January 22, 2020

On Friday, January 17, weary and filthy racers from all over the world completed the final stage of the Dakar Rally, pulling their off-road vehicles into Qiddiya, a new entertainment “megaproject” on the outskirts of Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The racers entered the vast construction zone of Qiddiya and crossed the finish line after 12 grueling stages of gritty cross-country racing, covering 4,660 miles (7,500 kilometers) of dirt, rock, and sand—lots of sand.

Casale Ignacio of Chile rides an all-terrain vehicle through the desert near Neom, Saudi Arabia, during stage three of the Dakar Rally on Jan. 7, 2020. Credit: © DPPI/ASO

The Dakar Rally, once known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, is an annual cross-country endurance race. The rally includes five different vehicle categories: cars; motorcycles; quads (all-terrain vehicles, or ATV’s); trucks; and utility task vehicles, or UTV’s (a two-seater style of ATV also known as a Side-by-Side, or SxS). This year’s race began with 351 vehicles carrying 557 racers from 53 countries.

Dakar Rally 2020 logo.
Credit: © ASO

The race began in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah on January 5, ran north along the Red Sea coast to the new city of Neom near the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, and then turned east through the barren Northern Deserts to Riyadh. The racers then headed through the Nadj (central plateau) and skirted the vast Rub al Khali (empty quarter) before doubling back to Qiddiya. The long route circled mountains and crossed canyons, wadis (usually dry valleys or ravines), and immense sand dunes. The extreme remoteness and rugged terrain of the route tested navigational skills and pushed drivers to the limits of endurance. Often the going was dangerous: the Portuguese motorcyclist Paulo Gonçalves was killed in a crash during stage seven between Riyadh and Wadi Al Dawasir on January 12.

Dakar Rally drivers from the United States took home first-place trophies for the first time in 2020. California’s Ricky Brabec, racing in his fifth Dakar Rally, took the motorcycle competition with a total time of 40 hours, 2 minutes, and 36 seconds. Racing in his second Dakar Rally, Casey Currie—also from California—won the Side-by-Side race (along with his navigator, Sean Berriman) with a time of 53:25:52. The other Dakar categories were won by racers from Chile, Spain, and Russia. Accidents, mechanical failures, and other problems accounted for an attrition rate (percentage of racers unable to finish the rally) of 31 percent.

A lone biker follows a remote desert track in Argentina during the 2017 Dakar Rally. Credit: © Dan Istitene, Getty Images

The first Dakar Rally began on Dec. 26, 1978, as 182 motorcycles and cars revved their engines on the Place du Trocadéro in Paris, France, preparing for the 6,200-mile (10,000-kilometer) journey to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Covering more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) per day, the winning racers crossed the Dakar finish line on Jan. 14, 1979. Just 74 vehicles completed the race. The racers followed a route from Paris to Marseille, where boats carried them across the Mediterranean Sea to Algeria. From there, the route continued through the dunes and dust of Niger, Mali, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), and, finally, Senegal.

The Dakar Rally continued annually and gained popularity, reaching a peak of 688 racers in 2005. In 2008, security threats in Mauritania (Mali’s neighbor to the west) shut down the race, and it was moved to the deserts and scrubland of South America. After 11 races through Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, the Dakar Rally moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020.

September 14, 2016

Since last weekend, nearly 2 million Muslims have descended on Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the 2016 hajj, an annual holy pilgrimage (it ends tomorrow). The hajj (Arabic for pilgrimage) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, formal acts of worship that provide the framework for a Muslim’s life. The Qur’ān, the holy book of Islam, commands all Muslims to make a hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially able to do so. According to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics, the 2016 hajj truly was a global event. Of the 1.86 million pilgrims who attended, more than 70 percent came from beyond Saudi Arabia. The 2016 hajj also was notable for increased security and crowd-control measures after a stampede in 2015 killed more than 700 people. Such measures included the deployment of security personnel, the installation of hundreds of new surveillance cameras, and the distribution of electronic identification bracelets containing pilgrims’ personal data.

Muslims pray at the Kaaba in Mecca’s Great Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Credit: © Shutterstock

The hajj takes place each year during Dhūl-Hijja, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. It includes several rites that commemorate the trials and sacrifices of the prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar, and their son the prophet Ishmael. During the hajj, pilgrims wear special garments and circle the Kaaba, the most sacred shrine of Islam, seven times. Muslims believe that Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba as the first house of worship to God. It is an empty, cube-shaped building in the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca. Muslims all over the world face the direction of the Kaaba every day when they pray. During the hajj, pilgrims also visit Mount Arafat, a site outside of Mecca where the prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon. Another rite involves the gathering and casting of stones at special pillars to symbolize a rejection of Satan, or the Devil.

Muslims visit Mount Arafat, the site of Muhammad’s final sermon, during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Credit: © Hikrcn/Shutterstock

The major Muslim festival of `Īd al-Ad-hā (also spelled Eid al-Adha) coincides with the later part of the hajj. The name of the festival means Feast of the Sacrifice in Arabic. During `Īd al-Ad-hā, Muslims gather an hour after sunrise in open spaces or in mosques to perform a community prayer. Muslims who can afford it sacrifice an animal, such as a camel, cow, goat, or sheep. The sacrifice honors Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his older son, Ishmael, and God’s decision to substitute a ram instead. The Qur’ān explains that the sacrifice is not an offering of meat to God, but a holy act of sharing food. Those who sacrifice share with the poor and with their neighbors. During the festival, children receive gifts, and people visit family and friends.

