Arabia

تحاد إسلامي عربية
Islamic Union of Arabia

National Motto: Astaghfirullah
Anthem: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول ال
Official Language(s)	Arabic
Capital and largest city	Riyadh
Government  - Ayatollah  - Grand Vizier	Muhammad Khomeini Hassan Hussein
Population  - Total (2006)	78,306,289
Area  - Total  - Water (%)	2,813,455 km² negligible
Establishment	March 15, 1986
National animal English name	Ophiophagus hannah King Cobra
National flower English name	Papaver somniferum Opium Poppy
National tree English name	Trachycarpus fortunei Chusan Palm
GDP (2005)   - Total   - GDP/capita	$1,995,348,000,000 $20,405.67
HDI (2006)	0.859 – high
Currency	Riyal (R)
Time Zone	UTC +3
International Abbreviations  - sport  - government	IUA IUA
Pronunciation (IPA)	/islawmick younyun of uhraybea/
Naval Craft Classification   - Military   - Civilian	ANV ACV
Internet TLD	.iua
Calling Code	+966

The Islamic Union of Arabia (Arabic: تحاد إسلامي عربية) is a Middle Eastern nation on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Greece to the north-east and Israel to the north-west, with the Persian Gulf to its north-east and the Red Sea to its west. It is called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques", a reference to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest places. It is often considered the center for the Islamic world and is one of the only remaining Islamic fundamnetalist states after the Byzantine Crusade and the Israeli Advancement.It is referred to as Arabia, the Islamic Union, and - less commonly - as the IUA. Its national citizens are referred to as Arabians.

History

Note: This article deals with the nations that compose the Arabian Peninsula. It deals with their combined and fabricated histories from 1986 onward.

In the 1970's and 1980's, due to more discoveries of oil reservoirs below the Arabian Peninsula, Westernization of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations began to occur. This caused major conflict between pro-Western and anti-Western groups. The pro-Western groups comprised mostly of pro-business groups, corporations, and the Saudi Royal Family. This caused hatred to form between the groups. Most notably was the conflicts between ultraconservative, Pan-Islamic groups and pro-Western families. This conflict would lay the groundwork for the Arabian Intifada that would cause the creation of the Islamic Union.

In January 1986, the 30 year old Sheikh Muhammad Khomeini issued a fatwa calling of a jihad against the "Crusaders and infidels in the Land of the Two Mosques." This would begin a nearly constant flow of bloodshed between the pro-Western groups - most notably the Saudi family - and Khomeini supporters. The Sheikh, however, initially had enemies within the Muslim community due to his sect of Islam: Shi'a. Most of the Muslim community is Sunni; yet, due to a combination of Khomeini's charismatic oration skills and his goal for a united Middle East, he was able to do what no other individual had ever done: unite the Shi'a and Sunni.

After the Great Unification in early February of 1986, conflicts escalated across the Middle East. Bombings, militia raids, and unconventional warfare was a common occurrence as pro-Khomeini and pro-West groups began to collide. In order to help the Pan-Islamic states, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates created a unified state known as the Pan-Islamic Union - with Khomeini as Grand Imam.

This creation of the PIU caused retaliation from pro-West, Arab nations. Thus, the Saudi Arabian Bloc was created and composed of: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. This polarization would solidify the conflicts between the two blocs and thus cause the Arabian Intifada.

During this time of Arab-Western conflict, the nations of Israel and Greece began several expansionist operations into the Middle East for oil and strategic reasons. Israel and Greece were able to advance as far as Iraq and Jordan before the Saudi Arabian Bloc stopped their expansion into the Arabian Peninsula. At this time, the Pan-Islamic Union decided to strike the final blow against the pro-Western bloc.

On March 15, 1986, Pan-Islamic forces marched on Riyadh as their air force rumbled overhead. Forces comprised of military regulars and paramilitary Muslims from around the world lead an Islamist uprising against the pro-Western nations, forcing the Saudi family and government from power. Within several days, the entire Saudi family had been executed and their supporters either imprisoned or killed. This marked the creation of the Islamic Union of Arabia and the first multinational, Pan-Islamic state.

This also marked a steady decline if friendly Arab-West relations. Due to the IUA now being in control of the largest oil reservoir known to exist, they had begun tightly restricting which nations are able to receive oil. This has caused protests in other nations, diplomatic sanctions, economic embargos, and other anti-Arabian actions in an attempt to force the Islamic Union to freely exchange oil - it has yet to succeed.

Politics

The central institution of Arabian Government is the Ayatollah and Viziers. The Basic Law adopted in 1986 declared that Arabia is a theocractic union ruled by the imams, and that the Qur'an is the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of ultraconservative, Islamic law (Shari'a).

There are no recognized political parties or national elections. The Ayatollah is often classified as an absolute theocrat, but his powers are theoretically limited within the bounds of Shari'a and other Arabian traditions. He also must retain a consensus of the religious leaders (ulema) and other important elements in Arabian society. The state's ideology is ultraconservative, Islamic fundamnetalism (see Taliban Movement for comparison). This flavour of Islam spreads further by funding construction of mosques and Qur'an schools around the world. The leading members of the theocracy choose the Ayatollah and Grand Vizier from among themselves with the subsequent approval of the ulema.

