The New York Times runs two articles, yesterday and today, on the problems young Saudis face in looking for love. Both are worth reading as they take first, the opinions and attitudes of young men, then in the second piece those of girls.
There’s not really much new here to anyone who’s read Girls of Riyadh, excepting perhaps the emphasis on Bluetooth technology. The article tend to focus on those aspect of young Saudi lives that are so very different from those in the West, but how these young men and women behave would seem pretty ordinary to a traditional Hindu in India.
More than a look deep into Saudi culture, the pieces are a look into traditional, conservative societies where parents rule their children well into adulthood. This is a point missed by most of the commenters to the articles who generally use them to bash Islam or Saudis.
There’s no doubt that being a young Saudi is a tough job and that most Westerners would happily avoid it. But the articles do capture, slightly, the pleasure and comforts of living in a restricted realm.
Young Saudis, Vexed and Entranced by Love’s Rules
Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide
Associated Press reports that the US has dropped charges—with prejudice—against Saudi national Mohamed Al-Qahtani, without citing any reason why. The article suggests obliquely that it may have been because Al-Qahtani was subjected to harsh interrogation, which the Pentagon may not wish to become part of a court record.
US drops charges against Saudi in Sept. 11 attacks
BEN FOXSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.
Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.
But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi’s military lawyer.
Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.
The attorney said he could not comment on the reasons for the dismissal until discussing the case with lawyers for the other five defendants. Officials previously said al-Qahtani had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
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In a move that I can only understand as a vote of no-confidence in the current legal system, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry has announced a research competition into the issues of divorce and child custody. Arab News reports that the competition is intended to come up with new, authoritative views on the issues, both of which cause pain and consternation among Saudis—not to mention foreigners married to Saudis. Where this will lead is unclear, however, as there does not seem to be any sort of buy-in from the clerics and religious judges at this point, though the Ministry of Social Affairs is giving some level of approval to the project.
Competition Planned to Spur Research on Divorce and Custody
Hassna’a Mokhtar, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 13 May 2008 — In an attempt to increase public’s awareness about divorce and custody issues, the Center for Law and Arbitration, a subdivision of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), is launching today a competition entitled “Research in Saudi Divorce Initiative.”
Journalist Haifa Khaled, who began her website “Saudi divorce initiative” — www.saudidivorce.org — on March 8, coinciding with International Women’s Day, is working with the JCCI in organizing the competition. She told Arab News that the initiative stemmed from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s call for social reform and the new legal system approved by a royal decree seven months ago.
She also called for a civil status law to put an end to difficulties faced by divorced women.
“This competition is open for everyone and in any field. The contest is for people to research divorce issues and increase the public’s awareness regarding divorcees’ rights and custody concerns,” she said.
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A fire in a prison in the Eastern Province earlier this month, later deemed to be an act of arson, has opened the door for discussion on the state of Saudi prisons. This Arab News article gives details…
Crowded Prisons Rouse Concern in Shoura Council
RIYADH, 13 May 2008 — At their regular weekly meeting on Sunday, members of the Shoura Council expressed concern at crowding in Saudi prisons with some calling for building additional facilities or sending foreign inmates home to complete their sentences.
The condition of prisons in the Kingdom came under fire during the discussion of a report presented by the council’s Security Affairs Committee on incentives offered to inmates of juvenile detention centers, Al-Watan daily said yesterday.
There are currently 44,600 inmates in 104 jails across the Kingdom, said Bandar Al-Hajjar, a council member and chairman of the National Society for Human Rights. “Jeddah’s Briman jail, which has a capacity of 3,700 prisoners, is holding 9,300 inmates,” he said, adding that about 32,000 or 71 percent of the total number of prisoners are non-Saudis.
While some members suggested opening new jails to solve the problem, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Maiman said that non-Saudi prisoners should be sent to home to complete their terms. He added that the Kingdom’s prisoner exchange agreement with other Arab countries should be immediately implemented.
“The reluctance by some Arab countries to accept their citizens in our prisons is a significant factor that has led to crowding in Saudi prisons,” said Maiman.
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While Saudi Arabia has long had a drug problem, there is concern that addiction is now becoming a problem for youths. Saudi Gazette reports on a conference held in Riyadh to address the problem, from identifying youths at risk to finding the right kind of treatment for them. Interesting reading.
Juvenile drug addiction on the rise in Kingdom
Suzan ZawawiRIYADH – More than 900 addicted children between the ages of 7 and 18 were placed in juvenile correctional facilities across the Kingdom last year, Awatif Al-Diraibi, a social researcher at the Anti-Narcotics General Directorate, informed a workshop on drugs, Saturday.
Dubbed ‘Keep Our Children Away from Drugs,’ the workshop organized by the Women’s Division at the Anti-Narcotics General Directorate and the Student Guidance Division at Riyadh’s General Education Administration Riyadh continued its activities for the second day at Prince Salman Social Center Sunday in Riyadh.
