Islam in Saudi Arabia

Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina . The mosque also has a tomb of prophet Muhammad and the first two caliphs , Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab The vast majority of the people of Saudi Arabia are Sunni Muslims . Approximately 2 million citizens are Shi'a Muslims, the vast majority of whom live in the Eastern Province, where they constitute between 40 and 50 percent of the Province's citizen population. Islam is the established religion, and as such its institutions receive government support. Non-Muslim population of Saudi Arabia are mostly foreign workers. Saudi Arabia has an estimated foreign population of 6 to 7 million. The foreign population includes approximately 1.4 million Indians , 1 million Bangladeshis , nearly 900,000 Pakistanis , 800,000 Filipinos , 750,000 Egyptians , 250,000 Palestinians , 150,000 Lebanese , 130,000 Sri Lankans , 40,000 Eritreans , and 30,000 Americans . Comprehensive statistics for the religious denominations of foreigners are not available; however, they include Muslims from the various branches and schools of Islam, Christians, and Hindus. Approximately 90 percent of the Filipino community is Christian. Conference of Catholic Bishops estimates there are considerably more than 500,000 Catholics in the country and perhaps as many as 1 million.

Around 15% [2] of citizens are Shia Muslims , most of whom live in the Eastern Province , with the largest concentrations in Qatif , Al-Ahsa , and Dammam , another large concentrations is found in Najran , in addition to a small minority in Medina . Islam is the established religion, and as such its institutions receive government support. Non-Muslim populations of Saudi Arabia are dominantly found in populations of foreign workers. Saudi Arabia has an estimated foreign population of 8 million, most of whom are Muslim. The foreign population reportedly includes 1.5 million Indians , 1.5 million Bangladeshis , 1.2 million Filipinos , 1 million Pakistanis , 1 million Egyptians , 600,000 Indonesians , 400,000 Sri Lankans , 350,000 Nepalese , 250,000 Palestinians , 150,000 Lebanese , 100,000 Eritreans , and 30,000 Americans . Comprehensive statistics for the religious denominations of foreigners are not available; however, they include Muslims from the various branches and schools of Islam, Christians, and Hindus.

Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia . The connection between Islam and Saudi Arabia (or at least the western Hejaz region of the country) is uniquely strong. The kingdom, which sometimes is called the "home of Islam", is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina , where Muhammad , the messenger of the Islamic faith, lived and died, and attracts millions of Muslim Hajj pilgrims annually, and thousands of clerics and students who come from across the Muslim world to study. The official title of the King of Saudi Arabia is " Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques "—the two being Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina—which are considered the holiest in Islam. In the 18th century, a pact between Islamic preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and a regional emir, Muhammad bin Saud , brought a fiercely puritanical strain of Sunni Islam first to the Najd region and then to the Arabian Peninsula . Referred to by supporters as " Salafism " and by others as " Wahhabism ", this interpretation of Islam became the state religion and interpretation of Islam espoused by Muhammad bin Saud and his successors (the Al Saud family), who eventually created the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The Saudi government has spent tens of billions of dollars of its petroleum export revenue throughout the Islamic world and elsewhere on building mosques, publishing books, giving scholarships and fellowships, hosting international Islamic organisations, and promoting its form of Islam, sometimes referred to as "petro-Islam". Whether Salafis/Wahhabis are a majority in Saudi Arabia is disputed, with one estimate putting their number at only 22.9% of the native population (concentrated in Najd). The Wahhabi mission has been dominant in Najd for two hundred years, but in most other parts of the country—Hejaz, the Eastern Province , Najran —it has dominated only since 1913–1925. Most of the 15 to 20 million Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims, while the eastern regions are populated mostly by Twelver Shia , and there are Zaydi Shia in the southern regions. According to a number of sources, only a minority of Saudis consider themselves Wahhabis, although according to other sources, the Wahhabi affiliation is up to 40%, making it a very dominant minority, at the very least using a native population of 17 million based on "2008-9 estimates". In addition, the next largest affiliation is with Salafism, which encompasses all of the central principles of Wahhabism, with a number of minor additional accepted principles differentiating the two. Proselytizing by non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials (such as the Bible ), is illegal. The New York Review of Books . 51 (16). This is, after all, the birthplace of Muhammad and of the Arabic language, the locus of Muslim holy cities, the root of tribal Arab trees, and also, historically, a last redoubt against foreign incursions into Arab and Muslim lands. The kingdom is in many ways a unique experiment. It is the only modern Muslim state to have been created by jihad,[10] the only one to claim the Koran as its constitution, and [the only Arab-]Muslim countries to have escaped European imperialism. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam . trans. The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia . The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries and consequently its religious culture was pluralistic, with the four Sunni legal schools, various Sufi orders and a tiny Shia community around Medina. ... Hijazis naturally regarded the reintroduction of Saudi rule with much apprehension, ... The Oxford Dictionary of Islam .

