The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism

Cambridge Middle East Studies #46

by Toby Matthiesen

Toby Matthiesen traces the politics of the Shia in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from the nineteenth century until the present day. This book outlines the difficult experiences of being Shia in a Wahhabi state, and casts new light on how the Shia have mobilised politically to change their position. Shia petitioned the rulers, joined secular opposition parties and founded Islamist movements. Most Saudi Shia opposition activists profited from an amnesty in 1993 and subsequently found a place in civil society and the public sphere. However, since 2011 a new Shia protest movement has again challenged the state. The Other Saudis shows how exclusionary state practices created an internal Other and how sectarian discrimination has strengthened Shia communal identities. The book is based on little-known Arabic sources, extensive fieldwork in Saudi Arabia and interviews with key activists. Of immense geopolitical importance, the oil-rich Eastern Province is a crucial but little known factor in regional politics and Gulf security.

Genres: History, Middle East, Nonfiction, Religion

Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2014

About the author

Toby Matthiesen is a Research Fellow in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. His first book “Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn’t” was published by Stanford University Press in 2013. The book examines the root causes of sectarianism and examines how the Gulf states responded to protests at home and in the wider Arab world. From 2007 to 2011 he wrote his doctorate on the politicisation of Saudi Arabia’s Shia community at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. His second book, "The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism", which is based on his PhD, is published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.

Reviews

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Other Saudis" is little more or less than a history of Shia in Saudi Arabia, written in narrative form. Niblets of analysis are isolated to the introduction and conclusion and total a mere few pages. I hoped for a little more. Nevertheless, Matthiesen's source spelunking is quite spectacular -- he has certainly produced the defining post-Arab Spring historical narrative of Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, sifting hundreds of obscure books, manuscripts, articles, and personal interviews. The finished product is impressive, but, again, a little skinny in the analysis department.

On the other hand, there aren't groundbreaking conclusions at which to arrive concerning Saudi Shia, so perhaps it's unfair to fault Matthiesen for being able to fill a few pages with them. Saudi Shia are marginalized, repressed, and have bleak prospects. Shia notables from the Eastern Province have too much to lose from their relationship with the royal family to throw it all away by defending Shia grievances. Consequently, Shia have few viable means by which to interface with the state. Further, Saudi Shia are stuck in a political system founded on puritanical Sunni Islam -- the royal family's political legitimacy rests primarily on its religious legitimacy, which in turn rests in large part on maintain Sunni Islam's purity from heresy. And Shiism is heresy in this Saudi doctrinal milieu. Hence Shia demands for equal representation in Saudi political bodies and an end to state-sponsored vilification necessarily butts up against the state's interest in perpetuating the Sunni-Shia division within Saudi Arabia in order to highlight the regime's religious bona fides. In short, Saudi Shia ought not expect their century-old demands to be met with anything more than official posturing and feigning and coopting of the Shia notables that represent the Shia masses. This is enough for the state to keep the Shia quiescent enough so that they can continue to be an ideological punching bag for Saudi Sunni, which serves the royal family quite well.

[Hussain Alrebeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed informative book that is based on Arabic sources. I was surprised for several time of the much of details written by a non-Qatifi person. Highly recommended for those who have researches or interested about Shia in Saudi Arabia.

[Yousif Elbeltagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I teared up upon finishing this book as it is the only English-language book that talks extensively and exclusively about Qatif. While a historical and contemporary political analysis, I felt every page on a deep and personal level. I hope one day to share this book with the people I care about.

[Jessica Harn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by one of the leading experts on the Shia minority in Saudi Arabia, this book accurately describes the human rights abuses in Eastern Saudi Arabia

[Yas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book highlights the changes and the downturns of circumstances and the status of the shia before(during the Ottomans) and after the creation of Saudi Arabia as a state..The book clearly explains that Shias will never been treated as equal citizens unless the social contract of the Saudi state is challenged. i.e. meaning that the Wahhabi discourse as a foundation of religious nationalism must be discarded.

For me, the best and possibly the saddest part of the book is the consistent theme of the Shia notables and their failure to better the situation of their "lot" by pinning their hopes on their ruling elites to adopt an accommodationist and agreeable stance towards the demands of the sect. A policy that led to very little gains that could be retracted or turn into a bargaining chip against the restless shias at any point the ruling family sees fit.

[Sagheer Afzal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conclusion at the end of the chapters were better than the chapters. The author highlighted the problems Shias face in Saudi Arabia and mentioned that the government were responsible for promoting the sectarianism between the Shias and Sunni's but never gave any details of how they do this. The chapters are tersely written as though they were newspaper articles but the book does give you a brief idea of the plight of Shias in Saudi Arabia.

[Audrey E · Rating 3 out of 5]

lacroix pls see this