At least 70 participants took part in the workshop.
Addicted children are either reported by their families or caught red-handed by authorities, Diraibi said.
They are usually referred to court, she added. Last year, courts across the Kingdom sentenced 717 juveniles to correctional facilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs said it had 18 juvenile correctional facilities, 14 for boys and four for girls.
National Human Rights Association (NHRA) has many times asked for lesser punishment of children involved in drugs cases, Diraibi said.
Teens are the most susceptible to drugs, said sociologist Fawzia Al-Bikr of King Saud University.
The causes for juvenile drug addiction are categorized as negligence of family, bad friends, unemployment, and inappropriate and influential media with shows contradicting the traditional values of society, Diraibi said.
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Following the government’s decision in January to permit women to check into hotels unescorted, the practice is meeting some rough spots. While some hotels see occupancy rates rising some 15%, others see much lower figures. Female travelers find that some hotels are easy to deal with while others appear not to have figured out how to handle female travelers and demand extra paperwork. This Arab News article has the details…
Women Staying in Hotels Complain of Discrimination
Najah Alosaimi, Arab NewsRIYADH, 12 May 2008 — Several months after the government’s decision to allow women to stay in hotels without guardians, businesswomen and other travelers started taking advantage of this new freedom. But many say that they sometimes feel discriminated against by hotel regulations.
Nada, 29, works for a media corporation. She told Arab News that the new regulation has made her life easier, especially since she frequently travels on work-related business. But she added that she often notices people looking at her with an eye of mistrust when she introduces herself as a single woman wanting to book a room. “People don’t look at me with respect because there is no man accompanying me,” she said.
Likewise, beauty salon owner Hadeel, 33, expressed her dissatisfaction at the “verbal instructions” a hotel clerk gave her. She said she was explicitly told that she was not allowed to bring men into her room, even if it was a relative. “I am married, fully aware and respect the rules. Why am I looked at with suspicion when my husband is not with me?” she said.
Shafeeg Hadad, general manager of Holiday Inn in Riyadh, said his hotel has rules that are designed to provide security. “We don’t allow visitors to enter our guests’ rooms,” he said, adding that this applies to both male and female. “We have restricted access to our guest rooms… Elevators open only for guests with key cards programmed for the floors where their rooms are located,” he said.
He also pointed out that the Holiday Inn makes it more convenient for women by assigning rooms near elevators and shortening their walk down isolated hallways.
There are 1,165 hotels across the Kingdom. Most accommodate women who have their ID cards, but a few require additional documents.
If accurate, this Saudi Gazette article is pretty noteworthy. It reports that Al-Qaeda has told its followers to leave Saudi Arabia and regroup in Yemen, where the government’s actions against it have been less successful. Not good news for Yemen, of course.
The articles points to the Saudi anti-AQ efforts which have had considerable success since 2003.
Qaeda on the run in KSA
Abdullah Al-OraifijRIYADH – Al-Qaeda leadership has asked its followers in the Kingdom to leave the country for Yemen in the face of stiff combat and preemptive operations being conducted by Saudi security forces, said Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Saqr Al-Ghamdi, President of the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies.
Disclosing the content of a letter distributed by the so-called Al-Qaeda Organization in the Southern Arabian Peninsula to its followers in the Kingdom, Al-Ghamdi said in a telephone interview that the terror network was planning to expand its operations in Yemen by targeting tourists.
He said the letter proves that Al-Qaeda followers were on the run in the Kingdom from the Saudi security forces.
Since May 2003, more than 9,000 suspected militants were arrested and 3,106 remain in detention.
The Kingdom has foiled at least two major plots since 2006 to hit major oil facilities.
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This Saudi Gazette piece reports on a Saudi researcher, working on his PhD in the UK, who discovered and patented four new genes related to anti-antibiotic activity. I think it goes to show that there’s nothing wrong with Saudi minds, but those who are restricted to Saudi educational facilities have a steeper hill to climb in seeking scientific achievement. It also suggests that the Saudi government knows very well what it is doing in providing foreign scholarships to Saudi students.
Saudi student discovers four new genes
London – The Scientific community in Edinburgh, UK, has celebrated a breakthrough by a Saudi student.
Abdurrahman Bin Abdulhadi Al-Sultan, a Saudi postgraduate student, has patented four new genes he had recently discovered.
Sultan outlined the new genes in a doctorate thesis he is pursuing at Edinburgh University in Scotland.
The four new genes, of type OXA, are classified among 55 other geneses that strip antibiotics of their effectiveness. They are called “Lactam Antibiotics.”
The four new genes Sultan patented belong to the OXA type. They had been isolated from diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Sultan named them OXA-130-131-OXA-132-OXA-90.
Abdul-Rahman has registered the new discovery in his name and under the name of Edinburgh University at the Central Gene Bank at Lehigh Clinic in the US.
