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In the early 7th century CE, Saudi Arabia was the birthplace of Islam, now the world's second-largest religion. It began with the prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah '''<big>ﷺ</big>''', a merchant living in Mecca in the western Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula, whose spiritual yearnings led to divine communications with the angel Gabriel. His teachings emphasized carrying for the socially underprivileged and submission (literally ''islām'' <big>إِسْلام</big> in Arabic) a loving and omnipotent God. Despite severe persecution, Muhammad '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' and his followers successfully laid the foundations of a the new religion, following in the Abrahamic tradition of Judaism and Christianity. By the time of Muhammad's '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' death in 632 CE<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Muhammad," ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad, accessed 12 December 2024.</ref>, most of the Arabian Peninsula had accepted Islam. In the decades and centuries that followed, the religion spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reaching regions as distant as the Iberian Peninsula, India, and Central Asia. Islam has played a undeniable role in shaping not just Saudi Arabia but all of the Middle East. | In the early 7th century CE, Saudi Arabia was the birthplace of Islam, now the world's second-largest religion. It began with the prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah '''<big>ﷺ</big>''', a merchant living in Mecca in the western Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula, whose spiritual yearnings led to divine communications with the angel Gabriel. His teachings emphasized carrying for the socially underprivileged and submission (literally ''islām'' <big>إِسْلام</big> in Arabic) a loving and omnipotent God. Despite severe persecution, Muhammad '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' and his followers successfully laid the foundations of a the new religion, following in the Abrahamic tradition of Judaism and Christianity. By the time of Muhammad's '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' death in 632 CE<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Muhammad," ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad, accessed 12 December 2024.</ref>, most of the Arabian Peninsula had accepted Islam. In the decades and centuries that followed, the religion spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reaching regions as distant as the Iberian Peninsula, India, and Central Asia. Islam has played a undeniable role in shaping not just Saudi Arabia but all of the Middle East. | ||
Throughout much of the Middle Ages, the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, including the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, remained marginally in the control of large Islamic Empires while the nomadic tribes of the interior maintained a large degree of independence. From the 10th century on, the Hashemite Sharifs, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' and caretakers of the two holy cities, maintained a quasi-independent state that eventually comprised much of the Hejaz region. | Throughout much of the Middle Ages, the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, including the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, remained marginally in the control of large Islamic Empires while the nomadic tribes of the interior maintained a large degree of independence. From the 10th century on, the Hashemite Sharifs, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad '''<big>ﷺ</big>''' and caretakers of the two holy cities, maintained a quasi-independent state that eventually comprised much of the Hejaz region<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "History of Saudi Arabia," ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saudi_Arabia, accessed 12 December 2024.</ref>. | ||
In the 16th Century, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the region (Hejaz, Asir, and Al Ahsa), naming it Ottoman Hejaz. The Ottomans ruled till the end of WWI when the British aided the local Arab tribes in defeating the weakening Ottoman authority. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by King Ibn Saud, who fought to unite all four regions of Saudi Arabia, Hijaz, Najd, Eastern Arabia, and Southern Arabia. The kingdom is currently ruled by his descendants. | In the 16th Century, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the region (Hejaz, Asir, and Al Ahsa), naming it Ottoman Hejaz. The Ottomans ruled till the end of WWI when the British aided the local Arab tribes in defeating the weakening Ottoman authority. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by King Ibn Saud, who fought to unite all four regions of Saudi Arabia, Hijaz, Najd, Eastern Arabia, and Southern Arabia. The kingdom is currently ruled by his descendants. | ||