Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia: The Quest for Political Change and Reform (Routledge Studies in Political Islam)

305 Pages·2010·2.09 MB·English

by  Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi

Islam and Political Reform in
Saudi Arabia
Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia comprehensively explores, using
primary sources, the discourse and performance of influential Saudi Islamic
new generation ‘ulama in their struggle for reform, covering the 1980s to
2006. By addressing the changing directions of their struggle, with the Sunni
Islamic fiqh [Law and Jurisprudence], the dominant structure for the policy
paradigm, Alshamsi demonstrates how Islamic thought may inform a
reformist discourse and agenda.
In developing its argument, the book
● explores areas of agreement and disagreement, peace and conflict in Saudi
politics;
● discusses the contemporary Saudi civil political struggle and how it
might turn into revolutionary action;
● explains how legitimacy can bring the ruling authority and opposition
together;
● demonstrates how reformism is deeply rooted in an Islamic tradition;
● investigates how domestic, regional and global varieties can interact.

Providing a prodigious amount of innovative empirical research on Saudi
Arabia, this up-to-date study will aid in understanding the dynamics, policy-
making, activities, changing directions and struggle of contemporary Sunni
movements. It will be of interest to students and researchers of Islamic
politics, movements and discourse.
Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi, a political scientist working for the United
Arab Emirates Government, received his PhD in Politics from the University
of Exeter, UK, in 2004. The author of many research papers and studies on
Middle Eastern affairs, US foreign policy and Islamic movements,
Dr Alshamsi emphasizes the necessity of applying scientific and objective
methods to the understanding of Middle Eastern politics.
Routledge studies in political Islam
1 The Flourishing of Islamic Reformism in Iran
Political Islamic groups in Iran (1941–61)
Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi
2 The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb
The theory of Jahiliyyah
Sayed Khatab
3 The Power of Sovereignty
The political and ideological philospohy of Sayyid Qutb
Sayed Khatab
4 Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia
The quest for political change and reform
Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi
Islam and Political Reform
in Saudi Arabia
The quest for political change
and reform
Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi
First published 2011
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Alshamsi, Mansoor Jassem.
Islam and political reform in Saudi Arabia: the quest for political change and
reform/Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi.
p. cm. – (Routledge studies in political Islam; 4)
“Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Saudi Arabia–Politics and government–1982- 2. Islam and state–Saudi Arabia. 3. Islam and
politics–Saudi Arabia. 4. Social problems–Saudi Arabia. 5. Opposition (Political science)–Saudi
Arabia. 6. Democratization–Saudi Arabia. I. Title.
DS244.63.A47 2007
953.805'3–dc22
2006037159
ISBN 0-203-96112-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–41241–4 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–96112–4 (ebk)
Contents
Author’s notes viii
1 Introduction 1
Background 2
Defining the movement 4
Constitutional, legal and political aspects 7
The leadership in the context of Islamic movements 9
The leadership in the context of Saudi politics 11
Procedure 12
Contents 14
Al-mudafa‘a 15
Summary 15
2 Context 17
3 The Sunni fiqh 30
The meaning of fiqh[Law and Jurisprudence] 30
The sources of the fiqh 31
The significance of the fiqh 32
Fiqh al-siyasa al-shar‘iyah[Islamic Political Jurisprudence] 33
Al-tawhidand its political implementation 36
Summary 40
4 Further perspectives on the Sunni fiqh 41
Theory of maqasid al-shari‘ah[The Aims of Islamic Law] 41
Al-huquq al-shar’iyah[Legitimate Rights in Islam] 42
The question of al-khuruj[revolution] 45
Fiqh al-muwazanat wa al-awlawiyat[Balances and Priorities] 49
vi Contents
5 Intellectual interaction 51
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 51
Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah 52
The Najdi-Saudi ‘ulama 55
Muhammad Qutb 59
Muhammad al-Albani 61
Muhammad al-Rashid 61
Muhammad Surur 62
Summary 63
6 Political struggle: countering 65
Background 65
Countering in the 1980s 66
The policy of countering 71
External political interaction 74
7 Countering policy in the 1990s 78
Background 78
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 80
Historical/political initiatives 86
The continuing discourse 89
Continuation 98
8 Petitions and challenges 99
Background 99
Kitab Shawal/Kitab al- ‘Ulama– May 1991
[Letter of Shawal or Letter of the ‘Ulama] 99
Mudhakkirat al-Nasihah– July 1992
[Memorandum of Advice] 102
Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights (CDLR) 110
Domestic challenges 111
Continuation 116
9 The Monarchy and support 117
Background 117
Tension, pressure, political resistance and arrest 117
Support, recognition and scholarly endorsements 132
Summary 134
Contents vii
10 Appeasement 137
Background 137
The changed strategy: playing down the political factor 139
Positive elements 140
The expansion of opportunities 142
The Islamic da‘wahactivities 143
The use of the Internet 148
Content of the Islamic reformist message 149
11 External focus: resumption of al-madafa‘a 153
Background 153
Countering the external – appeasing the internal 153
Domestic security focus – resumption of al-mudafa‘a
[the dimension of countering] 164
Summary 169
12 Political realism 172
Background 172
The leadership and characteristics 174
The context of the Monarchy 176
The context of external factors 178
The context of the Islamic cause 186
The question of power, violence and jihad 187
Summary 195
13 Conclusion 198

