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A minaret of a mosque is seen at the left, foreground, of Mina tent city, which is set up for hajj pilgrims just outside the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Jan. 30, 2004. The pilgrimage is required once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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INDEPTH: SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia
CBC News Online | Updated August 2, 2005
Modern Saudi Arabia was formed in the 20th century as Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud re-claimed much of the territory once controlled by the first al Saud Empire centuries earlier. He had his sights set on expanding that empire into present-day Jordan and Syria but the British influence in the area acted as a deterrent.
The modern state was founded in 1932 built on a strong Islamic belief system (the flag is inscribed with the phrase "There is no God but God; and Muhammad is his Messenger").
It's a conservative Islamic system based upon the Wahhabi reform movement. Wahhabism is Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Islam – one that adheres to a literal translation of the Qur'an.
Saudi Arabia has always been under the control of the original founder or his sons. The leadership is gained only through heredity and the king acts as both chief of state and head of government.
The present king, Fahd, is known for having close ties with the U.S. After Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, de-facto control shifted to Crown Prince Abdullah.
Oil
At around the same time the modern state of Saudi Arabia was being established, the country's vast oil reserves were being probed by foreign oil companies. Geologists with the Standard Oil Company of California (later re-named the Arabian American Oil Company, or Aramco) made the first major finds in the eastern part of the country and secured a 60-year deal for exclusive rights.
This was the first major development in Saudi Arabia's oil industry – today the world's largest, producing 421 million tonnes of oil in 2001 and accounting for 11.8 per cent of total world production.
Relations with Canada
About 25 per cent of residents in Saudi Arabia are from elsewhere. There are about 2,500 Canadians registered in Saudi Arabia, including almost 1,800 in the Riyadh area, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Not all Canadians register when they arrive, or notify the embassy when they leave, so exact numbers are difficult to ascertain.
Canada established formal relations with Saudi Arabia in 1976, with the development of a Joint Economic Commission to discuss trade and economic issues. Today, most trade between the countries originates in Saudi Arabia in the form of oil. Saudi exports to Canada topped $800 million in 2001, versus $327 million worth of imports from Canada.
Official visits between Canada and Saudi Arabia have been few and far between. In 2000, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien met with Crown Prince Abdullah in Jeddah as part of a Middle East tour. It was the first such visit by a Canadian prime minister in more than 20 years.
One year later, relations between the two countries were strained when William Sampson, a Canadian, was sentenced to death by a Saudi court after he confessed to bombings that killed a British engineer and left three other persons injured. Human rights groups accused Saudi Arabia of using torture to force the confession. After 2½ years in a Saudi jail, Sampson was released in August 2003, after King Fahd granted him clemency.
Sampson has also accused the Saudis of torture, and says Canadian officials did nothing to help him. The Saudis deny he was tortured.
Elections
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is just that – a kingdom. In over 70 years of existence it has been ruled exclusively by members of the Saud family. And members of the country's ruling structure, from the top down, have been appointed. But that may be about to change.
On October 13, 2003, Saudi Arabia dropped a shocker, calling for municipal elections within one year. This move away from convention can be attributed to the influence of Crown Prince Abdullah, grandson of Abdul Aziz and next in line to the Saudi throne.
While municipal elections are a far cry from a national election, the announcement has been taken as a positive sign that Saudi Arabia may have begun a tentative move toward democratization. It's also a sign that neighbouring countries could follow suit.
2003 Iraq War
Saudi Arabia initially said it would not join a second war in Iraq, but agreed to allow the U.S.-led coalition to use its airspace and the Prince Sultan Air Base. Two weeks after the attack was launched, government-appointed clerics told Saudi leaders that Saddam and his regime weren't worth fighting for. However, there have been reports that some Saudis crossed the border and joined the Iraqi regime's fight against coalition forces.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud told the Associated Press on Aug.7, 2002, that the Iraqi people alone must choose their leader, as opposed to armed forces effecting a leadership change.
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