The Ayatollah has gradually developed a central government. Since 1986, the Council of Viziers, appointed by and responsible to the Ayatollah, has advised on the formulation of general policy and directed the activities of the growing bureaucracy. This council consists of a grand vizier, the first and second deputy gran viziers, viziers, and a small number of advisers and heads of major autonomous organizations.

The viziers are the head of the Arabian ministires and are as follows:

• Grand Vizier: Hassan Hussein
• Vizier of Foreign Affairs: Malik al-Farsa
• Vizier of the Interior: Hakim Bashir
• Vizier of Justice: Abdullah al-Farik bin Amin
• Vizier of Economics and Commerce: Usam bin Sada
• Vizier of Information: Idi al-Marsaui
• Vizier of the Treasury: Salah al-Sadini
• Vizier of Religion: Sheikh Seyyed bin Salahdin
• Vizier of Culture: Dr. Amon al-Bashin
• Vizier of Agriculture and Rural Development: Hashir al-Nasihn
• Vizier of Education: Dr. Muhammed Baqin
• Vizier of Labor: Sayyad al-Sari bin Quaddfi
• Vizier of Environment: Asad Sassani
• Vizier of Health: Sassan al-Bashir

Legislation is by resolution of the Council of Viziers, ratified by clerical decree, and must be compatible with the Shari'a (Islamic law). Justice is administered according to the Shari'a by a system of religious courts whose judges are appointed by the Ayatollah on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, composed of 12 senior jurists. The independence of the judiciary is protected by law. The Ayatollah acts as the highest court of appeal and has the power to pardon. Access to high officials (usually at a majlis, or public audience) and the right to petition them directly are well-established traditions.

Arabian courts impose capital punishment and corporal punishment, including amputations of hands and feet for serious robbery, and floggings for lesser crimes such as "sexual deviance" and drunkenness. The number of lashes is not clearly prescribed by law and varies according to the discretion of the presiding judges. The number ranges from dozens to several thousand, usually applied over a period of weeks or months. In 1999, the United Nations Committee against Torture criticised Islamic Union over the amputations and floggings it carries out under the Shari'a. The Arabian delegation responded defending "legal traditions" held since the inception of Islam in the region 1400 years ago and rejected interference in its legal system.

Religious police enforce a modest code of dress and many institutions from schools to ministries are gender-segregated. Homosexual men and women are prosecuted (sometimes publicly) and/or executed, if they are found to be engaging in same-sex sexual activities.

Regions

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Regional map of Arabia.

Arabia is seperated into regions govenored by ulemas who are directly answerable to the Ayatollah. The former nation of Saudi Arabia is the central, governmental region.

• Saudi Arabia (Imam Mohammed Obsazi)
• Oman (Imam Sayyed al-Bakadin)
• Yemen (Imam Somarni bin Sayed)
• Kuwait (Imam Yusef al-Hairnin)
• Bahrain (Imam Mulan Omaer)
• Emir (formerly U.A.E.; Imam Wasser Walla)
• Qatar (Imam Mullah al-Bashin)

Geography

Arabia is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia consisting mainly of desert. Arabia is an important part of the greater Middle East, and plays a critically important geopolitical role due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. It is situated on the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula.

The coasts of the peninsula touch, on the (south)west, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba; on the south(eastern) coast, the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean); and on the northeast, the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.

Its northern limit is defined by the Zagros collision zone, a mountainous uplift where a continental collision between the Arabian plate and Asia is occurring. Geographically, it merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear line of demarcation.

The country of Arabia covers the Peninsula. The majority of the population of the peninsula lives in the former Saudi state and in Yemen. The peninsula contains the world's largest reserves of oil. It is home to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, both of which are in Arabia. Arabia (Qatar region) is home of the famous Arabic language television station Al Jazeera. The Kuwait region, on the border with Hellenistic Iraq, was claimed as a Greek province and invaded by Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War.

Geologically, this region is perhaps more appropriately called the Arabian subcontinent because it lies on a tectonic plate of its own, the Arabian Plate, which has been moving incrementally away from northeast Africa (forming the Red Sea) and north into the Eurasian plate (forming the Zagros mountains). The rocks exposed vary systematically across Arabia, with the oldest rocks exposed in the Arabian-Nubian Shield near the Red Sea, overlain by earlier sediments that become younger towards the Persian Gulf.

Geographically, Arabia consists of:

• A central plateau with fertile valleys and pastures used for the grazing of sheep and other livestock.
• A range of deserts, the Nefud in the north, stony; the Rub' Al-Khali or Great Arabian Desert, a perfect Sahara, in the south, with sand estimated to extend 600 ft. below the surface; and between them, the Dahna.
• Stretches of dry or marshy coastland with coral reefs on the Red Sea side.
• Ranges of mountains, primarily paralleling the Red Sea on the western (e.g. Asir province) and southeastern end (Oman). The highest, Jabal Al-Nabi Sho'aib in Yemen, is 3666 m high.

