Culture of Saudi Arabia

The cultural setting of Saudi Arabia is Arab and Muslim. To preserve the country’s Wahhabi purist religious position, many proscriptions of behaviour and dress are enforced. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited, for example, and there is no theatre or public exhibition of films (until recently). Educated Saudis are well informed on issues of the Arab world, the Muslim world, and the world at large, but public expression of opinion about domestic matters is not encouraged. There are organizations such as political parties or labour unions to provide public forums.

-Music and dance

One of Saudi Arabia's most compelling folk rituals is the Al Ardha, the country's national dance. This sword dance is based on ancient Bedouin traditions: drummers beat out a rhythm and a poet chants verses while sword-carrying men dance shoulder to shoulder. Al-sihba folk music, from the Hejaz, has its origins in al-Andalus. In Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, dance and song incorporate the sound of the mizmar, an oboe-like woodwind instrument in the performance of the mizmar dance. The drum is also an important instrument according to traditional and tribal customs. Samri is a popular traditional form of music and dance in which poetry is sung.

-Dress

Saudi Arabian dress follows strictly the principles of hijab (the Islamic principle of modesty, especially in dress). The predominantly loose and flowing but covering garments are helpful in Saudi Arabia's desert climate. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb), with a keffiyeh (a large checkered square of cotton held in place by a cord coil) or a ghutra (a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by a cord coil) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel-hair cloak (bisht) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques. Women are required to wear an abaya or modest clothing when in public.

-Food

Islamic dietary laws forbid the eating of pork and the drinking of alcohol, and this law is enforced strictly throughout Saudi Arabia. Arabic unleavened bread, or khobz, is eaten with almost all meals. Other staples include lamb, grilled chicken, falafel (deep-fried balls), shawarma (spit-cooked sliced lamb), and Ful medames (a paste of fava beans, garlic and lemon). Traditional coffeehouses used to be ubiquitous, but are now being displaced by food-hall style cafes. Arabic tea is also a famous custom, which is used in both casual and formal meetings between friends, family and even strangers. The tea is black (without milk) and has herbal flavoring that comes in many variations.


-Film and theatre

Public theatres and cinemas had been prohibited for over three decades, as Wahhabi tradition deemed those institutions to be incompatible with Islam. However, in June 2009, citizens finally got a chance to go to the movies when Menahi, a film produced by Rotana, owned by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, began showing in the King Fahd cultural centre in Riyadh.

However, an IMAX theatre is available,[2] and in private compounds such as Dhahran and Ras Tanura public theaters can be found, but often are more popular for local music, arts, and theatre productions rather than the exhibition of motion pictures. DVD retail sales, including American and British movies, are legal and widely available.


-Literature:

Some Saudi novelists have had their books published in Aden, Yemen, because of censorship in Saudi Arabia. Despite signs of increasing openness, Saudi novelists and artists in film, theatre, and the visual arts face greater restrictions on their freedom of expression than in the West. Contemporary Saudi novelists include:

Abdul Rahman Munif (exiled, now deceased)
Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
Abdu Khal
Turki al-Hamad (subject of a fatwā and death threats)
Ali al-Domaini (in jail)
Ahmed Abodehman (now writes in French)
Raja'a Alem
Abdullah Al-Qasemi
Rajaa Al Sanie, author of best-selling novel Girls of Riyadh