let us start with the history of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabs grew out of the larger group of nomadic inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula, who were known as “Arab.” The prophet Muhammad briefly unified the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula at the beginning of the Islamic religion in the 7th Century, but this unity was short-lived as the newly established Arab empire migrated north into Iraq, where the Abbasid Caliphate was established. The term “Arab” is now largely a cultural/linguistic designation, embracing various national, regional, and religious groups in several different countries.
The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula lacked a common cultural and ethnic identity until the 18th Century when Abd al-Wahhab and Muhammad Ibn Saud sought to unify the peninsula based on their shared religious-political philosophy. Al-Wahhab was a religious scholar who objected to what he called deviations from strict Islamic teachings and practices. Al-Wahhab advocated a return to the original Islam as practiced at the time of the prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century. Al-Wahhab reinforced the notion that the Saudi Arab identity is closely tied to the early events of Islam, which occurred on Saudi territory in the Hijaz in the 8th Century A.D.
FACTS AND STATISTICS OF SAUDI ARABIA
Official name: Al-Mamlakah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Suʿūdiyyah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Form of government: Monarchy
Head of state and government: King: Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Capital: Riyadh
Official language: Arabic
Official religion: Islam
Monetary unit: Saudi riyal (SR)
Population: (2014 est.) 30,955,000
Total area (sq mi): 830,000
Total area (sq km): 2,149,690
Urban-rural population Urban: (2012) 82.5%
Rural: (2012) 17.5%
Life expectancy at birth: Male- (2011) 73 years
Female- (2011) 75.2 years
Literacy (percentage of population age 15 and over literate): Male- (2008) 89.5%
Female- (2008) 80.2%
GNI per capita (U.S.$): (2013) 26,200
King Salman bin Abdulaziz acceded to the throne after the death of King Abdullah on January 23, 2015. He was designated Crown Prince, and appointed Deputy Prime Minister, by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on June 18, 2012, upon the death of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz. As Crown Prince, King Salman also serves as Minister of Defense.
King Salman was born in Riyadh on Dec. 31, 1935, and received his education at the Prince’s School in Riyadh. He served as Deputy Governor of Riyadh from March 1954 to April 1955, and Governor of Riyadh from April 1955 to December 1960 and again from February 1963 to Nov. 5, 2011, when he was appointed Minister of Defense.
Since 1956, King Salman has chaired various humanitarian and service committees that provide relief from natural and man-made disasters. For his humanitarian services, he has been awarded many medals and decorations, including awards from Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Morocco, Palestine, the Philippines, Senegal, the United Nations, Yemen, and the King Abdulaziz Medal - First Class.
He is a recipient of several honorary degrees and academic awards, including an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah, the King Salman academic award, and the Kant Medal by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in appreciation of his contributions to the field of science.
Maps of Saudi Arabia
We'll continue on this topic in the next entry. Till next time guys. :)
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