The four genes have been documented and registered classified under the following numbers:
OXA-90EU547445, OXA-132, EU54744, OXA131-EU547443, OXA -130.The discovery of the genes came within a PhD thesis that Sultan had been working on it about three years.
The importance of the discovery stems from the fact that these genes neutralize antibiotics in patients suffering from “Acinetobacter Baunmannii,” a species of pathogenic bacteria that forms opportunistic infections. It preys exclusively on weaker patients.
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Arab News reports on the start-up of the Islamic Studies program at Harvard, funded by Pr. Alwaleed bin Talal’s $20 million donation. Georgetown University, which already had a program, was able to expand it with a similar grant.
Both universities have come under criticism from those who think that because of the grants both universities will now become Saudi apologists or otherwise hide ‘the truth’ about Saudi Arabia.
Harvard Islamic Studies Program Opened
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., 10 May 2008 — Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Foundation, had endowed $20 million in 2005 to establish an Islamic Studies program at Harvard University. He was at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday to inaugurate the program.
The program was named “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program.” Roy P. Mottahedeh, professor of history in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, had been appointed director of the program.
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Interesting piece in Arab News on how young Saudis are being tempted into the world of tattoos and body piercings. The article notes that tattooing is actually forbidden in Islam, under the general category of challenging the work of God in creation. It does not mention the tensions concerning tribal tattoos, to be seen on many women of Bedouin or Berber origin, or those who follow other, local traditions and customs.
Increasing Interest in Tattoos, Body Piercing Fueling Underground Business
Hasan Hatrash, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 10 May 2008 — Young Saudi men and women are increasingly getting their bodies tattooed and pierced, something that is fueling a growth in underground tattooist and body piercers, who are often not only unhygienic but also expensive. Tattooists and body piercers that operate in Jeddah are generally Filipinos, who work from their homes and advertise their services by word-of-mouth.
Matar, a young Saudi who works for an advertising agency, had a large, permanent tattoo done on his back three years ago. “I heard about a tattooist from one of my Filipino work colleagues, who told me that he knew a professional,” he said.
… However, the Kingdom’s religious scholars do not approve of the practice. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Amri, imam of Al-Rajih Mosque in Jeddah, said tattoos are forbidden in Islam and considered sinful. He added that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) clearly stated that tattoos are forbidden as they are an attempt to change Allah’s creation.
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According to this Gulf News article, a senior Saudi cleric is again warning young Saudis about going to Iraq to take up arms. Sheikh Saleh bin Fauzan Al-Fauzan sees these youths as ‘preachers of evil’ and calls for family and friends to turn them into the authorities before they can go to fight.
The article also reports on efforts to construct a security fence along the Saudi-Iraqi border.
Those who go to fight in Iraq ‘are preachers of evil’
Mariam Al HakeemRiyadh: Prominent Saudi Islamic scholar and member of the Senior Scholars’ Commission Shaikh Saleh Bin Fauzan Al Fauzan has warned Saudi youths against going to Iraq to fight in the war-torn country.
While labelling those who go to fight in Iraq as “preachers of evil,” he urged everyone to tell the authorities about such people. Shaikh Al Fauzan was speaking to members of the teaching faculty at Imam Mohammad Bin Saudi Islamic University here on Tuesday.
According to the scholar it is obligatory on the part of all to admonish those youths who are eager to go to Iraq to fight. He added it was important to convince them of the dangers involved in their move.
“If they are obstinate and insist on going, then security officials should be given a tip-off about such people,” he said.
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Khaleej Times reports on a study of how attitudes change among people performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. According to the study conducted by the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, among Pakistanis returning from Haj, returnees come back with greater tolerance for difference, including the view of women as more important parts of society. This runs contrary to the initial expectation that Haj would serve as a locus of antipathy toward ‘the other’.
I don’t find this surprising, actually. The Haj puts millions of Muslims, of varying Muslim traditions, together in one place at one time. While differences—nationality, sex, color, sect—might create friction (and political activism assuredly does do so), the compelling nature of religious duty avoids this. It seems to rub off on Meccawis, as well, for many natives of Mecca are among the most ‘liberal’ Saudis I know.
You can download the Kennedy School working paper [46-page PDF].
Haj promotes peace, coexistence: study
Habib ShaikhJEDDAH — Haj promotes understanding and peaceful coexistence, according to a study on the long-term effects of performing the annual pilgrimage.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims are expected to perform at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so, physically and financially.
The research findings were published last month. Titled ‘Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’, the study was conducted by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States.
It was based on data from over 1,600 applicants to Pakistan’s Haj visa allocation lottery in 2006. The study said that Haj increases belief in equality and harmony among people and leads to more favourable attitudes towards women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment.
It stressed that increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy towards non-Muslims, but develops a tolerant attitude among Hajis towards other religions and cultures.
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