Synopsis 198
Summary of actions 198
Discourse and actions defined 205
Other literature 211
Determining the future 218
Summary 225
Appendices 226
Glossary 227
Notes 241
Selected references 282
Index 289
Author’s notes
This book is based on my PhD dissertation, titled ‘The Discourse and
Performance of the Saudi Sunni Islamic Reformist Leadership: 1981–2003’,
updated till mid-2006.
In translating sections of lessons or cassettes from Arabic, I have tried to
retain the original thrust, and sense, behind the message rather than try to
put the translation into everyday English, so as to retain the tone and essence
of the message translated. I have also given a variation of translations to many
of the Arabic words to specifically convey the essence of the word/concept.
Space limitations have made it necessary to leave out most of the bibliog-
raphy of documents studied, and only selected references are given, but I have
placed many partial references in the footnotes. Any person wishing more
information on any document is welcome to request a copy of the original
bibliography by e-mail from [email protected].
Similarly, I have had to reduce on the Appendices and have only included
a list of the titles of the most important Appendices, under their original
numbers, but you are welcome to contact me by e-mail to request a full list,
or a copy of any specific Appendix.
I am greatly indebted – more than words can express – to my family, my wife

and children, for their understanding, patience and constant encouragement.
Honour and praise to Almighty Allah who made me capable of
undertaking this work.
Mansoor Alshamsi
1 Introduction
This book is based on the author’s PhD dissertation, titled ‘The Discourse and
Performance of the Saudi Sunni Islamic Reformist Leadership: 1981–2003’,
brought up to date to mid-2006. It investigates the discourse and perfor-
mance of a contemporary domestic Saudi Sunni Islamic reformist leadership
of three ‘new generation’ ‘ulama: Safar al-Hawali, Salman al-Oudah and
Nassir al-Omar. As a scholarly Sunni Islamic reformist group, they are a
political force that has sought political change and reform in Saudi Arabia
through accommodation. Using primary sources, the author examines the
development, phases and dimensions of the political struggle of the reformist
leadership from 1981 to 2006.
The primary objective of this book is to investigate the reformist
leadership’s concepts on the question of political change and reform, and to
understand the leadership’s dominant policy formation paradigm. This is essen-
tial for understanding the way in which the reformist leadership addresses the
question of political change and reform, and the consequences of raising this
question, which is important in understanding the policy applied to this end.
The author examines the discourse, in its wider sense, of the reformist lead-
ership since 1981. In this discourse, the question of political change and

reform was born, and arguments and a number of policy formation models are
defined in the reformist leadership’s literature. This has shown Sunni Islamic
fiqh [Law and Jurisprudence], in general, and fiqh al-siyasa al-shar‘iyah
[Islamic Political Jurisprudence], in particular, as the foundation concepts for
the three scholars. The reformist leadership’s fiqh is connected to a wider
examination of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence and political juristic works, both
classical and contemporary, and the author explains his understanding of the
discourse and performance of the reformist leadership. This study endeavours
to improve understanding by showing how the reformist leadership has taken
a leading role in the movement for political change and reform. The reformist
leadership’s relationship with the Monarchy, in particular, is defined and
examined. It is concluded that al-mudafa‘a [dimension of countering], as a
policy, has emerged as the dominant style of these scholars through the last
two decades, indicating a two-dimensional policy of countering and appease-
ment, applied in a dynamic, systematic and flexible manner towards internal
and external players.