Religion and History in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is almost entirely Muslim, with Pew Research placing the figure near 93 percent Sunni and about 5 to 6 percent Shia, the latter concentrated in the Eastern Province around Qatif and al-Ahsa; the kingdom's state doctrine follows the Hanbali legal school as interpreted through the Wahhabi reform movement founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century, whose 1744 alliance with the Al Saud family shaped the kingdom's religious and political foundation.

Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities, sit within Saudi territory; Mecca's Kaaba is the focal point of the five daily prayers and the annual Hajj pilgrimage, obligatory once in a lifetime for able Muslims, while Medina holds the Prophet's Mosque and tomb. Non-Muslim public worship has historically been prohibited, and the country has no churches, synagogues or temples open to public non-Muslim practice, though foreign workers, who make up a large share of the population and include Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities from South and Southeast Asia, may practice privately. Custodianship of the two holy mosques has been a title claimed by the Saudi monarch since 1986, replacing an earlier royal style in official religious contexts.