The political system in Saudi Arabia - Term Paper Example

?The political system in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian political system is extremely different from political systems in other parts of the world. Even among gulf countries, Saudi’s political system stands separately. It should be noted that democracy and communism are the major political systems in other parts of the world. However, in Middle East and Saudi Arabia Islamic rules are prevailing. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abdul Aziz bin Saud. Since then Saudi Arabia was ruled by somebody from Abdul Aziz bin Saud’s family. Ibn Saud’s son, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been the ruler since 2005, though he had been regent from 1996, due to the illness of his brother King Fahad. The King’s heir apparent is Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who also holds the title of Deputy Prime Minister, and who is a half-brother of the King (The Political System of Saudi Arabia) In political terms one can say that absolute monarchy is prevailing in Saudi Arabia. Absolute monarchy is exists when the ruler has power beyond the constitution and laws of the country. In Saudi Arabia, the King holds supreme power beyond the limits of constitution and law. Political observers are surprised to see the developments in Saudi Arabia even without a democratic or communist government. Many people have the illusion that only democracy or communism like stable political ideologies can bring developments in a country. But the case of Saudi Arabia is entirely different. Even without these political institutions, Saudi taught the external world that a country can develop properly with the help of visionary leadership. This paper compares the political systems in Saudi Arabia with that in other parts of the world. The King is also the prime minister, chief of state, the head of government, and commander in chief of the military of Saudi Arabia. The King’s Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, is appointed by the King every four years, and includes many family members. There are 22 government ministries that are part of the Cabinet. The monarchy is hereditary, so there are no elections for the role (The Political System of Saudi Arabia). It should be noted that in Iran like gulf countries, President and the commander in chief are separate persons whereas in Saudi Arabia, these positions are held by the King himself. In other words, the responsibilities of the Saudi king are extremely large compared to the responsibilities of other gulf political leaders. However, the King appoints a Crown Prince to help him in administrative matters. “The Crown Prince is second in line to the throne” (About Saudi Arabia). In Iran, President holds the power of the president as well as prime minister. However, a cabinet is there both in Iran to assist the president in administrative matters. In India, all the administrative matters are done by the president and his colleagues. Elections are conducted in Iran once in every four years to elect the president. But in Saudi Arabia, no parliament elections are conducted even though ministries and cabinet are functioning in Saudi also. Saudi ministry and cabinet are nominated by the King. Other gulf countries such as UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman etc also have similar political systems as that in Saudi Arabia. In all these countries absolute monarchy is prevailing and the King holds the supreme power in all administrative matters. “Saudi legislative council is made up of a Consultative Council (also known as Majlis as-Shura or Shura Council) with 150 members and a chairman appointed by the king for a four-year term” (The Political System of Saudi Arabia). It should be noted that in democratic countries, the legislative council is formulated based on elections. For example, in India, legislative council or parliament members are elected by the people in general elections. It should be noted that Islamic rules are prevailing in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is the most sacred country for Muslims all over the world. Mecca and Medina are the most important sacred places for Muslims all over the world. Both these places are located in Saudi Arabia. Saudis and Muslims all over the world like to protect the Muslim culture in Saudi and nobody likes to see the intrusion of western culture in Saudi’s soil. Because of the above awareness, Saudis are not much interested in welcoming democracy or other political systems. In their opinion, Saudi rulers are capable of protecting their rights and religious beliefs and the huge developments in Saudi for the last few decades are examples of that. The country is governed and justice is administered according to Islamic law. The Supreme Council of Justice, which is comprised of 12 senior jurists, represents the judicial branch of government. Justice is administered by a system of religious courts whose judges are appointed by the King on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council. The independence of the judiciary is protected by law. The King acts as the highest court of appeal and has the power to pardon (The Political System of Saudi Arabia). Judiciary is free from politics in majority of the other countries. But in Saudi Arabia judiciary works in combination with politics. As mentioned earlier, Islamic laws are prevailing in Saudi Arabia and therefore Islamic scholars appointed by the King are working