Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia
2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 45; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00263200802586105
ISSN1743-7881
Autores Tópico(s)Education and Islamic Studies
ResumoAbstract This article describes and explains the relationships between religion and government in contemporary Saudi Arabia. It discusses the extent to which religion is practically involved in politics and governance by examining the mechanisms of domination, the actual relationships between religious scholars ('ulama') and rulers (umara'), and the means by which authority is actually implemented. The current Saudi regime, I would suggest, is best described as a theo-monarchy, that draws power from longstanding religio-cultural norms. In this context, Wahhabi Islam seems to authorize a distinctive government paradigm, one not yet recognized by the relevant Islamic literature. Notes 1. Secularism is defined here as the separation between religion and politics or between governmental practices/institutions and religious beliefs. See 'Introduction' by M. King, Secularism: The Hidden Origins of Disbelief (Cambridge: J. Clarke, 2007). 2. M. Al-Rasheed, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), p.57. 3. Ibid., p.58. 4. See, for example, A. Bligh, 'The Saudi Religious Elite ('Ulama') as Participant in the Political System of the Kingdom', International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.17 (1985), pp.37–50; A. Al-Yasini, Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Boulder, CO and London: Westview Press, 1985); J. Kechichian, 'The Role of the 'Ulama' in the Politics of an Islamic State: The Case of Saudi Arabia', International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.18 (1986), pp.53–71; A. Layish, ''Ulama' and Politics in Saudi Arabia', in M. Heper and R. Israeli (eds.), Islam and Politics in the Modern Middle East (London and Sydney: Croomhelm Press, 1984), pp.29–63; J. Nevo, 'Religion and National Identity in Saudi Arabia', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.34 (1998), pp.34–53; M.G. Nehme, 'Saudi Arabia 1950–1980: Between Nationalism and Religion', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.30 (1994), pp.930–43. 5. On the Saudi legal and jurisprudence systems, see F. Vogel, Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2000), pp.169–221. 6. A. Layish, 'Saudi Arabian Legal Reform as a Mechanism to Moderate Wahhabi Doctrine', Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol.107, No.2 (April–June 1987), p.279. 7. Here, I refer to the Catholic Encyclopedia which presents theocracy as: 'form of government in which divine power governs an earthly human state, either in a personal incarnation or, more often, via religious institutional representatives (i.e., a church), replacing or dominating civil government'. See New Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967), Vol.XIV, p.13. 8. Given the breadth of the topic, my theoretical analysis will draw on the deliberations of the 'Board of Senior 'Ulama'' (BSU) (hay'at kibar al-'ulama'), which, since its establishment in 1971, is at the top of the religious pyramid and issues the definitive decrees on shari'a. Emphasis will be placed on the writings and teachings of Shaykh 'Abd-al 'Aziz Ibn Baz (d.1999), the head of BSU and the most senior of the Saudi 'ulama' between 1975 and 1999. Ibn Baz, one of the most authoritative Sunni religious scholars in the twentieth century, held many important religious functions, most notably Grand Mufti of the Kingdom from 1993 until his death at the age of 89. A sustained discussion of Ibn Baz and the BSU can provide insights into the dynamic relationship between religion, politics and governance in contemporary Saudi Arabia. See M.S. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Majmu' Fatawa wa-Maqalat Mutanawwi'a (Riyadh: Maktabat al-Ma'arif, 1997), 13 vols., p.1:9. 9. The term 'ulama' will be approached in a broad sense, to include scholars who somehow linked to the religious functioning in Saudi Arabia. Umara', on the other hand, includes rulers mainly from within the Saudi House. 10. Cited in A.K.S. Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p.85. 11. A.I. Taymiyya, al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya fi Islas al-Ra'i wal-Ra'iyya (Dimashq: Maktabat Dar al-Bayan, 1985), p.176. On the doctrine of commanding right and forbidding wrong in Islam, see, M. Cook, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000). 