1979 Qatif Uprising

1979 Qatif Uprising
1979 Qatif Uprising
Part of the Qatif conflict
	Demonstrators in Safwa City during November 1979
Date	26 November – 3 December 1979
Location	Qatif and Al-Hasa
Caused by	Discrimination against Shias; Corruption; Lack of free speech and freedom of the press; Saudi hostility to the Iranian Revolution;
Methods	Demonstrations; Strike actions;
Resulted in	Crackdown on Shiite opposition groups; Political exile of Saudi Shiites to Iran; Extra government spending announced in Qatif region to address inequalities; Religious intolerance and state discrimination continue until 2015;
Parties
Opposition Shia Islamists Organization for the Islamic Revolution in the Arabian Peninsula; ; Leftists Communist Party in Saudi Arabia; National Union of Students of Saudi Arabia; Democratic Women's League of Saudi Arabia; Assembly of Saudi Citizens; The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia; Union of Democratic Youth; The Workers' Committee; ; ;	Government Ministry of National Guard National Guard; ; Ministry of Interior General Directorate of Investigations; ; ;
Lead figures
	Hassan al-Saffar; Leader of the OIR; Hussein Mansur al-Qalaf †; Student Opposition Leader; Mohammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi; Influential Iraqi Shiite religious leader; King Khalid; King of Saudi Arabia; Prince Fahd; Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia; Prince Nayef; Interior Minister; Prince Abdulmuhsin bin Abdallah bin Jiluwi; Governor of Eastern Province;
Casualties
Deaths	20–24; 182–219 killed (by 1983)
Injuries	Hundreds
Arrested	Thousands

The 1979 Qatif Uprising, also known as the Muharram Intifada was a period of unprecedented civil unrest that occurred in Qatif and Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia, in late November 1979. The unrest resulted in 20–24 people killed in what was described as a sectarian outburst of violence between the Shi'a minority and Sunni majority in Saudi Arabia and the beginning of the modern phase of the Qatif conflict.