 Saudi Arabia (National Flag)
The flag dates from 1938 and was last officially adopted in 1973. Muhammad's
green flag has been used since the mid-1700's and it was in the early
1900's. taken over by Ibn Saud, the founder of the state. The Muslim creed,
the shahada, "There is no God without God, and Muhammad is His messenger," was
inserted, and later the flag was added to the sword of the Saudite family
representing Islamic justice. The green color of Islam is the symbol of
paradise.
- Countryaah:
What does the flag of Saudi Arabia look like? Follow this link, then you
will see the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this
country.
Saudi Arabia - history
The modern history of Saudi Arabia can be said to have begun in the
mid-1740's, when the Saudi family and the religious reformer Muhammad ibn Abd
al-Wahhab entered into an alliance. The areas that the parties had to succeed in
securing in the future were promised to the Saud family, in exchange for
al-Wahhab's special interpretation of Islam in the country. Thus it succeeded
from the middle of the 1700's. to create the first Saudi state.
After the defeat of the Ottomans in 1818, the kingdom effectively ceased to
exist, but as early as 1824, a new Saudi state centered in Riyadh was
founded. In the late 1800's. the Saud family was maneuvered by the Rashid family
and had to seek refuge in Kuwait. In 1902, however, Ibn Saud succeeded in
recapturing Riyadh and securing power in al-Najd. The expansion continued with
the 1924 conquest of al-Hijaz as a highlight. The political control in the newly
acquired areas was ensured through the Ikhwan movement, a military-religious
corps trained in al-Wahhab's Islamic interpretation, which settled in small
groups in the new areas. The movement later became a political strain, attacking
British-controlled areas several times; In 1929-30 it was therefore defeated
with British support. With the incorporation of Asir in 1930, Ibn Saud gained
control of the entire territory, which in 1932 was united in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
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The poor country was long dependent on financial help from Britain. There was
only a minimum of government institutions and a very limited
infrastructure. With the increasing importance of oil extraction, the demand for
development grew, and the skewed distribution of the country's oil revenues led
from the late 1950's to increased social tension. King Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz, who
had succeeded his father, Ibn Saud, in 1953, was forced to abdicate in 1964, and
his brother Faysal took over the throne. Under his leadership, an extensive
development and expansion of the infrastructure, the education system and the
health system were initiated; the intention was to counter the emergence of
a political opposition to the Saud family.
In the 1950's and first half of the 1960's, Saudi Arabia was heavily criticized
by Egypt for its provincial policies, but otherwise played an insignificant role
in the region. With the Arab defeat in the Six Day War in 1967, the situation
changed dramatically, as Egypt, Jordan and Syria now became completely dependent
on economic support from Saudi Arabia. The trend intensified through the
1970's; after the October War of 1973, Saudi Arabia demonstrated its new
power by forcing, together with the other Arab oil-producing countries of OPEC
and OAPEC, sharp price increases.
Faysal was assassinated in 1975 and was succeeded by his brother Khalid, who
continued the modernization of the country. In 1979, a militant Wahhabi group
occupied the Great Mosque in Mecca, and although it succeeded in defeating the
group, the incident gave a clue that Saudi Arabia was less stable than
previously thought. Khalid proposed changes to the political system, but the
promise of an advisory council through which the people could speak was not
fulfilled. After Khalid's death in 1982, Fahd took over the throne.
The sharp fall in oil revenues from the mid-1980's meant that public spending
was reduced and the level of ambition for the country's future development
lowered. Saudi Arabia continues to play an important role in the Arab world, but
the economic downturn also diminished the country's foreign policy strength. The
weak military position was made clear when Fahd, after the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait in 1990, had to let an international military force take up residence in
Saudi Arabia, to counter a possible Iraqi attack into Saudi territory.
Saudi Arabia experienced significant changes throughout the 1990's. The
country's military weakness and reliance on military support from the West made
it clear to many that sweeping reforms were needed. Therefore, the years after
the Gulf War in 1990-91 were marked by a debate in which various political
groupings forced the king to act. In 1993, the Basic Law was issued, which
contains several different laws, including one that determines the succession
and sets up the political structure of the kingdom. In addition, it contained a
law for the regional and local administration of the country as well as the
establishment of an advisory assembly. The first Consultative Assembly was
appointed in August 1993 with 60 members; in 1997 the assembly was expanded to
90 members, in 2001 to 120 members and in 2005 to 150 members. All members are
appointed by the king, and only with a royal decree in 2005 did the council have
the opportunity to submit bills to the king and the incumbent government. The
non-religious part of the opposition has been working since 1993 to get members
elected. The royal family has tried to meet the demand by stating that local
councils can be elected by the country's male population. Elections to local
councils were first held in the autumn of 2005.
