Culture of Saudi Arabia

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, often more so than in other Muslim countries.

The Sharia (Islamic law) is enforced by the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (also known as Haia or Mutaween), who patrol the streets "enjoining good and forbidding wrong".

[38] 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.

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.

"[46] 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.

(Foreign women in Saudi Arabia are "encouraged" by the religious police to wear an abaya, or at least cover their hair according to The New York Times.

[63] [64] As of 2008, 90% of those employed in the private sector were foreigners,[65] and several decades long efforts to replace significant numbers of them with Saudis have been unsuccessful.

[66][67][68][69][70][71] One explanation for this culture of leisure is the hot, dry climate of the peninsula which allowed nomadic herding but permitted agriculture only in a small area (the southwest corner).

[77] For men, traditional hours involve a nap in late afternoon (after work if they are employed), and then socializing that begins after maghrib (roughly between 5 and 6:30 pm) and can last until well after midnight.

Men typically relax, and joke while smoking shisha and playing balot (a card game), and have a meal around midnight before returning home.

Folk beliefs such as "which foot to step first into the bathroom with, or urinating on the wheel of a new car to ward off the evil eye," hold an important place.

This emphasis on rhetoric is reflected in foreign affairs where, for example, the government "regularly condemns the State of Israel in the most vehement and bloodcurdling terms but rarely takes action.

Foreigners may also be struck by the lack of finishing touches in construction ("Electrical switches may protrude from the wall supported only by their wiring") or maintenance ("Piles of masonry are likely to lie scattered beside and on the streets of expensive suburbs").

[121] While women were forbidden to drive motor vehicles until June 24, 2018[123] and were consequently limited in mobility, they traditionally have often had considerable informal power in the home.

Chairman of the Human Rights Committee at the Shoura Council, Dr. Hadi Al-Yami, said that introduced controls were based on in-depth studies presented to the body.

[140] Under Saudi law, every adult female must have a male relative as her "guardian",[139] whose permission she is required to have in order to travel, study, or work.

In health, obesity is a problem among middle and upper class Saudi women, who have domestic servants to do traditional work and have limited ability to leave their house.

Estimates of the young population of Saudi Arabia vary: Factors such as the decline in per capita income from the failure of oil revenue to keep up with population growth, exposure to youth lifestyles of the outside world, lack of access to quality education and employment opportunity, change in child rearing practices and attitudes towards the ruling royal family—indicate their lives and level of satisfaction will be different than the generation before them.

Consequently, according to John R. Bradley, they both "lack the authority... to discipline those in their care", and the ability and knowledge to "pass down by example the core Islamic values and traditions that have always formed the bedrock of Saudi society.

Moreover, their royal rulers' profligate and often non-Islamic lifestyles are increasingly transparent to Saudis and stand in sharp contrast both to Al Saud religious pretensions and to their own declining living standards.

[169] The average age of the king and crown prince is 74,[170] while 50–60% of Saudis are under twenty, creating a significant generation gap between rulers and ruled.

[169] Nearly two-thirds of university graduates earn degrees in Islamic subjects,[175] where job prospects are in the public sector, dependent on government revenues.

[189] A 2004 law passed by Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers, entitles Muslim[190] expatriates of all nationalities (except Palestinian) who have resided in the kingdom for ten years to apply for citizenship with priority being given to holders of degrees in various scientific fields.

According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2014, there was a "worrying trend" of expatriate domestic workers filing "complaints of exploitation and abuse" only to face counter-allegations by their employers of "theft, witchcraft or adultery."

41 expat workers from just one country, Indonesia, faced "possible death sentences" in Saudi Arabia on charges "ranging from black magic to stealing, adultery and murder".

[6] The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia states that the media's role is to educate and inspire national unity, and are prohibited from acts that lead "to disorder and division".

The inclusion followed international criticism for years of exclusion,[221] but was controversial in the kingdom, and "prompted some to abuse the morals" of the athletes on social media.

They were two runner Sarah Attar, and Cariman Abu al-Jadail joined by judo athlete Wujud Fahmi and fencing competitor Lubna al-Omair.

As one non-Saudi described it, the performance consists of: "barefooted males clad in their normal street clothes of thobe and gutra jumping up and down mostly in one spot while wielding swords".

[237] All cinemas and theaters were closed in 1980 as a political response to the Islamic revival and the increase in Islamist activism, most particularly the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.