as the judges in Saudi courts. It should be noted that only religious scholars will be able to interpret laws in Saudi Arabia based on Islamic beliefs, culture, and traditions. Even though majority of the Saudi ministers are from the royal family, “Two significant ministries--finance and petroleum--have always been under non-royal technocrats”(Raphaeli). This is because of the King’s awareness that expert services are necessary in these two critical sectors to guide the country towards prosperity. Saudi Arabia is the wealthiest country in Middle East and handling of finance is not an easy task. Moreover, majority of the Saudi revenues are getting from petroleum sources. So, petroleum and finance are two of the most vital departments in Saudi Arabia. The King wisely appointed two technocrats to head these departments so that the country’s progress will be always in the right direction. “A technocrat minister at the treasury guarantees a semblance of accountability. In the case of the ministry of petroleum, major decisions regarding production and pricing are made by the king or his vice minister, the crown prince” (Raphaeli). Some of the characteristics of Saudi political systems are given below. Education, at all levels, instils the Islamic faith and its values in the younger generation. Administration aims at the realization of benefits and management of life’s affairs. Da’wah targets the uprightness of individuals, communities, the state and all other nations whether by an open discourse for all or by addressing each case separately. Fatawa solves people’s problems and issues on all affairs that require an Islamic shari’ah verdict or opinion. Hisbah is a social control apparatus that remedies moral errors and visible Islamic violations. Thus, the exploits and practices of the state are very clearly meaningful and noble in objective (Prof. Turaiqi, p.18). It should be noted that the intrusion of western education is visible in most of the other gulf countries. In gulf countries such as UAE, Oman etc, campuses of prominent western universities are available now. However, Saudi Arabia is keen in protecting local culture and in all Saudi educational institutions curriculum contents are dominated by Islamic culture and faith. In other words, Saudi political leaders are aware of the damage western culture or education may cause to Saudi traditions and cultures. The major objective of Saudi education is to understand Islamic belief and culture correctly and comprehensively. It should be noted that so many illusions are currently spreading all over the world about the practices in Islam. A conscious effort to label all Muslims as terrorists is currently going on everywhere, especially after 9/11 incident. Saudi education helps students to understand the principles of Islamic life in its true sense. Shariah laws are practiced strictly in Saudi Arabia even though many other gulf countries have diluted these laws. In other words, people who are committing crimes in Saudi Arabia may get strict punishments whereas those who commit crimes in other gulf countries may get enough opportunities to escape from punishments. Because of such strict observance of law and order in accordance with Islamic principles, Saudi Arabia is successful very much in reducing crime rates. In fact Saudi Arabia is the country with lowest crime rates in the world. “The Saudi media shall abide by Islam in all that it releases. It shall maintain the faith of the early Muslims and put aside anything that runs contrary to the shari’ah.” (Prof. Turaiqi, p.35). As in the case of other gulf countries, media plays an important role in Saudi political system. However, it is often accused that Saudi media is not functioning freely like media in other gulf countries. It should be noted that media played an important role in the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Gadhafi in Libya. If media allowed to function freely in Saudi Arabia westerners can spread rumours and do everything possible to destroy Islamic culture. It is already an accepted fact that Israel is trying to destroy Muslim culture and inject Zionist culture in Middle East. Free media will serve as a big weapon in the hands of Israel and other enemies of Islam. “The Saudi media shall resist and disclose the falsity of destructive movements, disbelieving trends, hostile philosophies, and attempts that aim at diverting Muslims from their faith” (Prof. Turaiqi, p.35). “The rule in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on the premise of justice, consultation, and equity, in accordance with the Islamic shari’ah.” While Article (6) states: “Citizens shall pledge allegiance to the King in accordance with the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah (tradition of the Prophet), in submission and obedience, in times of ease and difficulty, fortune and adversity” (Prof. Turaiqi, p.36). Saudi King has not only political power, but also religious power. In fact he is considered to be the saviour of Islamic religion in Saudi Arabia. Since religion dominates politics in Saudi Arabia, all political institutions work strictly in accordance with the religious principles. It should be noted that in most of the other gulf countries religion plays less significant roles in politics than that in Saudi Arabia. In fact any changes happening in Saudi political or religious circles may have wider impacts not only on Saudi community, but also on global Islamic community. As mentioned earlier, Saudi Arabia is the most