Durham E-Theses Moderization and Islam in Saudi Arabia

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Durham E-Theses
Moderization and Islam in Saudi Arabia : a sociological
study of ’Public Morality Committees’.
Al-Hedaithy, Mesaid Ibrahim
How to cite:
Al-Hedaithy, Mesaid Ibrahim (1989) Moderization and Islam in Saudi Arabia : a sociological study of
’Public Morality Committees’., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online:
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1018/
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ABSTRACT
al-Hedaithy, Mesaid Ibrahim. Ph.D., University of Durham, 1989.
Modernization and Islam in Saudi Arabia: a Sociological Study of
"Public Morality Committees".
This is a study of the dynamics of institutional religious
change in Saudi Arabia. Its aim is to analyse the effects of
institutional differentiation on the ability of official religious
organizations to continue playing their public role. The theoretical
framework is drawn from studies in sociology of religion which deal
with religious change in the modern world.
Three main approaches have been utilized to test the hypothesis
that there is a positive relationship between institutional
differentiation and secularization (loss of religious influence in
public life). Firstly, there is a general review of the main
sociological arguments dealing with modernization and secularization.
The aim is to test the applicability of these arguments to the
situation in Saudi Arabia. Secondly, a comparative and historical
approach is adopted to ascertain the changes that have taken place in
the public role of religion over the past five decades. And thirdly, a
detailed case study is presented of hay'at al-amr bi-'1-maerrif
wa-'1-nahy Can al-munkar (Organization for Enjoining the Acceptable
and Forbidding the Reprehensible): a unique religious organization
modelled after the traditional Islamic institution of hisbah, and
commonly known as "Public Morality Committees".
The case study provides basic information, much of which has
never been published in translation, about the hay'ah. The evidence,
collected during fieldwork in Saudi Arabia, demonstrates that a
traditional institution can continue playing its unique role in a
changing environment with an increasing degree of institutional
differentiation. The main hypothesis is not, therefore, supported by
what appears to be taking place in present-day Saudi Arabia. There has
been a high level of functional differentiation between the various
public spheres, but not to the point where religion might have become
a separate institution and lost its dominance in public life.
Modernization and Islam in Saudi Arabia:
a Sociological Study of "Public Morality Committees"
by
Mesaid Ibrahim al-Hedaithy
(Musacid Ibrahim Al -Hudaythi)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
The copyright of this thesis rests with the author.
No quotation from it should be published without
his prior written consent and information derived
from it should be acknowledged.
University of Durham
Department of Sociology and Social Policy
October 1989
31 OCT 1990
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1
Abstract
7
Statement of Copyright
8
Dedication

9
Acknowledgements
11
List of Figures
List of Tables 12
List of Appendices 13
Chapter One: General Introduction 14
A. Objectives of the Study 15
Statement of the Problem 19
Orientating Hypothesis 20
Definitions of Concepts 20
B. Organization of the Study 21
C. Methods of Study 23
D. Sources of Information 25
Primary Sources 25
Secondary Sources 27
E. Notes on Transliteration and Dates 27
PART I: Theoretical Bases 29
Chapter Two: Review of the Bain Sociological Arguments 30
A. Sociology of Religion: General Assessment 31
B. Sociology of Religion and Islam 35
C. Theories of Secularization 41
Secularization and Islam 48
D. Theories of Modernization and Development 51
Economic Development 58
Political Modernization 60
E. Religion and Modernization 62
Modernization and Islam 65
F. The Problematic Case of Saudi Arabia 66
Conclusion 69
PART II: Religion and State in Arabia: Past and Present 71
Introduction 72
4
Contents (continued)
Page
Chapter Three: Islam: Theological and Socio-Political Developments 74
A. The Rise of Islam 75
B. The Meaning and Institutions of Islam 77
Articles of Faith 79
The Five Pillars of Islam 80
The Sharicah 82
The cUlama' 84
The Madhahib 86
C. Islam as a Socio-Economic System 86
D. Islam as a Political System 90
E. Decline of Islam in Central Arabia 92
c c
F. The Da wah of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab 94
G. Restoration of the State Based on Religion 97
H. Religious Situation Before the Modern State 99
Conclusion 100
Chapter Four: The Modern Saudi State 102
A. Geographical Considerations 103
B. Unification of the Realm 1319-1352/1902-1932 107
C. The Role of Religion 109
The Ikhwln Movement 111
D. Political and Social Developments 1352-1373/
1932-1953 116
E. The Basis of a Modern State 1373-1390/
1953-1970 119
F. The Transformation Years 1390-1405/1970-1985 128
G. Saudi Arabia Today 137
Conclusion 144
Chapter Five: The Religious Situation Today 146
A. Public Manifestations of Religion 148
B. The Main Religious Institutions 151
Imam al-Muslimin 153
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques 153
The Holy Qur'an 154
The cUlamal 155
The Judiciary 159
Mosques 160
mai 161
c
Da wah and Guidance 163
Religious Education 164
Zaklh Collection 165
Endowments 165
C. The International Islamic Role of Saudi Arabia 166
D. Modernization and Religious Influence 168
E. Islam in Saudi Arabia in Comparative Perspective 174
Conclusion 177
5
Contents (continued)
Page
c
Part III: A Case Study of Hay 'at al-Apr wa-'1-Nahy
Can al-Munkar (Organization for Enjoining the Acceptable
and Forbidding the Reprehensible) 179
Introduction 180
The Importance of the Case of the Hay'ah 180
The Hay'ah in Western Literature 183
Chapter Six: The Traditional Bisbah and the Modern Hay'ah:
Bases and Historical Evolution 187
A. The Ideological Basis 187
B. The Institution of Visbah 192
Historical Evolution 198
Developments in the Arabian Peninsula 204
C. Evolution of the Modern Hay'ah 206
The Hay'ah in Najd 208
The Hay'ah in the Hejaz 213
The Hay'ah after 1976 218
Conclusion 220
Chapter Seven: The Hay'ah Today 222
A. Structure of the Hay'ah 223
The Hay'ah on the National Level 224
The Hay'ah on the Regional Level 229
The Hay'ah on the Local Level 233
B. Regulations 237
The Current Nizam (Statute) 238
The By-Laws of the Current Nizam 240
Comparing the Old and New Regulations 243
C. Members 249
D. Activities 259
Daily Activities 259
Occasional Activities 262
Annual Activities 264
Conclusion 266
Chapter Eight: The Hay'ah in Relation to Other Institutions 268
A. The Hay'ah and Law Enforcement Agencies 269
B. The Hay'ah and Other Government Institutions 276
C. The Hay'ah and the Media 280
D. The Hay'ah and the Public 282
E. The Hay'ah and Foreigners 291
Conclusion 298
6
Contents (continued)
Chapter Nine: Modernization and the Hay'ah 300
A. Implications of Modernization for the Hay'ah 302
Implications for Structure 302
Implications for Activity 305
Implications for Regulations 308
B. The Hay'ah and Bureaucracy 309
C. Institutional Differentiation and the Hay'ah 312
D. The Hay'ah Today: Problems and Prospects 319
Conclusion 324
PART IV: Summary, Analysis and Conclusions 326
Chapter Ten: Discussion of the Findings 327
A. The Main Findings 327
B. Limitations of the Study 338
C. Suggestions for Future Research 339
Endnotes 342
Appendices 372
Bibliography 418
7
Statement of Copyright
The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from
it should be published without his prior written consent, and
information derived from it should be acknowledged.
8
Dedicated to all members of my family
and to the memory of my friend
Dr. Mushayt H.al—Näyif