Madrakah | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Madrakah Location in Saudi Arabia | |
| Coordinates: 21°58′47″N39°59′15″E / 21.97972°N 39.98750°E Coordinates: 21°58′47″N39°59′15″E / 21.97972°N 39.98750°E | |
| Country |  Saudi Arabia |
| Province | Makkah Province |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EAT) |
Madrakah is a village in Makkah Province, in western Saudi Arabia. [1] It is noted as being the first Saudi municipality to elect a woman, Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi, to its respective Municipal council. [2]
The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a totalitarian absolute monarchy with 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 senior princes of the royal family and the religious establishment. The Qur'an is declared to be the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of Islamic law (Shari'a). The Allegiance Council is responsible to determine the new King and the new Crown Prince. All citizens of full age have a right to attend, meet, and petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis.
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a country in Western Asia constituting the vast majority of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest sovereign state in Western Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, the fifth-largest in Asia, and the 12th-largest in the world. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south; it is separated from Egypt and Israel in the north-west by the Gulf of Aqaba. Saudi Arabia is the only country with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe and mountains. As of October 2018, the Saudi economy was the largest in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world. Saudi Arabia also has one of the world's youngest populations, with approximately 50 percent of its population of 34.2 million being under 25 years old.
The House of 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 (1744–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Ibn Saud, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia. The family in total is estimated to comprise some 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them.
The States of Saudi Arabia, also known as Regions , and officially the Emirates of the States of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. The son of Rafic Hariri, he founded and has been leading the Future Movement party since 2007. He is seen as "the strongest figurehead" of the March 14 Alliance.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are the seven Arab states which border the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All of these states except Iraq are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and prefer to use the term "Arabian Gulf" rather than the historical name of the Persian Gulf.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is his royal highness Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al-Saud
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist, dissident, author, columnist for The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also served as editor for the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, women's rights in Saudi Arabia have been limited in comparison to the rights of women in many of its neighboring countries. However, since Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince in 2017, a series of social reforms have been witnessed regarding women's rights. The World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 141 out of 144 countries for gender parity, down from 134 out of 145 in 2015. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected Saudi Arabia to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women for 2018–2022, in a move that was widely criticised by the international community. Women in Saudi Arabia constituted 34.4% of the native workforce as of 2019, ahead from 13% of the country's native workforce in 2015.
Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Saudi Arabia. Its current headquarters is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is Saudi Arabia's representative at the International Cricket Council, and has been a member of the Council since 2003. It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council.
Samir al Shihabi, served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1991 to 1992.
The 2013 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 October 2013 during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The Assembly elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2014. The following day, Saudi Arabia announced that it was declining the seat, accusing UNSC of using "double standards" and being unable to resolve important issues in the Middle East. A second round of voting therefore took place on 6 December, in which Jordan was elected to the council in lieu of Saudi Arabia.
The protests in Saudi Arabia were part of the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Protests started with a self-immolation in Samtah and Jeddah street protests in late January 2011. Protests against anti-Shia discrimination followed in February and early March in Qatif, Hofuf, al-Awamiyah, and Riyadh. A Facebook organiser of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad, was allegedly killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, with several hundred people protesting in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah on the day itself. Khaled al-Johani demonstrated alone in Riyadh, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, was detained in ʽUlaysha Prison, and became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". Many protests over human rights took place in April 2011 in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk and in January 2012 in Riyadh. In 2011, Nimr al-Nimr encouraged his supporters in nonviolent resistance.
Elections were held in Saudi Arabia on 12 December 2015 for municipal councils, which have limited decision-making powers on local issues such as rubbish collection and street maintenance. The previous two elections, in 2005 and 2011, were for half the council seats and were open to male candidates and voters only. The 2015 election was for two thirds of the council seats, on 284 municipal councils, with both male and female candidates and voters. This was the first election in Saudi Arabia in which women were allowed to vote, the first in which they were allowed to run for office, and the first in which women were elected as politicians.
The Society for Development and Change is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation started in September 2011 that campaigns for equal human rights for Shia in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The organisation calls for a constitution and elected legislature for Eastern Province.
Television in Saudi Arabia was introduced in 1954,dominated by just four major companies: Middle East Broadcasting Center, SM Enterprise TV, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, Rotana and Saudi TV. Together, they control 80% of the pan-Arabe broadcasting market. Saudi Arabia is a major market for pan-Arab satellite and pay-TV. Saudi investors are behind the major networks MBC, which is based in Dubai, and Emirates based OSN. The Saudi government estimated that in 2000 the average Saudi spent 50% to 100% more time watching television than his or her European or US counterpart. On average, 2.7 hours are spent daily watching TV in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, colloquially known as MBS, is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He is currently serving as the country's deputy prime minister and is also Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, Chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs, and Minister of Defense – the world's youngest at the time of his appointment. He has been described as the power behind the throne of his father, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. He was appointed crown prince in June 2017 following King Salman's decision to remove Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef from all positions, making Mohammed bin Salman heir-designate to the throne.
The Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen is an intervention launched by Saudi Arabia on 26 March 2015, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, in response to calls from the pro-Saudi president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Safa Club is a sports club, based in Saudi Arabia, that competes in the Saudi Second Division. The club's headquarters are located in the Safwa City in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia near Dammam and King Fahd International Airport. The facilities of Al-Safa club have been built to the highest standards and include international standard football pitch with an international track and field, swimming pool, indoor volleyball, handball and basketball hall, outdoor tennis, volleyball, handball and basketball courts in addition to a full facility gym and indoor squash courts.
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