Qatif

The Islamic Socialist Republic of Qatif (': الجمهورية الاشتراكية الإسلامية القطيف) more commonly referred to as Qatif''' is a country in the located on the eastern side of the  boarding  and the  to the east, the  to the south and  to the north and west. It is a   with the  being the Arab Socialist Union of Qatif (ASUQ). The capital is Al-Khatt, located on the eastern coast.

The first state of Qatif was established as the ruled Sultanate of Qatif around the 15th century shortly after 's expansion into the Arabian peninsula by the descendants of the. The early state of Qatif was almost constantly at war with within its boarders, becoming a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. During the Sultanate was placed under British military administration, before the British had the pro-British Sultan Al-Qa'im ibn al-Aziz ibn Mohammed al-Tahir appointed as the Sultan of Qatif in 1923, where the Sultanate remained a protectorate of the British Empire.

In 1947 Qatif became fully independent from Britain, but remained politically unstable. In 1952 an uprising among the Sunni's in Qatif plunged the country into chaos. In 1961 socialist revolutionaries disposed of the Sultan with the support of the military, enabling the rise of Mustafa al-Karim, leader of the the ASUQ, who became the President of Qatif. al-Karim oversaw the defeat of the Sunni insurgents in 1965 as well as the formation of the Islamic Republic of Qatif. Under al-Karim businesses were nationalised as well as social welfare projects expanded with a partial implemented, although Qatif was quick to distance itself from both the  and the. al-Karim, inspired by the work of in, also oversaw the secularisation of Qatif, especially among the majority Shiite population in urban areas, with womens rights and education becoming a government priority. Qatif's rich oil deposits enabled it to become one of the wealthier nations in the Persian Gulf, although tensions between it and remained extremely high, with the Saudi government funding remaining Sunni insurgents in the south of Qatif. State oppression under al-Karim was also brutal with state death squads and labour camps established to silence political dissent. al-Karims death in 1986 prompted military chief Mohammed al-Qasim Mujawar to become president of Qatif, where he led economic reforms which saw the dismantlement of the socialist economy. During the Mujawar was forced to step down after numerous pro-democracy protests where held in the capital of Al-Tuwaiq. In 2012 the first elections where held in Qatif in which the Arab Socialist Union won a majority of the vote without facing any major opposition, with Abdullah Rajab elected as president. Since then Qatif has been confronted with continued Sunni insurgents in the southern regions which has led to a rise in Islamic extremism.

It has a population of 5,748,900 with 90% being made up of. Most of the population is concentrated on the eastern coast of the country. Qatif has emerged as one of the Middle East's most stable economies following economic reform in the 1990's, as well as having some of the best women's rights in the region. Despite this human right abuses and the rise of organisations has severely hampered development in Qatif. Qatif is a member of the, , , , , and the.

Etymology
Qatif was originally used to describe the city of the same name, which in itself can trace its name to the Hebrew word meaning "harvest". Qatif was for a long time used interchangeably with the name Al-Khatt, an alternative name for the city. In 1645 the Sultanate of Qatif officially named the city Al-Khatt and the lan it ruled over Qatif. In Arabic Qatif is referred to as Al-Qaṭīf.

Qatif was deemed to be an Islamic Socialist Republic following the signing of the modern constitution of Qatif. Under Mustafa al-Karim Qatif did follow a largely socialist economy, although this was abandoned after his death. In contrast Qatif has never been considered to be an in the same manner of, ,  or , with the government having strong  policies in place in a manner similar to  and.

History

 * Main article: History of Qatif

Ancient History
Human life in the region that comprises of modern day Qatif can be traced back to 18,000BC, and is usually referred to as. Prominent pre-Islamic civilisations within the region include the and the. The Eastern Coast became a vibrant trading hub from Arabia to India and China, with the cities of Al-Khatt and Al-Tuwaiq becoming especially prosperous.

Eastern Arabia soon housed various peoples of different religions, ethnicities, and cultures including,  and. The people of Eastern Arabia were based around maritime trade with common goods including spices, cloths, slaves and weapons. Most people lived within city states along the coast, whilst those further inland lived nomadic lifestyles.

In 250AD the Iranian successfully conquered much of the Eastern coastline of the Arabian peninsula, including the territory of modern day Qatif. The Parthian Empires successor, the. The Persians controlled the region until the rise of Islam in the 7th century, although in practice the city states of Eastern Arabia functioned in much of the same manner prior to the Persian conquest.