Saudi Arabia for first time marks its founding, downplaying conservative roots

Record ID: 1660956

  • Title: Saudi Arabia for first time marks its founding, downplaying conservative roots
  • Date: 22nd February 2022
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (FEBRUARY 22, 2022)( Reuters) PEOPLE ENTERING THE SAUDI NATIONAL MUSEUM MAN WALKING WITH CHILDREN WEARING TRADITIONAL SAUDI DRESS FOUNDING DAY LOGO PEOPLE WAITING AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM ENTRANCE PEOPLE WALKING AROUND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM WOMAN WEARING BURKA GIRL WEARING GOLD FACE COVERING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SAUDI CITIZEN, SARAH MANSOUR, SAYING: "I cam
  • Embargoed: 8th March 2022 21:38
  • Keywords: Founding Day Saudi Arabia celebration museum
  • Location: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
  • City: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Middle East
  • Reuters ID: LVA001FZRBB5Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Saudi Arabia held celebrations on Tuesday (February 22) to commemorate for the first time its foundation nearly 300 years ago, choosing a date that downplays the central role played by clerics from the ultra-conservative Wahhabi school of Islam.
    The government lined up events that include musical performances on Saudi modern history and a celebration at the Riyadh's National Museum of Saudi Arabia.
    A royal decree last month declared Feb. 22 an official holiday, known as "Founding Day," to be commemorated every year in recognition of "the commencement of the reign of Imam Muhammad bin Saud" and marking the start of the first Saudi state.
    The anniversary marks the day in 1727 when Mohammed bin Saud, founder of the first Saudi state, took over the emirate of Diriyah - a remote town which now lies on the northwest edge of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
    That was about 18 years before what historians generally consider as the beginning of the Saudi state when bin Saud, a tribal leader, forged an alliance with Islamic preacher Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, whose purist doctrine is often referred to as Wahhabi Islam.
    The agreement with the clergy boosted the legitimacy of the Al Saud rulers in exchange for lavish funding and influence granted to the conservative religious establishment over social issues, education and public morality - powers which have recently been curbed by the country's de facto leader.
    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reined in the religious police, opened the country to concerts and cinemas, lifted a ban on women driving and eased the guardianship system, which gives men significant control over the lives of their female relatives.
    A royal decree last month declared Feb. 22 an official holiday, known as "Founding Day," to be commemorated every year in recognition of "the commencement of the reign of Imam Muhammad bin Saud" and marking the start of the first Saudi state.
    The kingdom already celebrates National Day on Sept. 23, which commemorates the victory of Al Saud over rival tribes from Hejaz region and the conquest of the two holy sites of Islam, Mecca and Medina, in 1925.
    The kingdom was subsequently named the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
    (Production: Mohammed Benmansour)
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