1979 Qatif Uprising

1979 Qatif Uprising
Demonstrators in Safwa City during November 1979
Date	26 November – 3 December 1979
Location	Qatif and Al-Hasa
Causes	Discrimination against Shias Corruption Lack of free speech and freedom of the press Saudi hostility to the Iranian Revolution
Methods	Demonstrations Strike actions
Result	Crackdown on Shiite opposition groups Extra government spending announced in Qatif region to address inequalities Religious intolerance and state discrimination continue
Parties to the civil conflict
Saudi Arabian opposition groups Islamists Organization for the Islamic Revolution in the Arabian Peninsula (OIR) Leftists Communist Party in Saudi Arabia National Union of Students of Saudi Arabia Democratic Women's League of Saudi Arabia Assembly of Saudi Citizens CDHR Union of Democratic Youth The Workers' Committee Saudi Arabian government National Guard Mabahith
Lead figures
Hassan al-Saffar Leader of the OIR Hussein Mansur al-Qalaf † Student Opposition Leader Mohammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi Influential Shiite religious leader King Khalid King of Saudi Arabia Prince Fahd Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef Interior Minister Prince Abdallah Governor of Eastern Province
Casualties
Death(s)	20–24 182-219 killed (by 1983)
Injuries	Hundreds
Arrested	Thousands

Saudi Arabian opposition groups

Saudi Arabian government

The 1979 Qatif Uprising was a period of unprecedented civil unrest that occurred in Qatif and Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia, in late November 1979.

Since Al-Hasa and Qatif were conquered and annexed into the Emirate of Riyadh in 1913 by Ibn Saud, Shiites in the region had experienced state oppression. Unlike most of Saudi Arabia, Qatif and much of the Eastern Province has a Shiite majority, and the region is also being of key importance to the Saudi government due to it both possessing the bulk of Saudi oil reserves as well as the main Saudi refinery and export terminal of Ras Tanura, which is situated close to Qatif.

Furthermore, despite possessing the bulk of the oil which funds the Saudi state, the region had traditionally been neglected by central government and left undeveloped, with developmental priority being given to Sunni majority areas, with the region particularly lagging in respect to healthcare. Shiite Aramco workers were also paid less than Sunni workers, leading to increased anti-Western feelings. When American jets landed in Dhahran Air Base for manoeuvres, the Shiites organized the biggest demonstration ever. The demonstrators spent the evening of 11 November 1979 shouting slogans against the royal family and the Americans.

With the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Shiites in the region felt encouraged to try and secure equal treatment as that given to Sunnis. Shiites in Saudi Arabia were very receptive to Ruhollah Khomeini and his attacks on the Saudi royal family on the grounds that Islam and hereditary kingship are not compatible. As a result, 1979 saw a marked increase in the mobilisation of the Shiite community in Saudi Arabia, with demonstrations often being centered around Shiite festivals. The celebration of these festivals, including that of the Day of Ashura, was banned.