12. I.Q. al-Jawziyya, al-Turuq al-Hukmiyya fi al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya (Beirut: Dar al-Arqam, 1999), pp.39–40. 13. Y. al-Qaradawi, Min Fiqh al-Dawla (Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, 1997), p.7. 14. Lambton, State and Government, pp.91–2. 15. Ibid., p.111. 16. Many important works, some entitled Siyasa shar'iyya, have been published on this. Amongst those are Siyasa shr'iyya by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. For further accounts, see the Introduction in Lambton, State and Government. 17. I. Manzur, Lisan al-'Arab (Beirut: Dar al-Sadir, 1956), p.108. 18. I. Khaldun, Muqaddimat Ibn Khaldun (Alexandria: Dar Ibn Khaldun, 1982), p.213. 19. Al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya wal-Wilayat al-Diniyya (Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Mahmudiyya al-Tijariyya, n.d.); see also Ibn al-Farra', al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya (Indonesia: Maktabat Ahmad b. Sa'd b. Nubayhan, 1974). 20. A'. Amru, al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya fi al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyya ('Amman: Dar al-Nafa'is, 1998), pp.5, 31; M. al-Qadi, al-Siyasa al-shar'iyya: Masdar lil-Taqnin bayna al-Nazariyya wal-Tatbiq (Cairo: [?], 1989), pp.34, 116–17; Y. al-Qaradawi, al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya fi Daw' Nusus al-Shari'a wa-Maqasiduha (Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah, 1998), p. 73; see for example A. Zahra, Usul al-fiqh (Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-'Arabi, 1957), pp.251–91. 21. I. Farhun, Tabsirat al-Hukkam fi Usul al-Aqdiya wa- Manahij al-Ahkam (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, n.d.), vol.2, p.137. 22. Ibid., pp.138–40. 23. Al-Shatibi, al-Muwafaqat fi Usul al-Ahkam (Cairo: Maktabat Muhammad 'Ali Sbih, 1969), vol.4, p.60. 24. Ibid. 25. I.'A. al-Salam, Qawa'id al-Ahkam fi Masalih al-Anam (Beirut: Dar al-Jil, 1980), vol.2, p.189. 26. Al-Dimashqi, Kifayat al-Akhyar fi Hal Ghayat al-Ikhtisar (Beirut: Dar al-Khayr, 1991), p.48; al-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab fi Fiqh al-Imam al-Shafi'i (Beirut: al-Dar al-Shamiyya, 1996), pp.220, 234; al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya, p.192. 27. I.Q. al-Jawziyya, al-Turuq al-Hukmiyya fi al-Siyasa al-shar'iyya (Beirut: Dar al-Jil, 1998), p.19. 28. I. Taymiyya, al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya fi Islah al-Ra'i wal-Ra'iyya (Bierut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya, 1966), p.6. 29. I.Q. al-Jawziyya, al-Turuq al-hukmiyya, pp.5–7. 30. See, for example, al-Qaradawi, Min Fiqh al-Dawla (Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, 1997); H. al-Turabi, Nazarat fi al-Fiqh al-Siyasi (Umm al-Fahm: Markaz al-Dirasat al-Mu'asira, 1997); F. al-Wahidi, al-Fiqh al-Siyasi wal-Dusturi fi al-Islam (Gazza, Matba'at al-Hay'a al-Khayriyya, 1988); A. Salim, al-Fiqh al-Siyasi lil-Hasana al-Diblumasiyyah (Amman: Dar al-Nafa'is, 2005). 31. B.S. Turner, 'Class, Generation and Islamism: Towards a Global Sociology of Political Islam', British Journal of Sociology, Vol.54, No.1 (2003), p.140. 32. J. Esposito, Islam the Straight Path (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.160. 33. The full version of the Ikhwan's election programme may be seen in their official website: http://www.ikhwanonline.com. 34. R. El-Solh, 'Islamist Attitudes Toward Democracy: A Review of the Ideas of Al-Ghazali, Al-Turabi, and 'Amara', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.20, No.1 (1993), p.58. 35. See, for example, I. Baz, 'Wujub Tahkim Shar' Allah wa-Nabdh ma Khalafahu', in M.S. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, Vol.1, p.72. See also, A.U. Jan, The End of Democracy (Ottawa, Canada: Pragmatic Publishing, 2003), p.148. 36. al-Qaradawi, Min fiqh al-dawla, pp.61–5. 37. M. Watt, Islamic Political Thought: The Basic Concepts (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1968), p.54. 38. See M. al-Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntaqa al-Akhbar (Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, n.d.), vol.7, p.166; I.H. al-'Asqalani, Fath al-Bari bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1993), vol.14, p.303; K.A. El Fadl, Speaking in God's Name (Oxford: One World, 2001), p.23. 