Toby Matthiesen - The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism

This book is the product of countless conversations, extensive fieldwork and a close reading of textual sources. During my main period of fieldwork in Saudi Arabia, in 2008, discussing the histories and contemporary manifestations of being Shia in Saudi Arabia was possible in a way that it would not be for much longer. The mid-2000s were characterised by national dialogues and a public recognition on the part of King Abdullah that the Shia are an integral part of Saudi Arabia. Unlike in previous decades, particularly the most confrontational phase between 1979 and 1993, the history of Shia dissent, and of discrimination against them, was a topic that some Saudis were willing to discuss. When I finished the doctorate on which this book is based in 2011, what is often simplistically called the Shia question in Saudi Arabia was framed very differently, however. Shia in the Eastern Province had staged mass protests for more rights, which undermined the notion that Saudi Arabia was somehow exempt from the fallout of the Arab uprisings. Research on Saudi Arabia, and particularly on a sensitive issue such as Shia politics, is extremely difficult and sources are hard to come by. While I had the opportunity to carry out fieldwork across Saudi Arabia, including in various cities and villages of the Eastern Province, I broadened the geographical scope of my fieldwork considerably. I interviewed Saudi Shia, opposition activists but also clerics, intellectuals, journalists and less politically active people in Europe, the United States, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon. Across these countries I also searched for opposition publications and local historiographical books on Saudi Shia history. I found some on the outdoor book market in the Eastern Province city of Qatif, where one can buy books that are banned in Saudi Arabia for discussing Shia religious In many ways, the two books complement each other, The Other Saudis outlining the historical struggle of the Shia in Saudi Arabia, and Sectarian Gulf detailing the protest movements and sectarian politics across the Gulf since 2011.

Many people have made this research possible; this list will inevitably be incomplete. Some of the Saudis and other Khalijis who shared their memories with me asked to remain anonymous but I hope they will recognise their voices in the book. Charles Tripp, the supervisor of my doctoral dissertation, and Laleh Khalili, my second supervisor, have been a tremendous source of support. In Saudi Arabia, I am indebted to Awad al-Badi, Sadiq al-Jubran, Habib Al Jumay, Kamil al-Khatti, Jafar al-Shayib and many others. Several friends and colleagues have commented on earlier versions of this manuscript, and have in some cases read it several times. Their comments have significantly improved this book, and I am beholden to them: Khalid Abdallah, Safa Al Ahmad, Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll, Werner Ende, Thomas Hegghammer, Claudia Honegger, Laurence Lour, Laetitia Nanquette, James Piscatori, Anees Alqudaihi, Siavush Randjbar-Daemi, Glen Rangwala, Madawi al-Rasheed, Adrian Ruprecht, Tawfiq al-Sayf, Roger Tomkys, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Marc Valeri, Max Weiss and Alice Wilson, as well as the Cambridge reviewers. Louis Allday deserves a special mention for coining the term that became the title of this book, and for reading this manuscript over and over again. Ali al-Ahmad, Hamza al-Hasan, Fuad Ibrahim, Toby Jones, and Guido Steinberg have shared their private archives and libraries with me and have been very generous with their time. In addition, I would like to thank Abd al-Nabi al-Akri, Atef Alshaer, Rochana Bajpai, Matthias Determann, Nelida Fuccaro, Ulrike Freitag, Robert Gleave, Arshad Hadjirin, Kai Hafez, Bernard Haykel, Steffen Hertog, Ghanim Jawad, Gilles Kepel, Ubay al-Khunayzi, Gudrun Krmer, Stphane Lacroix, Marc Lynch, Phebe Marr, Kai Matthiesen, J.E. Peterson, Amlie Le Renard and Reinhard Schulze.