Digital Commons Network^™

Indigenous Yet Suspect: The Securitization Of Saudi Arabia’S Shi'a Minority, Farah Balut

The Dialogue

This paper examines the marginalization of Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a minority through the lens of securitization theory. It argues that discrimination against Shi’a citizens is not periodic but embedded within the kingdom’s nation-building project, where Wahhabi orthodoxy has been fused with political loyalty. From early incorporation of the Eastern Province to the upheavals of 1979 and the reform era of Vision 2030, Shi’a identity has been framed as a potential internal threat. By tracing institutional practices, geopolitical anxieties, and lived experiences, the paper demonstrates how securitization structures conditional citizenship while highlighting Shi’a resilience within an evolving Saudi state.

Ulama And Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia Government's Strategies To Navigate A Successful Economic Reform, Nashiha Ulya, Hamdan Basyar

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 seeks to diversify its oil-dependent economy, but scepticism persists due to past reform failures, particularly in fiscal policy and labour markets. Ulama, as key figures in the Saudi "social contract," play a vital role in legitimising government policies, especially on social and religious matters. However, reforms promoting private sector growth and social liberalisation have raised concerns among conservative ulama over potential threats to Islamic values. To address this, the government under Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) employs a strategy of separating economic and religious narratives while using a "carrot and stick" approach to manage ulama opposition. This …

Social Reporting By Saudi Islamic Banks: A Longitudinal Approach, Faisal A. Otaibi

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics

This study aims to assess the social reporting practices of Saudi Islamic Banks (IBs) over a 15-year period. It seeks to evaluate the effectiveness with which Saudi IBs meet their social reporting expectations, including Sharīʿah disclosure requirements. A longitudinal content analysis method was utilized, underpinned by a specifically developed research instrument that is culturally relevant and reflects the unique characteristics of Islamic banking. This approach allows tracking of changes over an extended period and captures the dynamic nature of disclosure practices influenced by both internal ethical mandates and external regulatory pressures. The findings reveal a moderate disclosure rate of 51.11% …

Oceanic Wahhabism, Nicholas P. Roberts

Student Scholarship

At some point around 1810, a leading Wahhabi theologian in the capital of the First Saudi State fielded an intriguing question: Although Wahhabi leaders preached the ideals of enmity and violence toward non-Wahhabi peoples, could Wahhabi merchants travel to non-Wahhabi lands, do business with non-Wahhabi persons, and reside among them while pursuing commercial agend as? The theologian answered yes. I argue that this question and its answer reveal a lived reality in Najd that historians have yet to fully uncover. The theologian’s answer reveals how Arabia’s interior where Wah habismemerged was enmeshed alongside Arabia’s coasts within the broader Afro-Asian Indian …

Predictors Of Statistics Anxiety Among Graduate Students In Saudi Arabia, Rabab Abdulghani

Dissertations

Problem

The problem addressed in this study is the anxiety experienced by graduate students toward statistics courses, which often causes students to delay taking statistics courses until the end of their program. Students believe that statistics courses are not essential and are the greatest obstacles to obtaining their degree. Previous theoretical models have focused on predicting student performance in statistics. However, this study aims to identify specific factors that could decrease student statistics anxiety and enhance positive attitudes and self-efficacy toward statistics. The study developed a conceptual model to predict statistics anxiety among graduate students in educational and social science …

Deconstructing Saudi Arabia’S Foreign Aid Motives To Yemen, Ghita Fadhila Andrini, Taufik Hidayat, Dina Yulianti

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This research assesses the motives of Saudi Arabia’s aid to Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been the most significant donor to the country whilst threatening humanitarian conditions in Yemen through its military intervention. Thus, this research aims to unveil the Kingdom’s reasons to provide foreign aid to Yemen whilst doing the military intervention. This research uses the seven foreign aid frames according to Veen (2011) to analyse possible interest implied in the Kingdom’s foreign aid delivery to Yemen. The method used in this research is a literature review by analysing the Kingdom’s official statements published on the government's official websites and …

Quietly Encouraging Saudi Arabia’S Transient Economy, Austin H. Hardman

Pepperdine Policy Review

The Saudi government has made tremendous progress in liberalizing its economy. The Saudi legal system is more business friendly now than ever and many of the legislative changes have occurred in just the past 5 years. Economic obstacles preventing Americans from further investing in Saudi Arabia’s private sector have largely been resolved in theory. This is good news for U.S. policy makers. Economic modernization is believed to bring regional and domestic stability. However, Saudi Arabia has been trending towards becoming a more authoritarian regime. The Saudi Royal authority has supplanted powers allocated for religious authority in the name of economic …