important and sacred place for Muslims all over the world. It should not be forgotten that Muslims all over the word visit Saudi Arabia for performing “Haj”. In short, Saudi culture and political systems are equally important to outsiders also. Saudi Arabia does not have a written constitution. Its legal system is based on Sharia laws. Saudis considered the Quran, the holy book of Islam, their country's constitution. The Quran is the primary source of the sharia. Because the sharia does not specifically address the conduct of most governmental matters, Saudi rulers, beginning with Abd al Aziz, have promulgated numerous regulations pertaining to the functions of government. In early 1992, King Fahd became the first Saudi monarch to compile these regulations into a single document called the main code (nizam). Promulgated as a royal decree, this document codified bureaucratic procedures and prohibited government agencies from arbitrarily arresting citizens or violating their privacy. Although the main code was not a formal constitution, it fulfilled some of the same purposes of such a document. However, the main code lacked any explicit clause guaranteeing the basic rights of citizens to freedom of belief, expression, assembly, or political participation (Structure Of Government). Westerners often criticize Saudi political system for its lack of respect to democracy. It should be noted that democracy gives equal rights to all people and religion and therefore democratization process in Saudi may cause more harm than good to Islamic culture. Democratization processes in other gulf countries are getting momentum at present. Qatar seems to be the major gulf power which encourages democratization wholeheartedly. In fact Qatar is one among the few gulf countries which has a written constitution. Qatar’s constitution describes it as a democratic country even though Qatar still needs to do a lot before achieving the status of a democratic country. With Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar now all permitting at least partially elected parliaments, and Oman and the United Arab Emirates said to be considering such reforms, Saudi Arabia may soon be the sole remaining absolute monarchy. The close (though sometimes fractious) ties between Riyadh and Doha and the countries' shared Wahhabi doctrine make Qatar, in Saudi eyes, a particularly relevant testing ground for the creation of a partially elected legislature in Saudi Arabia (Hawthorne). Democracy is expanding its wings now all over the world. It is impossible for gulf countries to accept communism even if they embrace democracy. This is because of the fact that communism is the number one enemy of Islam. Communism says that religion is a narcotic drug. In other words, communism never accepts the existence of religion as a necessity to maintain a healthy society. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for Islamic countries like the gulf countries to accept communism as a political ideology. In other words, gulf countries may accept controlled democracy as an alternate option; however, they will never allow democracy to dominate religion in gulf region since the influence of religion on gulf life is more than that in any other parts of the world. Nobody foresees any immediate changes in Saudi political spectrum in near future. However, many people believe that gulf countries including Saudi Arabia may transform to democratic countries within few decades. To conclude, political systems in Saudi Arabia is extremely different from that in other gulf countries. Saudi Arabia has an absolute monarchy. Moreover, it has no written constitution. Saudi King holds supreme power and he executes the responsibilities of president, prime minister, chief of army etc. Since religion plays an important role in social life, Saudi politics is not free from the influence of religion. Perhaps Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which has true Islamic political system of administration at present. Saudi people are keen in protecting their culture and they are not ready to dilute religious beliefs for the sake of political changes. The democratization processes in other gulf countries are getting momentum nowadays whereas Saudi political system remains almost stationery. However, many political observers believe that Saudi Arabia may become a democratic country within few decades. In their opinion, Saudi Arabia is waiting to see the performances of democratic administrations in other gulf countries before embracing democracy. However, it is impossible for Saudi like Islamic states to embrace democracy in its true sense because of their concerns about the possibility of destruction of local culture while accepting democracy as a political system. In any case, one can safely say that democracy has more scope in Saudi like gulf countries than communism since communism is the bitter enemy of religion. Works Cited “About Saudi Arabia”. 2012. Web. 11 May 2012. Hawthorne, Amy. “Qatar's New Constitution: Limited Reform from the Top”. 2003. Web. 11 May 2012. Prof. Al-Turaiqi, Abdullah. “The Political System of Saudi Arabia”. 2008. Ghainaa Publications. First Edition 2008 Raphaeli, Nimrod. 2003. “Saudi Arabia: A Brief Guide To Its Politics And Problems”. MERIA Journal. Volume 7, No. 3 - September 2003. http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2003/issue3/jv7n3a2.html “Structure Of Government”. Web. 11 May 2012. “The Political System of Saudi Arabia”. 2012. Web. 11 May 2012. Read More