Afro-Saudis

Afro-Saudis
Total population
	about 1,880,000; or about 5% of Saudi Arabia’s total population
Regions with significant populations
	Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Mecca
Languages
	Arabic
Religion
	Islam (mostly Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
	Afro-Arabs, Afro-Jordanians, Afro-Palestinians, Afro-Syrians, Afro-Iraqis, Afro-Omanis

Afro-Saudis, also known as African Saudis and Black Saudis, are Saudi citizens of partial or full black African heritage. They are spread all around the country, but they are mostly found in the major cities of Saudi Arabia.^[1] Afro-Saudis speak Arabic and adhere to Islam.^[2] While some black Saudis descend from slaves brought through the Arab slave trade,^[3] the majority descend from Muslim pilgrims, primarily from West Africa, who settled in the cities of Mecca and Jeddah.^[4]

The term "takarnah", meaning people of takrur, is sometimes used to refer to Hejazis of West African descent,^[5] though their origins are diverse. This is evident in family names such as Hawsawi, Fallatah, and Bernawi.^[4]

History

Bilal ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian who was enslaved by Pre-Islamic Arabs was Islam’s first Muezzin

Arabia and Africa have been in contact starting with the obsidian exchange networks of the 7th millennium BC. These networks were strengthened by the rise of Egyptian dynasties of the 4th millennium BC. Anthropologists have indicated the likely existence of settlements in Arabia, from the people of the Horn of Africa, as early as the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC.^[6]

Many Afro-Saudis are descendants of slaves, trafficked mainly via the Ancient Red Sea slave trade. Historically, the institution of slavery in the region of the later Saudi Arabia was reflected in the institution of slavery in the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) slavery in the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258), slavery in the Mamluk Sultanate (1258–1517) and finally slavery in the Ottoman Empire (1517–1918). Slavery in Saudi Arabia was not abolished until 1962.

Population

In 2021, their population was 1,880,000, or around 5% of Saudi Arabia’s 35,950,000 population.^[3] ^[7]

Social condition

Slaves in the Middle East were allowed to own land. Children of two slaves where born into slavery, however the child of a free man and his concubine (sex slave) where not born a slave if the father awknowledged fatherhood. Islamic Law allowed for Muslims to enslave non-Muslims, unless they were zimmis (protected minorities who had accepted Muslim rule), and slaves were therefore non-Muslims imported from non-Muslim lands outside of the Empire.^[8] However, the conversion of a non-Muslim slave to Islam after their enslavement did not require the enslaver to manumit his slave.^[9]

Skin color played a distinctive role even amongst slaves.^[10] Many activists amongst Afro-Saudis complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.^[11]

Notable Afro-Saudis

References

^ "What it means to be a black Saudi". Arab News. March 1, 2018.
^ "Saudi Arabia - Religion". Encyclopedia Britannica.
^ ^a ^b "Black Saudi Author Focuses on Neglected History of African Migration and Slavery". July 24, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Obaid, Ruba (1 March 2018). "Saudi Arabia's African roots traced to annual Hajj pilgrimage and British colonization". Arab News. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ "الأفارقة.. مائدة منوّعة وخصوصية جذابة". صحيفة الاقتصادية (in Arabic). 4 September 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ Richards, Martin; Rengo, Chiara; Cruciani, Fulvio; Gratrix, Fiona; Wilson, James F.; Scozzari, Rosaria; Macaulay, Vincent; Torroni, Antonio (April 2003). "Extensive Female-Mediated Gene Flow from Sub-Saharan Africa into Near Eastern Arab Populations". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 72 (4): 1058–1064. doi:10.1086/374384. PMC 1180338. PMID 12629598.
^ https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/
^ Toledano, E. R. (2014). The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression: 1840-1890. USA: Princeton University Press. 6-7
^ Toledano, E. R. (2014). The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression: 1840-1890. USA: Princeton University Press. 6-7
^ Koigi, Bob. "Forgotten slavery: The Arab-Muslim slave trade". Fair Planet.
^ "Saudi Arabia: Treatment of racial minorities, particularly black African Saudi nationals, by society and authorities (2012-2013)". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – via Refworld.

[1] "What it means to be a black Saudi". Arab News. March 1, 2018.

[2] "Saudi Arabia - Religion". Encyclopedia Britannica.

[auto-3] "Black Saudi Author Focuses on Neglected History of African Migration and Slavery". July 24, 2020.

[obaid-4] Obaid, Ruba (1 March 2018). "Saudi Arabia's African roots traced to annual Hajj pilgrimage and British colonization". Arab News. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

[5] "الأفارقة.. مائدة منوّعة وخصوصية جذابة". صحيفة الاقتصادية (in Arabic). 4 September 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

[6] Richards, Martin; Rengo, Chiara; Cruciani, Fulvio; Gratrix, Fiona; Wilson, James F.; Scozzari, Rosaria; Macaulay, Vincent; Torroni, Antonio (April 2003). "Extensive Female-Mediated Gene Flow from Sub-Saharan Africa into Near Eastern Arab Populations". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 72 (4): 1058–1064. doi:10.1086/374384. PMC 1180338. PMID 12629598.

[7] ttps://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/

[8] Toledano, E. R. (2014). The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression: 1840-1890. USA: Princeton University Press. 6-7

[9] Toledano, E. R. (2014). The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression: 1840-1890. USA: Princeton University Press. 6-7

[10] Koigi, Bob. "Forgotten slavery: The Arab-Muslim slave trade". Fair Planet.

[11] "Saudi Arabia: Treatment of racial minorities, particularly black African Saudi nationals, by society and authorities (2012-2013)". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – via Refworld.

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