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Arabian Caliphate
flag
20160925 052951
Capital Medina
Government Theocratic Autocracy
Leaders Caliph: Kalim ibn Sa'ud
Population 29,500,000
Land area 3,190,665.3 km2
GDP (total) Unknown
(per capita)
Major Ethnic Groups
Major Languages Spoken
Arabic (95%)
English (74%)
Major Religions Sunni Islam (94%)
Currency Nuyen (¥)

Arabian Caliphate (also simply known as Arabia) is a country in the Middle East.

Geography[]

Bounded by the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, Arabia encompasses the entire Arabian Peninsula. The southern third of the Arabian Peninsula is covered by the Arabian Desert, also known as the Empty Quarter (لربع الخالي, Rub'al Khali), the largest sand desert in the world at two million square kilometres. The country also has a south-western mountainous region.

History[]

The nation of Arabia was formed from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain by the Islamic Unity Movement led by Badr al Din Ibn Eisa in 2055. Saudi Arabia's last king, Kalim Ibn Sa'ud, ensured militaries of Bahrain and Kuwait were destroyed by military action of Israel during the Great Jihad in order to ensure extension of his own power.[1] Ibn Eisa chose Saud as the first Caliph of Arabia. In return, Caliph Kalim Sa'ud made Ibn Eisa the official advisor to the Caliph. In 2063, Jordan's king under the pressure of New Islamic Jihad activists appointed a government comprised of religious hardliners. The new government decided to merge Jordan with the Arabian Caliphate in December of the same year and the kingdom ceased to exist as an independent state.

While Ibn Eisa initially was an important consultant and a valuable ally of Ibn Saud, they became bitter rivals after his death on 4 September 2061 and his miraculous resurrection in Mecca in the "Year of the Comet", when Ibn Eisa announced the New Islamic Jihad. The ensuing power-struggle between the Caliph and Ibn Eisa lasted until the winter of 2064, with Ibn Eisa being dismissed from his position in the Islamic Unity Movement by Saud in October 2064. In response, Ibn Eisa and NIJ used their influence to destabilise the Middle East. In the aftermath of the Crash 2.0, it was discovered that Ibn Eisa's body had been occupied by a Shedim (a body-snatching spirit) since his assassination.

Culture[]

In the Arabian Caliphate, the interior is more conservative than the coastal cities. There is a hierarchy of sorts when it comes to prejudice, discrimination, and oppression regarding metahumans, women, mages, and the chromed. How they are treated varies greatly as whether they are in a city or a more conservative rural area, the interior or the more liberal coastal region, and so on.

  • Metahumhumans are seen as being tainted (an undesirable). Metahumans aren't stoned on sight but they are distrusted. It's considered good manners for a metahuman not to hide who they are, otherwise you end up shocking or frightening someone.[2]
  • Women are expected to wear a veil and keep their eyes down. They are looked down in public, though not as much in private. Women are never supposed to upstage a man, if they do the men may need to reassert their position at the woman's cost.[2]
  • Mages are accepted as long as they accept the religious precepts of Islam. Do any fancy magic or demonstrate either shamanistic or idolatrous practices and the religious police comes down on you.[2]
  • The chromed are advised to watch their steps because in eyes of Muslims you are blaspheming Allah's design. Therefore it's advisable to keep the chrome concealed.[2]

Politics[]

The supreme leader of the country is a Caliph. Caliph (خَليفة‎‎ Khalifah) is the term for the Islamic leader of the Ummah (أمة), or the Islamic community. The Caliph is elected by the Shura, the heads of the tribes of the nation. The tribes hold a large amount of power and some also control industries. The major houses of Saud, Sudayris, al-Sheikh and Shammar hold a great amount of power with House Saud being the rulers of the state. King Saud helped his allies House Sudayris and al-Sheikh gain a foothold in the corporate and financial scene in the coastal emirates. al-Sheikh bolstered cooperation between Ibn Eisa and Kalim Saud and was Saud's favorite. However, he later started cutting connections between Ifrit Services he used to control and IUM. House Hashim retains their rule over the autonomous kingdom of Jordan, though it's leader King Muhammad Abdallah is seen as weak. The House of Saud also took away power from the royal families of the coastal emirates who lost many of their sons during the Great Jihad and now are subdued or scattered.