Arabia has no lakes or permanent rivers, only wadis, which are dry except during the brief rainy season. Plentiful ancient aquifers exist beneath much of the peninsula, however, and where this water surfaces, oases form (e.g. the Al-Hasa and Qatif oases) and permit agriculture. The climate being extremely hot and arid, the peninsula has no forests, although desert-adapted wildlife is present throughout the region.

Economics

Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Arabia claims to be in possession of 260.1 billion barrels of oil reserves as of 2003, about 24% of the world's proven total petroleum reserves. Moreover, the proven reserves increase gradually as more oil fields are discovered, unlike most other oil-producing countries. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 40% of the GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 35% of the GDP comes from the private sector. The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the Union's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Arabian population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth may constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.

In recent years, Arabia has experienced a significant contraction of oil revenues combined with a high rate of population growth. Per capita income has fallen from $25,000 in 1986 to $20,000 in 2003, up from about $18,000 in 1999. The decline in inflation-adjusted per-capita income from 1986 to 1999 set a record, being by far the worst such decline suffered by any nation-state in history.

Recently, with higher oil prices, however, Arabia's oil revenues have increased dramatically. Arabia's budget surplus has crossed $28 billion (SR110 billion) in 2005. The Tadawul (The Arabian stock market Index) (TASI) finished 2004 with a massive 76.23 % to close at 4437.58 points. Market capitalization was up 110.14 % from a year earlier to stand at $157.3 billion (SR589.93 billion), which makes it the biggest stock market in the Middle East.

Demographics

Arabia's population as of 2005 is estimated to be about 78.4 million, including about 5.6 million resident foreigners. Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or semi-nomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. The birth rate is 29.56 births per 1,000 people. The death rate is only 2.62 deaths per 1,000 people. Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,500 people per square kilometre (2,600 /mi²).

Most Arabians are ethnically Arab. Some are of mixed ethnic origin and are descended from South Asians, Iranians, Malays, and others, most of whom immigrated as pilgrims and reside in the Hijaz region along the Red Sea coast. Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the Union. There also are significant numbers of South and South East Asian expatriates mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There are around 100,000 Westerners in Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.

The exit and entry visa cards ask applicants for their religious affiliation and officially bans entry to atheists, Jews or anyone with an official stamp from the State of Israel.

Culture

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Masjid Al Haram, Mecca

Arabian culture revolves almost entirely around the religion of Islam. Islam's two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, are located in the country. Every day, five times a day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which dot the country. The weekend consists of Thursday and Friday. The public practice of any religion other than Islam, including Christianity and Judaism, the presence of churches and open possession of Christian religious materials are outlawed in Arabia. Islam's holy book the Qur'an is Arabia's constitution, and Shari'ah (Islamic law) is the foundation of its legal system.

One of Arabia's most compelling folk rituals is the 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 Hijaz, has its origins in Arab Andalusia, a region of medieval Spain. In Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, dance and song incorporate the sound of the al-mizmar, an oboe-like woodwind instrument. The drum is also an important instrument according to traditional and tribal customs.

Arabian dress is strongly symbolic, representing the people's ties to the land, the past, and Islam. The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering garments reflect the practicalities of life in a desert country as well as Islam's emphasis on conservative dress. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb), with a shimagh (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, Arabian men wear a camel-hair cloak (bisht) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques. However, Arabian women must wear a long cloak (abaya) and veil (niqab) when they leave the house to protect their modesty. The law does not apply to foreigners at such a high degree, but both men and women are told to dress modestly.

Islam forbids the eating of pork and the drinking of alcohol, and this law is followed strictly throughout Arabia. Arabic unleavened bread, or khobz, is eaten with almost all meals. Other staples include cooked lamb, grilled chicken, felafel (deep-fried chickpea balls), shwarma (spit-cooked sliced lamb), and fuul (a paste of fava beans, garlic and lemon). Traditional coffee houses 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.

Public theatres and cinemas are prohibited, as Wahabbi tradition deems those institutions to be incompatible with Islam. However, 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. Recently plans for some cinemas that will allow Arabic cartoons to be featured in cinemas for women and children were announced.

The Mutaween, or religious police, also known as the Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice consists of 3,500 officers assisted by thousands of volunteers, whose job it is to enforce religious doctrine (Muslim Shari'a law as defined by the Arabian government) and to root out "un-Islamic" activities. They have the power to arrest any unrelated males and females caught socializing, and to ban consumer products and media, such as games and toys, various Western musical groups, and television shows. The Mutaween recently launched a website where people can file anonymous tips about "un-Islamic" activities.

Holidays

The following table shows holidays in Arabia:

Military

The Arabian military is composed of several branches:

• United Arabian Army
• United Arabian Navy
• United Arabian Air Force
• Arabian National Guard
• Arabian paramilitary

Each branch has its own specific purpose for creation. For example, the Arabian paramiliary is a new creation which unites militia units across Arabia when it is necessary to defend the Arabian Peninsula from kafir or enemy invasions. This branch has been condemned by the United Nations and European Union as a united terrorist front.