb), and Ful medames
Ful Medames
Fūl medammis , or simply fūl, is an Egyptian dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice. A staple meal in Egypt, it is popular in the cuisines of the Levant, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.-History:The roots of fūl...
(a paste of fava beans
Vicia faba
This article refers to the Broad Bean plant. For Broadbean the company, see Broadbean, Inc.Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally...
, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
and lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
). Traditional coffeehouse
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
s used to be ubiquitous, but are now being displaced by food-hall style cafes. Arabic tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
is also a famous custom, which is used in both casual and formal meetings between friends, family and even strangers. The tea is black (without milk) and has herbal flavoring that comes in many variations.
Film and theatre
Public theatresTheater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
and cinemas
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
had been prohibited for over three decades, as Sunni tradition deemed those institutions to be incompatible with Islam. However, in June 2009, citizens finally got a chance to go to the movies when Menahi
Menahi
Menahi is a Saudi comedy film. Fayez al-Malki is the lead actor.-Further details:It opened in Riyadh in 2009; the opening of Menahi was the first time films were screened in Riyadh for several decades. Men and girls under 12 were permitted to go to the screening.- External links :*...
, a film produced by Rotana, owned by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
Al-Waleed bin Talal
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is a Saudi Arabian billionaire and member of the Saudi royal family. He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. An entrepreneur and international investor he has amassed a fortune through investments in real estate and the stock market.He is founder and CEO of...
, began showing in the King Fahd cultural centre in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
.
However, an IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theatre is available, and in private compounds such as Dhahran
Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran
Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran, casually known by its inhabitants as the Dhahran Camp, is the residential community built by Saudi Aramco for its employees...
and Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf...
public theaters can be found, but often are more popular for local music, arts, and theatre productions rather than the exhibition of motion pictures. DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
retail sales, including Arabic, English and Indian language movies, are legal and widely available.
Literature
Some Saudi novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ists have had their books published in Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, because of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
in Saudi Arabia. Despite signs of increasing openness, Saudi novelists and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and the visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
face greater restrictions on their freedom of expression than in the West. Contemporary Saudi novelists include:
- Abdul Rahman MunifAbdul Rahman MunifAbdul Rahman Munif is one of the most important Arabic novelists of the 20th century.He is most noted for closely reflecting the political surroundings of his day.-Life:...
(exiled, now deceased) - Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
- Abdu Khal
- Turki al-HamadTurki al-HamadTurki al-Hamad is a Saudi-Arabian political analyst, journalist, and novelist, best known for his trilogy about the coming-of-age of Hisham al-Abir, a Saudi Arabian teenager, the first installment of which, Adama, was published in 1998...
(subject of a fatwāFatwaA fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
and death threats) - Ali al-Domaini (in jail)
- Ahmed Abodehman (now writes in French)
- Raja'a AlemRaja'a AlemRaja'a Alem is a Saudi Arabian novelist from Mecca/Hejaz.She received her BA in English Literature...
- Abdullah Al-emi
- Rajaa Al SanieRajaa al-SaneaRajaa al-Sanea is a Saudi writer who became famous through her novel Girls of Riyadh, or Banat al-Riyadh. The book was first published in Lebanon in 2005 and in English in 2007. The book was long-listed for the Dublin Literary Award in 2009...
, author of best-selling novel Girls of RiyadhGirls of RiyadhGirls of Riyadh, or Banat al-Riyadh, is a novel by Rajaa Alsanea. The book, written in the form of e-mails, recounts the personal lives of four young Saudi girls, Lamees, Michelle , Gamrah, and Sadeem.-Plot summary:...
Religion
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy in which Islam is the official religion; the law requires that all Saudi citizens be Muslims. Religious freedom is non-existent. The Government does not provide legal recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely restricted in practice.Moreover, the public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited.
The Saudi Mutaween
Mutaween
The word mutaween most literally means "volunteers" in the Arabic language, and is commonly used as a casual term for the government-authorized or government-recognized religious police of Saudi Arabia....
(Arabic: مطوعين), or Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (i.e., the religious police), enforces the prohibition on the public practice of non-Muslim religions.
For this reason, Saudi culture lacks the diversity of religious expression, buildings, annual festivals and public events that is seen in countries where religious freedom is permitted.