The Experiences Of Undergraduate Saudi Students In The Stem Trajectory: A Closer Look At Major Choice And Persistence Intentions, Manal Almalki

Dissertations

STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are a key source of economic progress in many countries. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia works toward an innovative and knowledgeable economy, more qualified national professionals in STEM are needed. Nevertheless, the problem of STEM attrition is still insufficiently explored in Saudi Arabia, which may indicate a gap between skills of the Saudi workforce and the country’s need for economic development. Therefore, this study attempts to provide more information about the STEM trajectory in Saudi Arabia, underline possible attrition points that require more attention, deliver a better understanding of the factors that …

Aftermaths Of Opposition: Effectiveness Of Repression Against Reformist Islamists In Saudi Arabia, Londyn Lorenz

Honors Theses

Saudi Arabia has long been considered a religious, political, and economic hub of the Middle East and North Africa as the home of the two holiest cities in Islam: Mecca and Medina. The kingdom’s leaders, the Al Saud family, have relied on their Islamic clout to remain in power since the 1700s, but their Islamic credentials were called into question following their allowance of American troops on Saudi soil and alliance with Western ideals during and following the Gulf War of the 1990s. Islamist outrage against the throne poured out across the nation, bringing demands for political change and increased …

Jihad Rehab, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Jihad Rehab (2021), directed by Meg Smaker.

Assessing The Liability Exposure Of Public Joint-Stock Companies' Directors Under The Liability Rules In Saudi Arabia, Ahad Ali Alomran

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the business environment in Saudi Arabia has been considered low risk. However, with the introduction of Vision 2030 in 2016, the socioeconomic transition and regulatory evolution witnessed in Saudi Arabia have reshaped the business environment and redefined the risk landscape faced by public companies and their boards. The increase in the market regulator’s monitoring and penalizing activities, the legislative reforms of management liability rules, the approval of securities class action, and the unprecedented rise in shareholder activities against their board of directors are recent developments that directly affect directors’ exposure to liability. Generally, operating in a legal system with …

Saudi Efl Female Teachers' Beliefs: A Single Case Study, Eman Saleh Bosaad

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

SAUDI EFL FEMALE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS: A SINGLE CASE STUDY

By

Eman Bosaad

B.S., in Biology, King Faisal University, 2005

B.S., Linguistics, University of New Mexico, 2014

M.A. in Language Literacy and Sociocultural Studies, University of New Mexico, 2016

PhD in Language Literacy and Sociocultural Studies, University of New Mexico, 2021

ABSTRACT

We are facing a huge linguistic and cultural change as a result of the spread of English language in KSA. It has been an important criterion to succeed in education or to obtain an opportunity in the Saudi job market (Al- Jarf, 2008; Al-Seghayer, 2014a; Al-Seghayer, 2014b; Rahman, 2013). …

Activities Of Central Asian Research Centres In The Arab States, Shavkat Ikromov

The Light of Islam

This article is devoted to the activities of centers for the scientific study of Central Asia in the Arab states. In the article, based on Arabic-language sources, a comparative and content analysis of research and work carried out in scientific centers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Algeria are carried out. As well as scientific research at the universities of Baghdad, Mosul, Mustansiri and Kufa in Iraq, several higher educational institutions and research centers such as Al-Azhar in Cairo on the history and politics of Central Asia.

The purpose of this article is to study the coverage of the modern …

Saudi Runaway, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Saudi Runaway (2020) directed by Susanne Regina Meures.

