At the end of October, Saudi Arabia appointed Sheik Saleh bin Abdullah bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti. The Grand Mufti is the highest religious official in Saudi Arabia and also the chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars, which is the country’s highest religious body. This gives the grand Mufti great influence in his position, specifically in religious matters. Al-Fawzan was appointed by royal decree, based on a proposal by the Crown Prince. This is concerning for the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia as al-Fawzan has repeatedly spoken in a discriminatory manner about the Shia minority population.

The Grand Mufti has previously labelled the Shia minority as “rafidha” or “rawafidh”, derogatory terms, as well as stating that “Shia are not our brothers… they are brothers of Satan… whoever says they are our brothers must repent”. Given the al-Fawzan’s vast influence now as Grand mufti, statements like this can be extremely dangerous, as his words are instrumental in the promotion of widespread discrimination of the Shia population by the Saudi government. In September of 2023 he labelled the Shia community as “enemies of Muslims”, further justifying the oppression and inhumane treatment the Shia minority experience at the hands of the Saudi government.

The Shia minority suffer from systemic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, as the Saudi government’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam limits the Shia population’s freedom in society. They are often excluded from public sector jobs, with Shia culture and practices being forbidden from being taught in school, instead the national curriculum even promoting anti-Shia narratives. The Saudi government economically neglects the Shia populated areas, concentrated in the East of the country, with oil-rich lands, and even destroys historically important Shia religious structures, to further restrict communal religious observances.

The Saudi Basic Law of Governance states in Article 8 that governance in the Kingdom is based on justice consultation and equality according to Islamic Sharia, however there is no explicit clause criminalizing racial discrimination. As the judicial system is also rooted in the government’s strict Sunni interpretation is Islamic Sharia law, Shia discrimination is embedded in the judiciary. Shia defendants only make up 12% of the Saudi population, yet in the past year nearly half of all those executed by the government have been Shia. This disproportionate ratio demonstrates the systemic discrimination and persecution of the Shia minority by Saudi authorities, highlighted in the United Nations 37th session of the Human Rights Council.

The persecution of the Shia minority is inhumane and illegal under international law. In the past three months, the Saudi government have executed two individuals from the Shia minority, Jalal al-Labbad and Abdullah al-Derazi, for having participated in pro-Shia protests, when they were children. In 2016, Sheikh Nimir Baqir al-Nimir, who overtly criticised the government’s oppression of the Shia minority, was executed by the Saudi government on charges of inciting violence.

The appointment of a Grand Mufti that have previously been so openly anti-Shia is contradictory of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision to modernize the Kingdom and improve its global image. It is impossible to become a modern country, with a reputed global image when systemic oppression and abysmal human rights abuses are consistently occurring. Saudi Arabia must acknowledge and cease the long, systemic discrimination the Shia minority have endured in Saudi Arabia.

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