39. Lambton, State and Government, p.109. 40. Ibid., p.145. 41. Ibid., p.53. 42. Al-Mawdudi, The Islamic Law and Constitution (Lahore: Islamic Publications, 1969), p.204. 43. Qutb, Milestones, p.26. 44. A.S. Moussalli, 'Hasan al-Turabj's Islamist Discourse on Democracy and shura', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.30, No.1 (1994), p.61. 45. I. Baz, 'Wujub Tahkim Shar' Allah, vol.1, p.72; See also B. Lewis, 'Politics and War', in J. Schacht and C.E. Bosworth (eds.), The Legacy of Islam (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974), p.159. 46. I. Baz, 'al-Radd 'Ala man Ya'tabiru al-Ahkam al-Shar'iyya Ghayr Mutanasiba ma' al-'Asr al-Hadir', in al-Shuwa'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.1, p.415; idem, 'Hukm al-Islam fi man Za'ama anna al-Qur'an Mutanaqid aw Mushtamil 'ala Ba'd al-Khurafat aw Wasafa al-Rasul bi-ma Yatadammanu Tanaqqusahu aw al-Ta'n fi Risalatihi', in al-Shuwa'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.1, pp.82–8. 47. Al-Shuwa'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.1, pp.268–9; other Qur'anic verses cited by Ibn Baz were: 42:10; 5:44, 45, 47, 50, 51; 9:23. 48. On the doctrine of wala' wa-bara' in contemporary Wahhabi legal and theological thought, see A. al-Dawish, Fatawa al-Lajna al Da'ima lil-Buhuth al-'Ilmiyya wal-Ifta' wal-Da'wa wal- Irshad, vol.2, pp.41–89. 49. I. Baz, 'Wujub tahkim shar' Allah', in al-Shuwa'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, Vol.1, p.79. 50. A. El Fadl, 'Islamic and the Challenge of Democratic Commitment', in J. Cohen and D. Chasman (eds.), Islam and the Challenge of Democracy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), p.68. 51. On different types of authority, see Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology (New York: Bedminster Press, 1968), pp.215–45. 52. For further account on authority in Islam, see, A. El Fadl, Speaking in God's Name, pp.31–85. 53. A. Al-'Uthaymin, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab: Hayatuhu wa-Fikruhu (Riyadh: Dar al-'Ulum, 1987), p.136. 54. Al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.7, pp.115–22. See also al-Sharq al-Awsat, 5 May 1993. 55. Al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.7, pp.115–22. 56. A class of crimes defined as to content and penalty in Qur'an and Sunna, pl. hudud. 57. The CRLO is a branch of the BSU, both directly subordinate to the Grand Mufti. 58. Royal Decree No.8/1849 of 5 June 1982 based on the BSU's fatwa No.85 of 10 Sept.1981. See also, I. Zafir, al-Ijra'at al-Jina'iyya fi Jara'im al-Hudud (Riyadh: Maktabat Fahd al-Wataniyya, 1999), vol.2, p.393. 59. Ibn Zafir, al-Ijra'at al-Jina'iyya, p.393. 60. Due to the length of the response, only an excerpt is quoted. The full response may be found in al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.7, p.115. 61. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.7, p.115. 62. Ibid., vol.8, pp.205–7. 63. Ibid. 64. Ibid. On the substantial differences between nasiha and Western forms of criticism, see Talal Asad, 'The Limits of Religious Criticism in the Middle East: Notes on Islamic Public Argument', Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reason of Power in Christianity and Islam (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, 1993), pp.200–236. 65. See Umm al-Qura, 26 Dec. 1952; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nizam wa-La'ihat Sayr al-A'mal fi Hay'at Kibar al-'Ulama', Royal Decree 1/137 of 29 Aug. 1971, pp.3–8; Royal Decree A/4 of 9 July 1993 in Umm al-Qura, 15 July 1993. 66. Al-Yassini, Religion and State, p.59. 67. Ibid. 68. Layish, ''Ulama' and Politics', p.53. 69. The rest of the reasons can be found in Layish, ''Ulama' and Politics', pp.54–5. See also his 'Saudi Arabian Legal Reform as Mechanism to Moderate Wahhabi Doctrine', p.292; M. Abir, Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era: Regime and Elites; Conflict and Collaboration (London and Sydney: Croom Helm, 1988), p.29; and S.S. Huyette, Political Adaptation in Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Council of Ministers (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985), p.117. 