Gulf States
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, ruled by King Fahd,
who handed over power to his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, at the
end of 1995 owing to ill-health, but reclaimed control in March 1996. The
other Gulf states, with the exception of Oman, are tribal sheikhdoms, governed
by emirs who rule by decree and are advised by cabinets appointed largely
from their respective family members. Oman is a sultanate whose ruler appoints
a council of advisers chosen from tribal dignitaries.
Political parties are banned in all the Gulf states. The 1990 Iraqi invasion
of Kuwait helped, however, to foster the development of loosely organized
opposition groups demanding political change. Pressure for liberalization
also emanated from the USA and its western allies. There has been some evidence
of limited democratization: in 1993 the Saudi monarch appointed a consultative
council; Oman and Abu Dhabi convened consultative councils; and in 1996
Kuwait held elections for a reconstituted national assembly.
Among the opposition forces emerging within Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf
states are radical Islamic groups that reject the conservatism of the current
regimes and may seek to exploit constitutional changes to promote a more
militant form of Islamic rule. The London-based Islamic Liberation Front
(see United Kingdom) and the Bahrain Liberation Movement, for example, represent
a threat to the Bahraini regime.
In 1996 the Gulf witnessed further pressure for political change. Riots,
instigated by Shi'a clerics calling for political reform and more equal
job opportunities for members of the Shi'a majority, continued in Bahrain
throughout the year. In Saudi Arabia, an explosion in June at a US military
housing complex near Dhahran killed nineteen Americans and injured almost
400 people, mostly US, Saudi and Bangladeshi citizens. Two hitherto unknown
Islamist organizations claimed responsibility. Violations of human rights
were reported in 1996 in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in particular. Concern
was expressed over the growing number of executions and the crackdown on
expatriate workers.
Economic recovery continued after the devastating effects of the Gulf War.
Despite new development plans, aimed in particular to stimulate the private
sector, growth has been curbed by a fall in oil prices.
The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) agreed in 1994 to
lift the secondary and tertiary aspects of the economic boycott of Israel.
At the beginning of 1996, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states appeared
keen to support the Middle East peace process and to benefit from regional
development. Senior officials from Israel's foreign office visited Oman
in January and signed an agreement on the opening of trade offices in Tel
Aviv and Muscat. In April, following the visit of the Israeli prime minister,
Shimon Peres, to Qatar, it was announced that Israel and Qatar had also
agreed to open trade missions in Doha and Tel Aviv. Israeli sources reported
that traditional Saudi hostility towards Israel was waning and the Kuwaiti
minister of information praised Israel's restraint during the Gulf War.
In addition, an Israeli delegation visited Oman in June to participate in
the multilateral peace talks on the environment.
By autumn 1996, in view of the overall deterioration in the Middle East
peace process, Oman announced that it was freezing relations with Israel.
The influence of European antisemitism is deeply rooted in the Gulf states.
With the exception of Bahrain, Gulf societies evolved without Jewish communities.
In the late nineteenth century, Jews from Iraq, India and Iran settled in
Bahrain, where they engaged in commerce and made their living from handicrafts.
In 1947-8, before the establishment of the state of Israel, antisemitic
riots broke out and the synagogue was destroyed. Most of the Jews in Bahrain
subsequently emigrated but a small community remains.
Antisemitic images of greedy, plotting and monstrous-looking Jews were largely
imported to the Gulf states by western visitors, who introduced such fabrications
as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The continuous identification
of the Gulf societies with Arab and Palestinian issues has encouraged the
persistence of a belief in demonic images of Jews. Israel's role in the
1991 Gulf War, however, led Gulf societies to develop a more positive image
of Jews. They were able to identify with Israeli society's position, which,
like their own, had been attacked and victimized by Saddam Hussein's ventures.
They appreciated Israel's restraint in avoiding retaliation against Iraq,
which helped facilitate the anti-Iraq coalition's victory. The Gulf states
therefore started viewing Israel as a factor of stability in the Middle
East and supported the US-initiated Arab-Israeli peace process. Israel's
earlier image as the "Zionist enemy" was definitely undermined.
In addition, the Palestinians' support for Sad-dam Hussein earned them the
animosity of many Gulf Arabs, who resented their disregard for the hospitality
and financial and material support given by the Gulf states.
There are approximately 5 million foreign workers resident in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are subject to severe forms of discrimination. Non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia are barred from visiting Mecca and its holy sites. Ambivalence towards the US military presence in Saudi Arabia and anti-western sentiment in general is occasionally expressed through religious rhetoric. Sheikh Muhammed ibn Osseimin, a leading Saudi cleric, condemned as sinful those who travel on vacation to the "infidel lands" of Europe and the USA.
The London-based Saudi opposition group the Campaign for the Defence of Legitimate Rights (CDLR), established in 1993, was headed by the Islamist leader Muhammad al-Masari (see United Kingdom). The CDLR bulletin, disseminated electronically via the Internet, occasionally included antisemitic statements. At the beginning of 1996, amid rising tensions between the UK and Saudi Arabia, al-Masari faced deportation from the UK to Dominica, but in March he won an appeal against the deportation. The CDLR subsequently split into two separate groupings. One group launched a new publication, entitled al-Haqaq , which reportedly proclaimed that Jews conspired against Islam and that all Muslims are obliged to battle against Jews.
Programmes broadcast on state-controlled television in Saudi Arabia frequently
include anti-semitic interpretations of religious texts and Islamic history.
English-language programmes that aim to promote Islam among foreign workers
in Saudi Arabia regularly seek to discredit both Judaism and Christianity.
A spate of antisemitic articles in state-controlled newspapers elsewhere
in the Gulf appeared towards the end of the year. On 29 September, the Qatari
newspaper al-Watan published an article that claimed that "the
lie of freedom, justice and the rule of law and equal opportunities in the
United States was exposed in all its wickedness". It went on to assert
that "the Jews completely dominate the media and educational system
and use these institutions to promote the interests of world Jewry".
Cartoons that combined antisemitism with critiques of US policy in the Middle
East were also evident throughout the Gulf. On 9 September, the Omani daily
newspaper al-Watan published a cartoon showing the USA kicking an
Arab while kissing the hand of a Jew. On 23 October, the same publication
featured a cartoon depicting the US president as a puppet on a string being
manipulated by Jews.
A book published in 1993 by Muhammad Qasim Muhammad of Qatar University,
entitled "The Contradiction in the Annals and Events of the Torah from
Adam to Babel", continued to circulate throughout the Gulf and the
rest of the Arab world. The book was a lengthy attempt to discredit "historical"
aspects of the Jewish scriptures and, thereby, Jewish history and historical
experience. Arabic translations of antisemitic texts such as The Protocols
of the Elders of Zion were also available.
Radical sermons by Islamist opposition leaders circulate on pre-recorded audio-cassettes and videos. Many include antisemitic references such as condemnations of "Judeo-Christian conspiracies" against Islam.
Controversy has been sparked within the Gulf and other parts of the Islamic world over the question of normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world. A decree issued by the chief mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdullah al-Baz, declaring that Israel was no longer an enemy, contributed to less hostile views of Israel and Jews in general.
In 1996, the attitudes of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states towards
Jews continued to reflect an interplay between traditional antisemitic stereotypes
and the more positive images developed in the wake of the Gulf War and the
Middle East peace process. The threat of militant Islamism continued to
cause concern in the region. There is no antisemitism directed at the small
Bahraini Jewish community, which enjoys a close relationship with the regime;
however, it also continues to maintain a low public profile.
© JPR 1997