The Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies hosted Saad Al-Bazei to present the fourth in its monthly lecture series on Tuesday, 30 May 2023. Al-Bazei, Professor of Comparative Literature at King Saud University, spoke on the topic “Khalid al-Faraj: The Formation of the Gulf Intellectual,” at the ACRPS headquarters.

Researcher Abdulrahman Albaker introduced the speaker who began with a biography of Gulf intellectual Khalid Al-Faraj (1895-1954). Al-Bazei explained how Faraj grew up in an environment that had not yet matured politically in comparison to other countries, noting that Faraj was an example of the Gulf intellectual practicing social roles, displaying generalizable characteristics. Faraj’s travel to India, where he worked in trade and learned the English and Urdu languages, was formative to his intellectual development. He later established the public printing press that he saw as a basis for progress. The press played a later role in the development of the press in the Arab region.

Al-Bazei noted that Faraj had sought to get close to the decision-making circles, and his meeting with King Abdulaziz Al Saud (1876-1953) was an indication of that. In turn, Abdulaziz believed in Faraj and put him in charge of local municipalities in view of his administrative experience.

Al-Bazei talked about Faraj’s discourse and writings, which took two forms. The first was a criticism of local conditions that were dominated by weakness in confronting foreign colonialism and rejecting the corruption that was rampant in some Arab countries. The second was devoted to attacking colonialism and rejecting the presence of foreign occupation or colonial domination.

Al-Bazei argued that five factors that were formative to Khalid al-Faraj’s development as an intellectual. Frist, an early education in a relatively modern school, the Al-Mubarakiya School in Kuwait, established an intellectual appetite for Faraj, as he was one of the first to graduate from a modern school. Second, Faraj’s privileged upbringing in the Dawasir tribe helped him access certain important positions. Third, his travel and residence in India, and his learning of foreign languages gave him an awareness of a different other. Fourth, the political situation in the Gulf and the domination of the colonialists were decisive in shaping Faraj’s awareness of the region’s needs. Fifth, personal motivation made Faraj a conscious actor in the development of the region to what it is now.