Change Management And Its Role In Enhancing Human Resource Potential In Educational Institutions: A Study At Rowad Attarbiah Schools In Riyadh / Abdullah Mohammed A Alasmari, A Alasmari Abdullah Mohammed

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study fundamentally highlights the role of Change management in promoting the human resources for the employees in the institutions in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to support the efforts of educational development as adopted in the kingdom’s vision 2030. The objective of this study is to measure the degree of correlation between the application of change strategies, as an independent factor, and the level of effectiveness and efficiency acquired by the personnel of the human resources management in the kingdom’s educational institutions, as a dependent factor. This is done by determining the extent of the impact of developing the …

Women's Rights To Work: A Study On Saudi Society Understanding And The Vision Of Saudi Arabia 2030: An Analysis From The Shariah Perspective / Mal, Bander Abdulrazaq A, Abdulrazaq A Mal, Bander

Student Works (2010-2019)

Women rights have always raised public concerns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and around the world. This was accompanied by a wide debate among the members of the society betOween supporters and opponents of woman going out to work which caused concepts formation of social customs and traditions that allow men to control women. Thus, the masculine society concept became one of the characteristics of the Saudi society, which derives its strength from extremism at times and from customs and traditions -that are contrary to Islamic law - at other times. Having said that, this study has shed light …

Declining Versus Increasing Access To American Aviation Technology: Syria And Saudi Arabia In The 20th Century, Andrea L. Stanton

Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This article uses Syria and Saudi Arabia as contrasting examples of how different Arab states interacted with United States aviation technology, involving aviation technology companies, airline corporations, and government officials as they worked to develop civil and military aviation capabilities after World War II. It considers the role played by airline companies like TWA, the impact of the shift from military to commercial aviation technology among companies like Boeing, and the fallout from regional political developments like the Iranian Revolution. These factors all placed varying constraints on the two countries’ ability to draw upon American sources for airplanes and other …

The Attitudes Of Saudi Teachers Toward Teaching Physical Education For Girls At Public Schools In Jeddah, Turki H. Samargandi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Saudi teachers towards teaching PE for girls at public schools in Jeddah city and to explore the factors that may affect these attitudes. The researcher explored the reasons behind the PE ban for girls in these schools. The number of participants was Four hundred and sixty-two teachers who completed the survey (N = 462). T-Test and One-Way ANNOVA were the two methods to analyze the data collected.

The results indicated that about 95.1% of them agreed that regular practice of physical education can affect positively the appearance and the …

Islam In Saudi Arabia: The Homogeneous Portrayal And Heterogeneous Reality, John Rogeberg

Masters Theses

The objective of this thesis is to apply commonly held statistics in the world of missiology regarding folk Islamic practices to the least likely country for such practices to be found, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is believed by most to be the birth-site of an austere, strict, orthodox form of Islam, responsible for the nature and nurture (education, promotion, and financing) of Islamic extremism. Conversely, I posit that through tracing the development of Wahhabism and its current global influence on Islam, its literalist interpretation becomes a profitable tool for the student of anthropology, missiology, and cross-cultural studies to gain a …

Universal Principles Of Bioethics And Patient Rights In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Abdulbasit Bukhari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to keep pace with international bioethical practices, and with international bioethical declarations, this dissertation will investigate challenges facing patients’ rights discourse in Saudi Arabia, and the adaptation of universal bioethics standards in the Saudi healthcare system. The role of religion and issues of human rights will be discussed further, given that religion and human rights affect patient’s rights profoundly. Specifically, the divergence between religious dictations and the secular language of human rights principles will provide a distinctive perspective on patients’ rights discourse, especially in a country such as Saudi Arabia where religion is integral to the national foundations, …

Saudi Women Studying In The United States: Understanding Their Experiences, Trinidad Macias

Theses & Dissertations

The number of students from Saudi Arabia studying in the United States is increasing; this study focused on understanding Saudi women studying in the United States. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to address the main research question: What are the perceptions of Saudi women on their experiences as international college students in the United States? In an attempt to understand their experiences, eleven Saudi Arabian women were interviewed. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview format. Analysis of the data was conducted via a four-step process that consisted of transcribing the interviews, reduction, horizontalization, and imaginative variation (Merriam, 2002). …

New Middle East Cold War: Saudi Arabia And Iran's Rivalry, Tali Rachel Grumet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The competing powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to redress and reverse the strategic imbalance and direction of the Middle East’s regional politics. The 1979 Iranian Revolution catapulted these two states into an embittered rivalry. The fall of Saddam Hussein following the 2003 U.S. led invasion, the establishment of a Shi’ite Iraq and the 2011 Arab Uprisings have further inflamed tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia have not confronted each other militarily, but rather have divided the region into two armed camps on the basis of political and religious ideology in seeking regional allies and …

Developing An E-Learning Training Package For Academic Staff In One University In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Mulhem