70. O.Y. Al-Rawaf, 'The Concept of Five Crises in Political Development: Relevance to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' (Ph.D. thesis, Duke University, 1981), p.527, cited in Abir, Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era, p.29. 71. Al-Yassini, Religion and State, p.68. 72. Frank Vogel, Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2000), pp.169–70, 341–3. 73. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 'al-Nizam al-asasi lil-hukm', May 1992, p.15. 74. Ibid. 75. B. Messick, 'The Mufti, the Text and the World', Man, Vol.21 (1986), p.111. On ifta' and qada', see for example M. al-Ashqar, al-Futiyya wa-manahij al-ifta' ('Amman: Dar al-Nafa'is, 1993); A.K. Reinhart, 'Transcendence and Social Practice: Muftis and Qadis as Religious Interpreters', Annales Islamoloqigues, Vol.27 (1994), pp.5–28; J. Sherman, Islamic Law and the State: The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (Leiden and New York: E.J. Brill, 1996), pp.201–17. 76. I. Zafir, al-Ijra'at al-Jina'iyya fi Jara'im al-Hudud, vol.1, p.99; Fatwa No.850 of 16 March 1978 became law under Royal Decree No.4/174277. 77. Khalwa: Islamic legal term which means 'valid privacy with the wife'. 78. I. Zafir, al-Ijra'at al-Jina'iyya fi Jara'im al-Hudud, vol.1, p.85; Fatwa No.52 of 4 April 1977 became law under regulation 12/133, issued by the Minister of Justice of 4 June 1981; see the fatwa in MBI No.1 (1979), pp.95–100; al-Shamma'i, Fatawa Islamiyya, vol.2, pp.395–409. 79. I. Zafir, al-Ijra'at al-Jina'iyya fi Jara'im al-Hudud, vol.1, p.99; Royal Decree No.8/1226 of 18 May 1980. 80. This fatwa may be found in al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.1, pp.418–27. 81. Royal Decree No.4/30820 of 21 Dec. 1976. See relevant fatwa in al-Shamma'i, Fatawa Islamiyya, pp.256–66 and al- Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.3, pp.354–6. 82. al- Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.3, p.95; Royal Decree No.8/1858 of 23 Oct. 1979. 83. See the fatwa in al- Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.3 pp.19–20. 84. Royal Decree No.80/1631 of 30 July 1980. On the Saudi muftis' positions on meetings between the genders see al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.5, pp.236–41. 85. Royal Decree No.3/27746 of 12 Oct. 1980. 86. Royal Decree No.16/4582 of 18 Jan. 1979. See relevant fatwa in al-Shamma'i, Fatawa Islamiyya, vol.2, pp.237, 239. 87. Al-Shamma'i, Fatawa Islamiyya, vol.2, pp.97–8; Royal Decree No.14340 of 24 Oct. 1967. On the rules governing weddings as determined by the 'ulama', see al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.4, pp.120, 122. 88. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.5, p.111; Royal Decree No.4/12368 of 4 May 1978. 89. Royal Decree No.25351 of 8 March 1964. 90. Royal Decree No.19851 of 1 July 1981, revised by Decree No.438/8 of 11 Dec. 1984. See relevant Fatwa in MBI, No.6 (1983), pp.466–7; al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.4, p.195. 91. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, Vol.4, p.153. 92. For further accounts of the 'modernization' of the Saudi state, see T. al-Hamad, 'Political Order in Changing Societies: Saudi Arabia: Modernization in a Traditional Society' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Southern California, 1985), pp.12–18, 152–171; Abir, Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era, pp.19–34, 69–94; al-Farsy, Modernity and Tradition: The Saudi Equation; idem, Saudi Arabia: A Case Study in Development; J.H. Thompson and R.C. Reischauer (eds.), Modernization of the Arab World (Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1966); G. Lenczowski, 'Tradition and Reform in Saudi Arabia', Current History, Vol.52, No.306 (Feb. 1967), pp.98–104; R. Looney, Economic Development in Saudi Arabia: Consequences of the Oil Price Decline (Greenwich, CT: Jai Press, 1990); A. al-Sadhan, 'The Modernization of the Saudi Bureaucracy', in A. Beling (ed.), King Faysal and the Modernization of Saudi Arabia (London: Croom Helm, 1980), pp.75–124. 93. J. Piscatori, 'The Role of Islam in Saudi Arabia's Political Development', in J. Esposito (ed.), Islam and Development: Religion and Sociopolitical Change (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1980), pp.135–6. More on this fatwa in Kechichian, 'The Role of the 'Ulama' in the Politics of an Islamic State', pp.60–63. 94. al-Shuway'ir, Majmu' Fatawa, vol.7, pp.359–61.
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