Some Muslims complete the hajj multiple times during their lives. Muslims believe a person who makes such a pilgrimage secures great religious merit. In addition to having religious significance, the hajj has great economic importance for the city of Mecca. The city has some minor industries, but its economy depends on money spent by the great number of pilgrims who visit each year.

January 4, 2016

Today, Bahrain and Sudan joined Saudi Arabia in breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran, and the United Arab Emirates downgraded its relations with Iran. Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran on Sunday after an angry mob stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital. The spark behind this latest row between long-time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran was the execution of Shī`ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The people of Saudi Arabia are predominantly Sunni Muslims, and Shī`ite Muslims around the world condemned the cleric’s execution as motivated purely by sectarianism (prejudice in favor of one’s own sect).

Middle East Map. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Differences between Shī`ite and Sunni Muslims have resulted in violence in the Middle East for centuries. Iran is the largest—but also one of the few—Shī`ite-dominated countries. As such, it is often at odds with the Sunni-controlled countries that make up the majority of the Muslim world. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 for playing a central part in protests against the Saudi government. However, he claimed never to have advocated violence or terrorism. Saturday’s execution in Saudi Arabia also included 3 other Saudi Shī`ites, as well as 43 Sunnis accused of working with Al-Qa`ida.

Other World Book articles: 

•  Islam (2009) – A Back in Time article
• Middle East (2012) – A Back in Time article
• Saudi Arabia (2012) – A Back in Time article

December 14, 2015

Women in Saudi Arabia were elected to office for the first time in landmark municipal elections held on December 12. It was also the first time that Saudi women were allowed to vote and to run for office. Although women won only a fraction of the total number of local council seats—about a dozen of the 2,106 available—it was seen as a turning point in this ultra-conservative monarchy in which women are still deprived of many basic rights, including driving or traveling abroad without a male relative’s permission. Saudi Arabia had been the only other country besides Vatican City that denied women the right to vote where men had the right.

Women made up a small portion of the electorate in the elections. Only 130,000 women registered to vote, compared with 1.36 million men. While overall turnout was a little less than 50 percent, the turnout of women was nearly 80 percent in some places. Nevertheless, local councils have limited powers. They oversee urban development projects in their districts, but have no final say on how the public money is spent. A third of 3,159 municipal council seats nationwide are appointed, rather than elected.

The national government of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy under the Al Saud ruling family. In 2005, municipal elections were held throughout Saudi Arabia for the first time. Only men were allowed to vote in them. They were the country’s first political elections of any kind since 1963. In 2011, King Abdullah announced that women would be allowed to vote and run for office in the 2015 elections.

Many people hoped the vote would pave the way for more progress on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Prince Fahad bin Sultan, the governor of Tabuk province where two women won seats, called the women candidates’ victories a “major shift” and said he hoped they would encourage more women to participate in future elections.

Additional World Book articles:

• Woman suffrage
• Women’s movement
• Saudi Arabia (2011) – A Back in Time article
• Saudi Arabia (2013) – A Back in Time article
• Saudi Women Granted Vote (2011) – A Behind the Headlines article
• Saudi Women to be Lashed for Driving (2011) – A Behind the Headlines article

June 4, 2014

More than 280 people in Saudi Arabia are now confirmed to have been killed by the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, almost 100 more than initially thought, Saudi Arabian health officials announced yesterday. Saudi authorities also revealed there have been 688 confirmed Mers infections in the kingdom. Besides Saudi Arabia, cases of the virus have been confirmed in Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Travelers to and from Saudi Arabia are believed to have spread the virus.

The virus is related to the common cold but can result in pneumonia and kidney failure. Epidemiologists suspect that camels are the main source of infection for humans.

Health officials believe that camels are the main source of the MERS virus. Camel racing remains a popular past time in Saudi Arabia. (Ernst A. Weber, Photo Researchers)

Additional World Book article:

• Public health and safety 2013 (a Back in Time article)

A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for defying the nation’s ban on female drivers. She was found guilty of driving a car in Jeddah in July. Since the 1960′s, educational and occupational opportunities for Saudi woman have increased somewhat. However, the Saudi government continues to enforce a strict version of Sunni law known as Wahhābism. Under this version of Islamic law, women are not allowed to drive or travel without the permission of a male relative.

On September 25, Saudi King Abdullah announced that women will be permitted to vote and run as candidates in municipal (city) elections beginning in 2015. Saudi activists praised the decision as an important step in efforts to loosen restrictions on Saudi women. King Abdullah also announces that women will have the right to serve on the Shura Council, an advisory board that the king can consult. All members of the board are appointed by the government.

Additional World Book articles:

• Human rights
• Shari`ah
• Woman’s suffrage

Women in Saudi Arabia will be permitted to vote and run as candidates in municipal (city) elections beginning in 2015, announces King Abdullah. Saudi activists praised the decision as an important step in efforts to loosen restrictions on Saudi women. Since the 1960′s, educational and occupational opportunities for Saudi woman have increased. However, the Saudi government enforces a strict version of Sunni law known as Wahhābism. Under this version of Islamic law, women are not allowed to drive or travel without the permission of a male relative.

Elections for municipal councils, held for the first time in 2005, are the only public elections in Saudi Arabia. (Saudi Arabia is ruled by an absolute monarch—that is, the king holds nearly all power.) The second round of elections is scheduled for September 29. Voters choose about half of the members of the local councils. The government appoints the remaining members. The next municipal elections are scheduled for 2015.

King Abdullah also announces that women will have the right to serve on the Shura Council, an advisory board that the king can consult. All members of the board are appointed by the government.

Additional World Book articles:

• Human rights
• Shari`ah
• Woman’s suffrage