[Book Talk] Charity in Saudi Arabia: Civil Society under Authoritarianism

In the past, media and think-tanks have published numerous reports and papers on the social transformations happening in the Arabian Peninsula, and, more specifically, inside Saudi Arabia. However, this analysis too often focused on the changes brought about from the top, via government initiatives like the emblematic Saudi Vision 2030. The newly-published book, Charity in Saudi Arabia, takes the opposite tack. In this innovative study of everyday charity practices in Jeddah, author Nora Derbal employs a “bottom-up” approach to challenge dominant narratives about state-society relations in Saudi Arabia. Exploring charity organisations in Jeddah, the book offers a rich ethnography of associational life. It counters Riyadh-centric studies which focus on oil, the royal family, and the religious establishment, while closely following those who work on the ground to provide charity to local poor and needy to document their achievements, struggles, and daily negotiations.

In this webinar, Dr. Derbal will explain why the lens of charity offers rare insights into the religiosity of ordinary Saudis, showing that Islam offers Saudi activists a language, a moral frame, and a worldly guide to confronting inequality. Charity in Saudi Arabia examines perspectives that are too often ignored or neglected, opening new debates about civil society and civic activism in the Gulf.