The country is the birthplace of the Islamic Unity Movement which was founded by Ibn Eisa and both were very popular in the country due to their propagation of pan-Islamism through peaceful means. His popularity however dropped when he began espousing violence and extremism after his assassination. He still held a lot of sway because he espouses destruction of Israel and many people in the country want to be rid of the Jewish state. This caused a rift between him and the Caliph. The movement was thus divided into the faction controlled by the Caliph and the radical faction controlled by Ibn Eisa's New Islamic Jihad. He had the allegiance of Mudaween who only answer to the Caliph and the ulema before his dismissal. He also had the allegiance of Jordan's king. NIJ also earlier controlled the government of Jordan and started criminalising activities they deemed un-Islamic. This led to formation of underground movements by students and the middle class against NIJ. Ibn Eisa also had King Abdallah amass troops along the border with Israel. House of Shammar was also allied with him, however it later shifted its allegiance to the Caliph.

The Islamic Renaissance Movement is also active in the country and has sympathisers in the government as well as various independent movements across the country. The organisation often targeted the IUM before Ibn Eisa's dismissal. Before New Islamic Jihad placed fatwas upon him, the opposition against the NIJ was coordinated by Farid al-Mansoor. IRM also grew into a powerful political opposition to NIJ in Jordan.

Although many in the country are opposed to the existence of Israel, Kalim Saud has kept a pragmatic attitude towards it, manipulating it into crushing its rivals and even going to the length of trying to protect it from forces hostile to it like the New Islamic Jihad as well as the Jordanian troops who were amassed at its borders by ordering them to pull back. However, he wasn't hesitant to become hostile to it himself if it served his interest, for example when he tried to send Arabian troops to Jordan valley before Jordanian troops as he grew wary of Ibn Eisa's influence over King Abdallah.

Economy[]

Following the collapse of the United States from the war with the NAN and the reborn UCAS defaulting on the old national debt, the House of Sa'ud and many other Saudi investors lost significant shares of their fortunes. Combined with the dwindling oil resources of the region, Saudi Arabia and the other pre-Islamic Unity countries found their national economies devastated.

However, many megacorps entered the pre-Unity countries following Treaty of Denver and the Crash of 2029 and rebuilt the economy. As a signatory to the Business Recognition Accords, Arabia allows AA and AAA corporations to operate semi-sovereign enclaves. In 2062, only one fourth of Arabia's GNP is in oil exports, with the country's growth tied to diversified industries such as banking, shipping, electronics manufacture, luxuries, and alternative energy technologies. In addition, participation in foreign oil companies in Central Asia and Russia is the biggest source of revenue. The former coastal emirates depend mostly on tourism and revenue from oil and gas industries.

Global Sandstorm has helped in revitalizing the country's economy through foreign banking services after Crash 2.0. The city of Abu Dhabi, once a leader in Arabian finance, was severely affected in the Crash due to corporate closures. Dubai is the center of financial industries and also regularly recieves tourism to its commercial and economic zones. It also holds the annual International Defense Exhibition, one of the largest arm fairs in the world. The fair brings in a large amount of revenue for the country. The city of Riyadh contains two underground arcologies as well as several megacorporate offices.

Islamic-Corporate Coordination Board (2064)[]

The political-economical control in the Arabian Caliphate is executed by the Islamic-Corporate Coordination Board. Before the Crash 2.0, the ICCB had the following members:

  • Arabian Future Industries
  • Fatima Petrochemicals (Saeder-Krupp)
  • Global Oil
  • Islamic Cooperative Development Bank (FBV)
  • Ifrit Services
  • Sandstorm Engineering Conglomerate
  • Xenel-Oman

The board consists of government officials, religious figures and corporate representatives who are almost all Arab. It monitors A-rated corporations in conjunction with the Mudaween and oversee respect for Sharia. Its headquarters is in Riyadh. The board however doesn't exercise power in coastal areas where working conditions are closer to that of Western countries.

According to the board rules, corporations must respect a strict interior and exterior architectural code. All physical and electronic signs and documents must be in Arabic. The corporation's director for Arabia must be a Muslim. In addition, on-site mosques, distribution of government press releases and information channels are mandatory. Most of the non-Arab corporations exist on extraterritoriality. The corps pay taxes determined by their turnover and domain of activity, however reduction is given based on how many employees are Muslims or if the corporation undertakes remarkable effort to promote the religion.

