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The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consultation among the King, the Council of Ministers, Islamic scholars, tribal leaders and other traditional elites of the society. Saudi government is authoritarian, although some analysts have characterized the government of Mohammed bin Salman as totalitarian. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. Under his rule, he has centralized policymaking, purged competing political elites, and dismantled pre-existing power-sharing dynamics.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic absolute monarchy in which Sunni Islam is the official state religion based on firm Sharia law. Non-Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination and arrest. While no law requires all citizens to be Muslim, non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Children born to Muslim fathers are by law deemed Muslim.
The House of Al Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. It forms a subtribe of the larger prominent ancient Banu Hanifa tribe of Arabia, from which well known 7th century Arabian theologist Maslama ibn Ḥabīb originates. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarch. The family in total is estimated to comprise 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family's wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion. This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves, making them the wealthiest family in the world and the wealthiest in recorded history.
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References
- 1 2 "Abdullah Alaoudh". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ Alaoudh, Abdullah. "Opinion | Biden must not betray defenders of democracy in Saudi Arabia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ Freedom Forward (22 September 2022). "Abdullah Alaoudh joins Freedom Forward's Advisory Board". Freedom Forward. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- 1 2 "Abdullah Alaoudh - ACMCU". Acmcu.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ "BBC News - HARDtalk, Abdullah Alaoudh - Senior Fellow, Georgetown University". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ Alaoudh, Abdullah (30 December 2020). "Opinion | Saudi Arabia Is Slowly Killing My Father - The New York Times". The New York Times . Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ "Saudi execution of scholar Salman al-Odah would be 'state-sanctioned murder', son says". Middle East Eye. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2023.