ABSTRACT
This chapter deals first with geographical considerations relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It discusses Islam, its rise and its foundations, together with Wahhabism, in order to develop a better understanding of the Wahhabi movement. For administrative purposes, Saudi Arabia is divided into five major provinces: the Western, the Central, Eastern, Southern and the Northern Frontier provinces. The history of the Arabs since the Hijrah reveals the salient fact that only under Islam did Muslims unite, consequently becoming more powerful. Prayers are of such great significance that some leading scholars of the religion describe them as the backbone of Islam. The Hajj is a spiritual experience which a Muslim shares and practises jointly with the whole Islamic nation. The Hajj truly reflects that major, unparalleled contribution of Islam [which] is in the area of racial harmony and the brotherhood of the faithful.
