Did you know there are protests in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Shiite Muslim men take part in Ashura mourning rituals to commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, in the mostly Shiite Qatif region of Eastern Province. Qatif has seen deadly protests against Saudi’s Sunni rulers in recent months.
The AP is reporting hundreds of protestors have taken to the streets in a restive area of eastern Saudi Arabia, after a young Shiite boy was killed by security forces.
Most of the rest of the Middle East including Bahrain, was rocked by widespread, anti-regime protests last year. But in Saudi, where the ruling royal family runs a tight ship and political activity is limited, the government was spared spectacular, popular revolt.
But since Mar. 2011, small, low-key protests have taken place in several places across the kingdom, most notably in the eastern region of Qatif, where Shia communities feel marginalized by their Sunni rulers.
More from GlobalPost: Saudi Arabia to quash unrest with an "iron fist"
A handful of protestors have died, including 22-year-old Issam Mohammed, who died Friday after being shot by live ammunition in the same area, the BBC reports.
And we should mention, Qatif has also has a lot of oil. Watch this space.
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