Migration, Minorities, and Radical Networks: Labour Movements and Opposition Groups in Saudi Arabia, 1950–1975

Abstract

This article shows how ideas of Arab nationalism, socialism, and communism spread to the Arab Gulf states. It outlines how migrant workers, teachers, students returning from abroad, and the emergence of a print culture filled with Arab nationalist and leftist ideas in the 1940s created the basis for widespread political mobilization in the oil-rich Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. After major strikes in 1953 and 1956 and a harsh crackdown, leftist activists moved underground and into exile. They continued to be active clandestinely and gathered in various capitals in the region. Members of the Shia Muslim minority in the Eastern Province played a special role in the labour movement and secular opposition groups. The latter promised the Shia inclusion in a larger political project and thus they were seen as an antidote to sectarian discrimination against this minority. The article emphasizes the importance of transnational networks, organizational resources such as libraries and social clubs, and a radicalized public sphere for political mobilization. A S U P P R E S S E D H I S T O RYThis article highlights the importance of migrating workers, teachers and students, radical transnational networks, a print culture filled with progressive ideas, and the presence of socio-economic and identitybased grievances for large-scale political mobilization. It also shows how organizational resources and pre-existing interpersonal networks, including family ties, facilitate sustained labour mobilization and strike * I would like to thank Louis Allday, Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll, Kamil al-Khatti, and Adrian Ruprecht for their suggestions and comments on earlier versions of this article. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers, who provided very detailed comments and suggestions that have improved this article. I am indebted to a number of colleagues that have helped me along the path of researching the history of leftist movements in the Gulf, above all Q Abd al-Nabi al-Q Akri.terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi

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