Corporate Presence[]

Arabia hosts many foreign companies, with the major corporate presences from three AAA corporations, along with established petrocorporations.

Saeder-Krupp is involved in extraction of materials ranging from oil to biomass. Its subsidary Fatima Petrochemicals controls about a quarter of the country's remaining oilfields in addition to the newly-discovered oilfield off the coast of Aden. S-K also owns voting rights in the Islamic Cooperative Development Bank (a part of Frankfurt Bank Association) which is the most powerful financial corporation on the ICCB.

Global Oil which was headquartered in Kuwait City, controlled three large refiniries in the city that process gas and oil. Xenel-Oman, located in south of the country, was involved in financial services. Ifrit Services was invlolved in banking, tourism, entertainment and security services. Arabian Future Industries was one of the leading high-tech companies in Middle East and specialised in engineering biomass into energy sources as well as developing new refining processes to save natural gas. Sandstorm Engineering was a transnational congolomerate of various construction and high-tech companies and were a major provider of construction in the region.

In 2064, Global Oil fusioned together with Sandstorm Engineering to form Global Sandstorm, which got a AA-rating. After the Crash 2.0, Global Sandstorm also bought Arabian Future Industries, Ifrit Services and Xenel-Oman.[4] Global Sandstorm is now Arabia's largest conglomerate.

Magic[]

Jamiya Islamiyah[]

The Muslim magical group Jamil Islamyah enjoys the favour of the Caliph and therefore the military of the Caliphate is occasionally supported by the Mujahideen of Jamil. The group runs five madrassas (schools) dedicated to teaching Awakened Muslims near Medina as well as one madrassa in Bahrain.[5]

Law and order[]

The law in the country is based upon the Sharia law which is strictly enforced by the religious police called Mudaween. All Muslims are treated equally in the country regardless of their sect. Non-Muslims who are called dhimmi are provided protection and are allowed to live in enclaves and convert as long as they pay a poll tax. Those who declare themselves as atheists, polytheists and Jews end up getting exiled or killed, however there are no such problems if they practice their beliefs in private. Mages have to respect Islamic precepts. The Mudaween pursues those mages who engage in un-Islamic behavior, do spellwork that is not allowed and indulge in shamanistic and idolatrous practices. The city of Mecca is barred to non-Muslims and mages who try to approach it astrally are hunted by mujahedin mages and spirits hired by the Mudaween.

Crime[]

Smuggling[]

The nomadic Bedouins who travel in the desert smuggle goods and can take anyone anywhere in the Middle East for a price. They also help guide smugglers and shadowrunners. The Bedouins owe allegiance to no one and deal with anyone, however they always honor a deal. A Bedouin sheikh called Yusuf and his lieutenant Khaled maintain a giant caravan called "Tentown" that pillages villages through which it travels. The caravan offers equipment, information and dancing girls for entertainment.

Shadows[]

Due to the area being quite large and arid, authorities have a difficult time maintaining law and order. As such they do not bother shadowrunners coming to Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Aden. The coastal cities are also used as geographical and cultural gateways by runners. Riyadh has undergound aqueducts which link the city to other cities in the coastal areas and some are in poor condition. The older ones that get sealed off are used by smugglers and shadowrunners. Some regulars have also set up camp sites in them.

Kuwait City has a Shadowland node in its Matrix grid.[6]

Underworld[]

The New Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organisation and also maintains an underworld presence. It had connections with several criminal and terror organisations. After the truth about Ibn Eisa's body being possessed by a Shedim was revealed, the organisation went into hiding but it is still dedicated to overthrow of the Caliph and IUM. Since then, IUM has assisted other countries in curtailing NIJ's terrorist activities.

References[]

  1. o68357443Year of the Comet p.53
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 o70096438Shadows of Asia p.96
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 o03317300Target: Wastelands p.38
  4. o76933476System Failure p. 110
  5. o75212693State of the Art: 2064 p. 55
  6. o57280352Target: Matrix p. 28

This page forked from Wordman's The Sixth World: A geographical index to the world of Shadowrun

Submitted to the unpublished NERPS: Neo-Anarchists' Guide to the World.

Index[]

External links[]

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