Ethnic Group in Saudi Arabia - Coursework Example

11 April Ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia: Arabs from 90% of the Saudi Arabian population and the remaining 10% population is formed by African-Asian people. There is a wide variety of native Arabs living in Saudi Arabia coming from different ethnic backgrounds. A vast majority of people identify themselves with Bedouin Arab group while some identify themselves with Egyptian Arab group. Then there are Black African Arabs and Jordanian Arabs. Omani Arabs, Saudi Arabs, and Yemeni Arabs also form popular ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia. Out of the 10% Saudi population, most of the ethnic groups like Pakistani, Bengali, Persian, Iraqi, Indonesian, and Somali groups are formed by those immigrants who travelled or still do travel to Saudi Arabia in search of employment in some good oil company or a nice hotel. Asian ethnic groups are mainly formed by Indonesian, Bengali, and Pakistani people who also immigrate to Saudi Arabia for suitable employment. This paper attempts to explore the wide variety of ethnic groups residing in Saudi Arabia and the rich culture each group brings with itself. Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia form one of the most popular ethnic groups and among them, the Rwala, Dhafir, and Baqqarah are the main Bedouin groups. Bedouin Arabs have been living on this land for last many thousand years and are still observed living in a large number both in rich and nomadic lifestyle (Holmlund). Bedouin Arabs living a nomadic lifestyle can mainly be seen in the form of small clusters in southern Arabia where they still in the present age keep herds of cattle in the desert and move with them place to place after sometime passes. This is because traditionally, the vast Arabian desert has always served as the main homeland for these people and it only happened after quite many years that some Bedouins decided on distinguishing themselves from their other brothers and this urge to be distinguished brought them in the booming business scene in Saudi Arabia. Some of those more modern, civilized, cultured, and educated Bedouin Arabs hastened into oil business as oil has always served to be their major financial tool while others moved in other types of businesses like tourism, automobile manufacture, construction, etc. Some Bedouin groups have also migrated from Saudi Arabia to neighboring countries like Egypt, Syria, and Africa while people from other countries kept flooding in large numbers in Saudi Arabia all the time. It appears that the true or authentic Bedouins, ones who typically live nomadic lifestyle, never left the desert as yet and their purpose of life appears to be journeying across barren deserts in search of oasis fraught with dates and water which they could use for themselves and their herds of cattle. The other group of Bedouin Arabs who cannot be identified with so authentic version of Bedouins do not live as nomads because they prefer a more settled way of living. These relatively modern Bedouins who have embraced the profession of farming live on the edge of the desert and are known as Fallahins locally. They enjoy a wider and expansive social scene in comparison to their largely conservative nomad brothers who live in the barren deserts. Conservative Bedouins who identify themselves with the Baqqarah group live in seclusion and are not much communicative when it comes down to coming at terms with other ethnic groups. The ethnic group of Bedouni Arabs usually speaks Bedouni Arabic and lives extremely rough and tough lives as people belonging from this group like to keep their material culture very limited. Egyptian Arabs reside in Saudi Arabia in a staggering number and form another main ethnic group. Due to a combination of shared cultural interests and other attractions like big construction projects and big conglomerates establishing one after another which offer remarkable employment opportunities, Saudi Arabia has always seen great influx of Egyptians in all times. Now, even a growing number of people are enrolled at Saudi educational institutions among which King Fahd University is the most notable and dignified. Among 70% of the Egyptian migrants living in foreign countries, majority of them lives in Saudi Arabia due to which a large ethnic group is formed there as all such people finding themselves similar to each other in one respect or another like to live together in small or large clans for social, emotional, and moral support. Most of the Egyptian Arabs can be seen involved in the trading business working in the local production markets where they produce their goods before public so that revenue could be earned by them off their goods. Due to the fact that many cultural interests are shared between Egyptians and native Saudi people, so Turkish and Arabic meals are often served together in many restaurants. Egyptian Arabs follow the native Saudi rules when roaming around in the society and their women are also seen wearing the Abayas when they are outside their homes in a shopping mall. Egyptian Arabs happen to be quite friendly and simple people when it comes to dealing with other people in contrast to native Arabs who are not so friendly or social. Oil wealth has given the native Arab ethnic groups a false sense of superiority over other ethnic groups and some of them even look down upon non-Arabs or anyone who does not happen to be native which is why Egyptian Arabs have appeared to be more communicative, open, and friendly in terms of social lives (Hooton). African Arab or Afro-Arab people who have mixed African can Arab cultural and ancestral heritage form another ethnic group in Saudi Arabia and these can be called Arabized Africans. These Africans tend to follow Arabic rules, eat what they eat, also talk Arabic, and hence try following Arabs in every walk of life. Their daily activities mirror those of the native Arabs living in Saudi Arabia. The Sudanese Arabs form one example of African Arab Saudis and few such ethnic groups also reside in Saudi Arabia. Other than the pure Arabs who are called Bedouins and described above, Sudanese Arabs form a small ethnic group and basically people belonging to this group either reside in small rural towns where they grow cotton or raise livestock but they may also live in town and cities (GAAPNet, cited in Joshua Project). Yemeni Saudi Arabs also form a notable ethnic group and people belonging to this group happen to be very religious people with the highest social class calling themselves Sayyid and claiming to be descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Not much information is out there about the lifestyle and culture of Yemeni Arabs who have migrated out of their homeland to foreign countries except their religious values. Jordanian Saudi Arabs who also call themselves as Bedouins of Jordan who later migrated to Saudi Arabia also form an ethnic group. They are Sunni Muslims and Islamic beliefs dominate their way of life no matter where they are or what they do in generalized terms. Somali people in Saudi Arabia form a relatively smaller ethnic group and men in this group use the number of camels and other cattle to pass judgments about prestige and honor. Their beliefs even in the present age are such that the more camels a tribe has, the more powerful it is thought to be. The Omani Arabs in Saudi Arabia are so less frequently seen that they make up “only one percent of the country’s total population” (GAAPNet, cited in Joshua Project). Though making up just one percent of the big population, Omani Arabs still manage to distinguish themselves from other Saudi Arabs on grounds of their style of using the Arabic language and the Ibadi influence produced on their faith. In a big Middle Eastern nation as is Saudi Arabia, these Omani Arabs can be seen living in rural farm villages as they mostly belong to the profession of farmers. They may also be seen living in homes or huts made out of stone. Their religious faith and beliefs differ from that of other Arabs living around them who follow Islam as told in Quran and other sacred sayings. Omani Arabs living in Saudi Arabia follow Ibadaya Islam which is different from traditional Islam. Summing up, this much becomes clear from the above discussion of major ethnic groups living in Saudi Arabia that this land certainly serves to be a hotbed for interesting cultural fusions and still, never any cultural bias, conflict, or prejudice which could be called of significant nature, surfaced on the national or international scene. People from different ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia do not openly mock or ridicule each other’s ethnic or cultural values as others do in other societies. It is a peaceful land where people from different ethnic backgrounds live together and work together despite differences which are always there between various groups. A very interesting mix of ethnicity is available to be assessed in Saudi Arabia because a truly wide variety of groups can be found living here as this surely happens to be one big land fraught with cultural and ethnic diversity but which is handled in a very appropriate manner by both the locals and expatriates. Works cited: Holmlund, Eric. “The Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia.” 2005. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Hooton, Eric. “Living And Working In The Saudi Kingdom.” 2004. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Joshua Project. “Arab, Sudanese of Saudi Arabia.” n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. Read More