The legitimacy of the Saudi clan was seriously questioned in connection with
the stationing of foreign troops in 1990. A religious opposition is led by
younger theologians trained in the particular form of Islam (Wahhabism), which
underpins the political system of the country. Referring to the regime's
apparent dependence on the West, it called for a strengthening and further
consolidation of the role of Islam, and called for a critical review of the
legislation that had been adopted in previous decades to ensure that no laws
were in conflict with Islam. The royal family intervened violently and carried
out several arrests, but did not quite manage to kidnap the religious
opposition. Nor could the more liberal non-religious opposition be silenced. It
did not get any better when it came to the terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington on September 11, 2001turned out that most of the hijackers were Saudi
nationals. The Saudi royal family now found itself under double pressure: partly
from a national opposition consisting of several different groups, which from
the mid-1990's also led to the first Islamist militant terrorist attacks in the
country, and on the other hand a growing pressure from the international
community against the royal family to take action against individuals and groups
in the country who financially supported militant Islamist groups around the
world. However, the regime survived the pressure, but like the rest of the Arab
world was reluctant to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Saudi Arabia,
like the other countries in the region, has viewed with concern how the ensuing
political crisis in Iraq has deteriorated.
The political system adjustments that have been made since the early 1990's
are hardly sufficient to satisfy the political opposition in Saudi Arabia. The
transfer of voting rights to women in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain will
undoubtedly lead to demands for change from the Saudi population, not least from
the large group of well-educated women who have made their mark on the country's
economy in recent years.
In connection with the Arab Spring, there were scattered demonstrations in
Saudi Arabia in 2011, but the effect was limited. In return, the country's
military assisted in crushing extensive demonstrations in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia
has supported the opposition in the Syrian civil war with weapons; there has
been criticism of support for Islamist movements, including accusations of aid
to ISIS. The Saudi government nevertheless chose to take part in the
international coalition that has carried out airstrikes against the movement in
Syria and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia - economy
Since 1970, the political management of Saudi Arabia's economic development
has been based on five - year plans, which have primarily been aimed at
expanding the country's infrastructure as well as the education and health
sectors.
The economic framework conditions for the plans have largely been determined
by developments in oil production and oil prices on the world market, with the
oil sector accounting for approximately 90 percent of exports and three-quarters of
government revenue.
Through its membership of OPEC, Saudi Arabia can to some extent determine
the price of oil itself, but not at the same time the quantity exported, and the
great dependence on the oil sector is seen as an increasing socio-economic
problem.
Therefore, the dependency has been addressed in the sixth five-year plan
(1995-1999), which has focused on deregulation and restructuring of the
economy. The seventh five-year plan (2000-2004) also sought diversification and
privatization and also sought, among other things, through training programs, to
create better employment opportunities for the rapidly growing Saudi part of the
population.
Very few women work outside the home, and among men unemployment is high at
the same time as millions of guest workers, from domestic assistants to highly
paid experts, fill in approximately half of the jobs.
Economic growth was fierce, especially in the wake of OPEC's oil price
increases in the 1970's, but was followed by an almost equally sharp recession in
the 1980's and 1990's. Since 1999, through its leading role in OPEC, Saudi Arabia
has achieved higher prices, which has led to significant growth.
The country is the world's largest oil producer and its oil exports are twice
as large as the second largest (Russia's). The development of Saudi Arabia's
balance of payments therefore largely follows the development of oil prices; in
2005, the profit was 91 billion. dollars. As oil is settled in dollars, the
country has since 1986 chosen to let the currency, the rial, bind to the dollar,
which helps keep the inflation rate low and stable.
Saudi Arabia mainly exports to the United States, Japan and South Korea and
imports from the United States, Germany and Japan, but the country seeks closer
regional cooperation through participation in the Gulf Co-operation
Council, GCC. Among other things, it must contribute to the development of the
non-oil producing sector. After lengthy negotiations in 2005, Saudi Arabia was
admitted to the World Trade Organization WTO.
Denmark's exports to Saudi Arabia in 2005 amounted to DKK 2,236 million. DKK,
while imports from there were 138 mill. kr.
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