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The focus of this study is the development of an e-learning training package for the academic staff in King Faisal University (KFU) in Saudi Arabia. Evidence suggests that there is a lack of training for academic staff in Saudi Higher Education on how to integrate e-learning in their teaching. Despite this, very little attention is paid in the research literature to the design and evaluation of e-learning training. There is no clarity therefore about what constitutes effective e-learning training in higher education. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate a training package for the academic staff. The study was …

Designing, Piloting And Evaluating An Ict Training Programme For Novice Female Primary Teachers In Saudi, Ensaf Al Muljim

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The focus of this study is the development of an ICT training package for novice female primary teachers in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia has placed a lot of importance on increasing the use of ICT within schools. Evidence suggests however that little attention has been paid to the provision of ICT training, particularly in primary education. Furthermore, in the general research literature; whilst there is much talk about the need for training, very little evidence is provided regarding what kind of training is effective. The purpose of this study therefore was to …

Undergraduate Mathematics Students' Attitudes Toward Using E-Learning In Saudi Arabia, Bakheet Wasel Alrehaili

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of undergraduate mathematics students in Saudi Arabia towards online mathematicsEducation. Comparisons were made among male, female, underclassmen, and upperclassmen undergraduate mathematics students at the University of Tabuk (UT). Of 161 students enrolled in the mathematics program, 118 mathematics students responded to the survey. The sample consisted of 57 male and 61 female students. A 2 × 2 ANOVA test was used to reveal any statistically significant differences between the various groups based on gender andEducational level. The findings showed that underclassmen did not differ significantly from upperclassmen in their …

Two Essays In Islamic Finance And Investment, Hesham J. Merdad

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this dissertation is to lessen the gap in the Islamic finance and investment literature by providing new answers to the most vital question raised in that literature: Is the adherence to the Shariah law associated with at any cost?

The first chapter provides a primer on Islamic finance. It discusses several restrictions and necessary adaptations that must be made to have a Shariah-compliant product. The takeaway is that Shariah law mandates is related to fundamentals and, thus has a direct effect on the risk-return profile of all sorts of different products. This is referred to as …

International Update (No. 2) November 2011

International Update archive (2010-2012)

Table of contents for this issue: (a) Beginning teacher standards in Saudi Arabia; (b) National assessment reports on health of UAE school system; (c) AHELO moves ahead; (d) ACER and CBSE conduct international assessment conference; (e) ACER India expands operations; (f) Measuring adult skills in New Zealand; (g) ACER and UNESCO Beirut collaborate in Arab States; (h) Reading literacy reform in Portugal; (i) Assessing generic skills; (j) Testing basic mathematics in Norway.

The Impact Of Home Computers On 12th Grade Students' Achievement In The Computer Science Curriculum In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Mohammed A. Aljuwaiber

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology has improved manyEducational issues. This is a very exciting time for technology andEducation. The primary purpose of this study was aimed at understanding the impact of home computer use on academic achievement in the computer curriculum of the 12th grade students in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In particular, the study attempted to determine if the use of home computers would be an effective manner for increasing students' academic achievement. The participants of the study were 240 male and female students as a random sample from 12th grade from eight random high schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An achievement …

Saudi Arabia And Expansionist Wahhabism, Samiah Baroni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the development of Wahhabism as an ideology into a rapidly expanding, transportable, contemporary Islamic political system. Serving as the territorial foundation, individuals maintain allegiance to Makkah, the center of the Islamic world, through symbolic Islamic prayer. Along with a central, globally financed economic distributive mechanism, and Wahhabi social and educational institutions emerging from the traditional mosque, Wahhabism serves the demand for an Islamic political system in a late capitalist world. Wahhabism is fluid within contemporary dynamic political systems and rapidly changing international relations. Wahhabism continues to expand at a global level, at times, providing a foundation for …

Reading, Writing, And Radicalism: The Limits On Government Control Over Private Schooling In An Age Of Terrorism., Avigael N. Cymrot

St. Mary's Law Journal

There are constitutional limitations that govern attempts to regulate the teaching of terrorism-encouraging ideologies. According to a 1999-2000 study by the National Center of Education Statistics, there are 152 full-time Islamic schools in the United States, schooling about 19,000 students. The primary concern is not that children will be instructed to immediately engage in terrorist acts, but that the teaching of a radical Islamist ideology will predispose them to join radical Islamist terrorist movements and engage in violence. The Free Exercise Clause and parental rights doctrine, however, might not by themselves bar the state from interfering in private education to …