Afro-Saudis
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| about 1,880,000; or about 5% of Saudi Arabia’s total population | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Riyadh,Dammam,Jeddah,Mecca | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Islam(mostlySunni) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afro-Arabs,Afro-Jordanians,Afro-Palestinians,Afro-Syrians,Afro-Iraqis,Afro-Omanis |
Afro-Saudis,also known asAfrican SaudisandBlack Saudis,areSaudicitizens of partial or fullblack Africanheritage. They are spread all around the country, but they are mostly found in the major cities ofSaudi Arabia.[1]Afro-Saudis speakArabicand adhere toIslam.[2]While some black Saudis descend from slaves brought through theArab slave trade,[3]the majority descend from Muslimpilgrims,primarily fromWest Africa,who settled in the cities ofMeccaandJeddah.[4]
The term "takarnah", meaning people oftakrur,is sometimes used to refer to Hejazis of West African descent,[5]though their origins are diverse. This is evident in family names such asHawsawi,Fallatah,andBernawi.[4]
History
[edit]
ArabiaandAfricahave been in contact starting with the obsidian exchange networks of the 7th millennium BC. These networks were strengthened by the rise of Egyptian dynasties of the 4th millennium BC. Anthropologists have indicated the likely existence of settlements in Arabia, from the people of theHorn of Africa,as early as the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC.[6]
Many Afro-Saudis are descendants of slaves, trafficked mainly via the AncientRed Sea slave trade.Historically, the institution of slavery in the region of the later Saudi Arabia was reflected in the institution ofslavery in the Rashidun Caliphate(632–661)slavery in the Umayyad Caliphate(661–750),slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate(750–1258),slavery in the Mamluk Sultanate(1258–1517) and finallyslavery in the Ottoman Empire(1517–1918).Slavery in Saudi Arabiawas not abolished until 1962.
Population
[edit]In 2021, their population was 1,880,000, or around 5% of Saudi Arabia's 35,950,000 population.[3][7]
Social condition
[edit]Slaves in theMiddle Eastwere allowed to own land. Children of two slaves where born into slavery, however the child of a free man and hisconcubine(sex slave) where not born a slave if the father awknowledged fatherhood. Islamic Law allowed for Muslims to enslave non-Muslims, unless they werezimmis(protected minorities who had accepted Muslim rule), and slaves were therefore non-Muslims imported from non-Muslim lands outside of the Empire.[8] However, the conversion of a non-Muslim slave to Islam after their enslavement did not require the enslaver to manumit his slave.[8]
Skin color played a distinctive role even amongst slaves.[9]Many activists amongst Afro-Saudis complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.[10]
Notable Afro-Saudis
[edit]- Ahmed Al-Dokhi
- Bandar bin Sultan
- Reema bint Bandar Al Saud
- Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud
- Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud (born 1977)
- Baraka Al Yamaniyah
- Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
- Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi
- Abdullah Al-Deayea
- Abdullah Al-Khaibari
- Abbas Al-Shengeeti
- Firas Al-Buraikan
- Hamad Al-Montashari
- Hamdan Al-Shamrani
- Majed Abdullah
- Adil al-Kalbani
- Ali Al-Bulaihi
- Tareg Hamedi
- Hawsawi family
- Muhammad Saad al-Beshi
- Fahad Al-Muwallad
- Mohamed Kanno
- Etab
- Saud Abdulhamid
- Saud Khariri
- Ahmed Abdulla
- Rayyanah Barnawi
- Mohamed Al-Deayea
- Mukhtar Ali
- Sultan Al-Deayea
- Khaled Aziz
- Redha Tukar
- Walid Atta
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"What it means to be a black Saudi".Arab News.March 1, 2018.
- ^"Saudi Arabia - Religion".Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ^ab"Black Saudi Author Focuses on Neglected History of African Migration and Slavery".July 24, 2020.
- ^abObaid, Ruba (1 March 2018)."Saudi Arabia's African roots traced to annual Hajj pilgrimage and British colonization".Arab News.Retrieved27 March2024.
- ^"الأفارقة.. مائدة منوّعة وخصوصية جذابة".صحيفة الاقتصادية(in Arabic). 4 September 2009.Retrieved27 March2024.
- ^Richards, Martin; Rengo, Chiara; Cruciani, Fulvio; Gratrix, Fiona; Wilson, James F.; Scozzari, Rosaria; Macaulay, Vincent; Torroni, Antonio (April 2003)."Extensive Female-Mediated Gene Flow from Sub-Saharan Africa into Near Eastern Arab Populations".The American Journal of Human Genetics.72(4): 1058–1064.doi:10.1086/374384.PMC1180338.PMID12629598.
- ^"Saudi Arabia".Central Intelligence Agency. October 8, 2024 – via CIA.gov.
- ^abToledano, E. R. (2014). The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression: 1840-1890. USA: Princeton University Press. 6-7
- ^Koigi, Bob."Forgotten slavery: The Arab-Muslim slave trade".Fair Planet.
- ^"Saudi Arabia: Treatment of racial minorities, particularly black African Saudi nationals, by society and authorities (2012-2013)".Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – via Refworld.
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