State religion The Kaaba in Mecca is the holiest site of Islam . Salafi Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia . The connection between Islam and modern-day Saudi Arabia is uniquely strong. The kingdom is called the "home of Islam"; the kingdom is also the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad , with all territories of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula being united and ruled by him. It is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina , where Muhammad , the messenger of the Islamic faith, lived and died. The kingdom attracts millions of Muslim Hajj pilgrims annually, and thousands of clerics and students who come from across the Muslim world to study. The official title of the King of Saudi Arabia is " Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques "—the two being Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina—which are considered the holiest in Islam. In the 18th century, a pact between Islamic preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and a regional emir, Muhammad bin Saud , brought a new form of Islam (Salifism) of Sunni Islam first to the Najd region and then to the Arabian Peninsula . Referred to by supporters as " Salafism " and by others as " Wahhabism ", this interpretation of Islam became the state religion and interpretation of Islam espoused by Muhammad bin Saud and his successors (the Al Saud family), who eventually created the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The Saudi government has spent tens of billions of dollars of its petroleum export revenue throughout the Islamic world and elsewhere on building mosques, publishing books, giving scholarships and fellowships, hosting international Islamic organisations, and promoting its form of Islam, sometimes referred to as "petro-Islam". The Wahhabi mission has been dominant in Najd for two hundred years, but in most other parts of the country—Hejaz, the Eastern Province , Najran —it has dominated only since 1913–1925. Most of the 15 to 20 million Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims, while the eastern regions are populated mostly by Twelver Shia , and there are Zaydi Shia in the southern regions. According to a number of sources, only a minority of Saudis consider themselves Wahhabis, although according to other sources, the Wahhabi affiliation is up to 40%, making it a very dominant minority, at the very least using a native population of 17 million based on "2008–09 estimates". In addition, the next largest affiliation is with Salafism, which encompasses all of the central principles of Wahhabism, with a number of minor additional accepted principles differentiating the two. Public worship and proselytising by non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials (such as the Bible ), is illegal. Starting in 2017, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , dramatic changes have been made in religious policy, including the elimination of the power of the religious police , the lifting of bans on amusement parks, cinemas, concert venues, and driving of motor vehicles by women. In a 2014 survey, conducted for the Boston Consultancy Group report on Saudi youth , it was found that 97% of the young Saudis consider Islam "as the main influence that shapes their identity." Bradley, John R. The New York Review of Books . 51 (16). This is, after all, the birthplace of Muhammad and of the Arabic language, the locus of Muslim holy cities, the root of tribal Arab trees, and also, historically, a last redoubt against foreign incursions into Arab and Muslim lands. The kingdom is in many ways a unique experiment. It is the only modern Muslim state to have been created by jihad,[10] the only one to claim the Koran as its constitution, and [the only Arab-]Muslim countries to have escaped European imperialism. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam . trans. The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia . The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries and consequently its religious culture was pluralistic, with the four Sunni legal schools, various Sufi orders and a tiny Shia community around Medina.... Hijazis naturally regarded the reintroduction of Saudi rule with much apprehension, ... The Oxford Dictionary of Islam .

The Kaaba in Mecca is the holiest site in Islam Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia . The kingdom is called the "home of Islam" as it was the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , who united and ruled the Arabian Peninsula . It is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina , where Prophet Muhammad lived and died, and are now the two holiest cities of Islam . The kingdom attracts millions of Muslim Hajj pilgrims annually, and thousands of clerics and students who come from across the Muslim world to study. The official title of the King of Saudi Arabia is " Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques "—the two being Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina—which are considered the holiest in Islam. In the 18th century, a pact between Islamic preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and a regional emir, Muhammad bin Saud , brought a revival of Islam (Salafism - that is, following the Quran and Sunnah in light of the interpretation of ‘As Salaf As Salih’) of Sunni Islam first to the Najd region and then to the Arabian Peninsula . Referred to by supporters as " Salafism " and by others as " Wahhabism ", this interpretation of Islam became the state religion and interpretation of Islam espoused by Muhammad bin Saud and his successors (the Al Saud family), who eventually created the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The Saudi government has spent tens of billions of dollars of its petroleum export revenue throughout the Islamic world and elsewhere on building mosques, publishing books, giving scholarships and fellowships, hosting international Islamic organisations, and promoting its form of Islam, sometimes referred to as " petro-Islam ". The mission to call to Islam the way the Salaf practiced it has been dominant in Najd for two hundred years, but in most other parts of the country—Hejaz, the Eastern Province , Najran —it has dominated only since 1913–1925. Most of the 15 to 20 million Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims, while the eastern regions are populated mostly by Twelver Shia , and there are Zaydi Shia in the southern regions. According to a number of sources, only a minority of Saudis consider themselves Wahhabis, although according to other sources, the Wahhabi affiliation is up to 40%, making it a very dominant minority, at the very least using a native population of 17 million based on "2008–09 estimates". In addition, the next largest affiliation is with Salafism, which encompasses all of the central principles of Islam, with a number of minor additional accepted principles differentiating the two. In a 2014 survey, conducted for the Boston Consultancy Group report on Saudi youth , it was found that 97% of the young Saudis consider Islam "as the main influence that shapes their identity." Public worship and proselytising by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials (such as the Bible ), is illegal in Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Starting in late 2017, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , dramatic changes have been made in religious policy, including the elimination of the power of the religious police , the lifting of bans on amusement parks, cinemas, concert venues, and driving of motor vehicles by women. The New York Review of Books . 51 (16). This is, after all, the birthplace of Muhammad and of the Arabic language, the locus of Muslim holy cities, the root of tribal Arab trees, and also, historically, a last redoubt against foreign incursions into Arab and Muslim lands. The kingdom is in many ways a unique experiment. It is the only modern Muslim state to have been created by jihad,[10] the only one to claim the Koran as its constitution, and [the only Arab-]Muslim countries to have escaped European imperialism. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam . trans. The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia . The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries and consequently its religious culture was pluralistic, with the four Sunni legal schools, various Sufi orders and a tiny Shia community around Medina.... Hijazis naturally regarded the reintroduction of Saudi rule with much apprehension, ... The Oxford Dictionary of Islam . Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .