Sultan Orders Protection of Madinah Site
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 20 December 2005 — Crown Prince Sultan yesterday instructed authorities to restore the centuries-old Osaifreen Mountain in Madinah as part of the government’s efforts to protect historic monuments across the country.
Prince Sultan’s intervention came after municipal authorities started demolishing the site, which is part of the region’s history. There was a mosque near the mountain where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed.
“The crown prince has issued instructions to keep Osaifreen Mountain as it was after appropriating the land from its current owner,†Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed told the Saudi Press Agency.
Much has been made, in the anti-Saudi media, about the destruction of historical sites and monuments in the country. The assumption they make is that these acts are those of a mad, extremist form of Islam bent on destroying all that might question their beliefs.
The answers, though, are much simpler: greed and stupidity.
In this instance, the government in Medina saw desirable real estate “going to waste,” i.e., not turning a profit. They condemned a mountain in order to build hotels and residences. Real estate in Madinah, as in Mecca, is scarce and extremely valuable.
Acting in his authority as Crown Prince, Sultan has reversed the decision and ordered the property restored to its prior condition, for the sake of its history.
Earlier this year, local government tore down a site on the Hijaz Railway–which was essentially destroyed by Lawrence–after the central government had just spent millions to restore it. Greed and stupidty combined.
A few years back, great fuss was raised when the government tore down a fort in Mecca. The fort, dating from the days when the Ottoman Empire ruled the Hijaz, was of no particular religious value, and probably of limited historical value–except, of course, for Ottoman historians. This, too, was done to put up hotels and residences, especially for Haj pilgrims and visitors. Greed, certainly, but not necessarily stupid.
Saudi Stability Ahead
Oxford Analytica, 12.16.05King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz will be able to fully establish his rule under generally benign economic and security conditions. Provided he remains in good health, he is likely to make a number of crucial decisions on social reform and the composition of the cabinet. Other royals should then emerge as followers rather than leaders.
Since Abdallah’s accession as king in August, a discernible power shift has taken place:
– While Defense Minister Prince Sultan has been made crown prince and hence moved up in seniority, Abdallah has clearly established his leadership through a number of symbolic and substantive decisions.
– Sultan has not emerged as a policy leader and is unlikely to play this role in 2006.
– The next most senior prince, Interior Minister Prince Naif, seems to have lost some ground. The role of his ministry is more confined to security tasks than in the past.
Abdallah is clearly the most popular among the senior al-Saud and will capitalize on this to enhance his leadership role. Since he is more receptive to reformist voices than his brothers, he is likely to pursue further social reform. He is also less apt to pursue substantive political reform. The appointed Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) will gradually increase its influence in government matters, but elections for this body are not on the agenda–certainly not for the coming year, at least…
So begins a review of that status of the kingdom, as provided by Oxford Analytica and published in the current issue of Forbes magazine. I think the outlook is on target, though I do expect substantive political reform. Not a lot in the coming year–I think there are other issues that the Saudi gov’t will be dealing with–but things will be happening. Do read the whole piece.
Al-Arabiya Has 1.4% Lead Over Al-Jazeera
Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab NewsRIYADH, 19 December 2005 — Al-Arabiya is the most watched news channel in Saudi Arabia according to latest results from Ipsos-Stat TV research for November 2005.
The report revealed the Dubai-based broadcaster as the prime source of news and information with most Saudis tuning in to Al-Arabiya than any other source.
The report found Al-Arabiya enjoying nearly 24 percent audience reach during prime time, with a 1.4 percent lead over its closest competitor, the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera.
“The results are significant because it reflects the extent to which Al-Arabiya has come since its inception three years ago. In this short period, the Dubai-based news channel has risen to the top in the region’s largest market,†said Jihad Ballout, Al-Arabiya’s director of corporate communications.
This is pretty interesting. Al-Jazeera no longer holds a death grip on Saudi TV viewiers. They’re turning in preference to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya. Al-Arabiya was established specifically to act as a counter to Al-Jazeera and it seems the project worked as planned.
Family Needs SR3.5m Blood Money to Save 17-Year-Old
Raid Qusti, Arab NewsRIYADH, 19 December 2005 — Time is running out for Fawaz Muhammad. With a March execution deadline approaching for the 17-year-old Saudi boy, his family is calling on generous and good-hearted people in the Kingdom to help pool the SR3.5 million in blood money that would spare his life.
Shari’a law–the law of Saudi Arabia–permits the payment of “blood money” to the relatives of a person killed intentionally or accidentally, by the party adjudged responsible. As has been noted here before, Saudis are not very happy with the way the law is being implemented.
Various cases have become causes célèbres, with the media and ordinary citizens seeking to raise the necessary funds to save someone’s life. There have also been bitter complaints that the amounts being demanded are extortionate.
This article notes efforts to raise the money demanded to save a young man’s life.
More Saudi Students in U.S.
By JOEL BRINKLEY – New York TimesWASHINGTON, Dec. 17 – Urgently trying to improve relations with the United States, the Saudi Arabian government has been promoting a scholarship program that has more than doubled the number of Saudi enrollments at American colleges and universities since last year.
The program, aimed in part at reducing widespread hostility in the Saudi public toward the United States, has reversed a steady plunge in Saudi students here that started immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The Saudi government offered 5,000 students full four-year scholarships, complete with living allowances. About two-thirds of the 5,000 students enrolled in American schools this fall, the State Department said, and the number would have been higher had the United States been able to process all the visa requests.
Here’s a good piece from The New York Times on Saudi efforts to get more students studying–and at the undergraduate level–in the US. The biggest hang-up is that the US Embassy is unable to process the visa applications quickly enough.
Due to security concerns, the Consular Office at the US Consulate General in Jeddah was closed in November. That required all visa applicants from its district, the most populous in the country–to travel to the Embassy in Riyadh. Riyadh was already short-handed due to security concerns and the demand vastly exceeded its ability to issue the visas.
Following the 9/11 attacks, when all Saudis were viewed with deep suspicion, the visa issuing process came to a near stand-still. At best, it would take several months to get a visa; at worst, the visa applications simply never made it through the vetting process. This wasn’t necessarily for security reasons. In fact, many applications simply got lost in the new and expanded process. Now, with State, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other intelligence agencies all working in a considerably more streamlined way, the processing has been reduced to about two weeks.
But no process works effectively if there are no materials to be processed. State Dept. needs to get more consular officers on the ground in Saudi Arabia. It will be re-opening the visa services in Jeddah soon, so that will help.
But the fact remains that Saudi Arabia, as an assignment, has never been easy to staff. Cultural and climatic hardships ensured that. With increased security threats due to Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia’s direct attacks against foreigners, the situation is even more difficult. Assignments to the US Embassy or Consulates are short, one-year affairs for most officers. They are not permitted to bring their family members with them. Given a choice between that and almost anywhere else, who but the most dedicated would choose that assignment?
Pressure to Withdraw US Troops Lies at Home, Not Iraq
Amir TaheriIt is one of the paradoxes of modern politics that the presence of the US-led coalition in Iraq which was hardly raised during the Iraqi election campaign is emerging as the number one issue in the American mid-term elections in 11 months’ time.
President George W. Bush and his key aides tackle the issue by saying that the whole thing depends on “conditions on the ground in Iraq.â€
But anyone with any knowledge of what is going on in Iraq would know things are not as simple as that. In fact, had things depended on “conditions on the ground in Iraq†the issue might not have generated so much heat.
The truth is that this “whole thing†about withdrawal depends on conditions on the ground not in Iraq but in the United States.
Once again, Amir Taheri comes out with a strong and well-reasoned op-ed for the Arab News.
He believes that Bush and Blair have achieved nearly all of their political objectives for Iraq. What remains–the insurgency–has not shown itself to be winning. And compared to insurgencies in places like Columbia, the Iraqi insurgency is small stuff.
Read what he has to say.
Those who underrate the achievement of the Fifth National Dialogue Forum held in Abha by the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue are missing the point. This was a gathering of some of the best minds in the Kingdom frankly addressing important issues under the theme of “Us and Othersâ€. The discussions ranged from Islamic diversity within and without the Kingdom, to the role of women and the Saudi view of foreigners, issues that even ten years ago would not have been debated in the same way.
Saudis need to be looking at themselves and their relations with the rest of the world, because that world is changing and the Kingdom is changing too. By confronting the challenges inherent in this process and discussing them in a calm and informed manner as happened in Abha, Saudis are taking a step toward making the necessary adjustments, which will be the stronger for the fact that they have been considered so carefully.
Here’s a good Arab News editorial on the National Dialogue recently completed in Abha. The paper sees this forum as a turning point in the way Saudis both see themselves and the outside world, as well as the way they will interact. Worth reading in its entirety.
Tariq Al-Maeena has a related op-ed, Why We Must Learn to Be Tolerant. Among many good things, he says,
If we begin to believe that one group of Saudis, or Muslims for that matter, is closer to God than the others, or has a truer understanding of our faith and uses that as a tool to develop his own hierarchy, then we understandably have a problem.To some of us, this intolerance and rigidity that had gradually crept within our culture in the past twenty-five years remains alien and unwanted. It had given rise to power an elite group of religious thinkers who interpreted faith as “my way or the highwayâ€. And when the country as a whole had to assume this rigid school of thought, be it through schools or mosques or whatever, tolerance flew straight out of the window. Tolerance within, or tolerance to others was indeed a casualty.
But through dialogue forums such as those that were recently concluded, extreme views are being gradually tempered, and acceptance of a middle ground is grudgingly but gradually being afforded. That such forums are even happening is enough of a positive boost to better understanding between our own.
Again, worth reading the whole thing.
Six-Year Limit for Expats After GCC Consensus, Says Gosaibi
JEDDAH, 17 December 2005 — The proposal to restrict the stay of expatriates to six years was adopted by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labor ministers following the directives of GCC leaders to offset the effect of foreign workers on the demographic structure of the member states, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said.
The question of expatriate workers living and working in the Gulf States for extended periods is a serious one. The workers, who often work for 20, even 30 years outside their own countries, are in many ways stateless. They are prohibited from becoming citizens of the countries in which they’ve been living and working, but they’ve also grown into foreigners in their home countries.
International organizations have been pressuring the Gulf States to do something about this. It appears that they are about to do so.
They have chosen, through the GCC, to maintain their own homogeneity.
Foreign workers, with few exceptions, will not be permitted to stay in a country longer than six years. After that, they must return to their countries of origin–though I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of shuffling among the different Gulf countries.
This is certainly not the choice that Western countries have made. There, naturalization and–with luck–assimilation are seen as more desirable. Recent events in Europe and Australia, as well as strong reactions on the part of some Americans to an influx of foreigners, calls that decision into question.
This, of course, will not be well-received by the foreign workers. They cannot be assured of (relatively) well-paying jobs in the Gulf for extended periods. Six years will not be long enough to accumulate the funds they hope to earn to pay for things like dowries, homes for their extended families, private education for their children.
But it does get the Gulf countries out from under a moral burden of leaving these people essentially stateless.
Miteb Announces Bylaws for Municipal Councils
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 17 December 2005 — Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Miteb has issued the executive bylaws of the newly formed 178 municipal councils across the Kingdom. In accordance with the bylaws, the councils will monitor activities of their respective municipalities and work toward improving their services.
The municipal councils, which were set up as part of political reforms introduced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, will have a minimum of four members and a maximum of 14 members. They are given the authority to make budget proposals and review reports on municipal revenues and expenditures.
This Arab News article details the powers and responsibilities of the new municipal councils just established acros the country. As a start in democratic practices, it looks good. There is some real authority, some subject to central government oversight. There is the power to raise funds (i.e., taxes), and a requirement to submit transparent reports.
By making the council members actually responsible for doing things, the Saudi government seeks to circumvent tendencies to simply use a position of power to create more personal power. With some practice on the city and town level, bigger steps can be taken toward governing larger regions, ultimately the country.
Taboo-breaking novel stirs passion, debate in Saudi Arabia
By Donna Abu-Nasr, Associated Press |RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — It’s hardly ”Sex and the City,” but by Saudi standards ”The Girls of Riyadh” is a bombshell.
The fictional tale of the loves, dreams, and disappointments of four young women in the capital has, not surprisingly, drawn criticism in a country where women are not supposed to date or have a love life until married. More striking, however, is the degree of support being voiced for 24-year-old author Rajaa al-Sanie and her first novel.
Here’s a great article, appearing in The Boston Globe [Hurry to read it as it'll disappear behind a pay-wall soon!].
Donna Abu-Nasr, with whom I’ve worked, is a thoughtful writer. Her take on Arab society can be trusted. She talks here with the author of a book which–although only available in bootlegged editions–is taking the country by storm. I hope the author is able to find a publisher willing to do a translation as it would be an eye-popper for the Western world.
I’m pleased to see that the Ministery of Labor, Ghazi Al-Gosaibi/Al-Qusaibi, himself no stranger to problems resulting from publication, is supporting the book.
Saudi Envoy Rejects Iranian’s Comments on Holocaust
Glenn Kessler — Washington PostPrince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to the United States, took issue yesterday with the Iranian president’s description of the Holocaust as a myth, saying the “horrific genocide” is a “historical fact” no longer in dispute.
Finally, an Arab government other than the Palestinians, is condeming the Iranian president’s troubling remarks about the Holocaust. It’s a pity that the story is buried on page A27 of The Washington Post, but at least it’s out there…
Of note, too, are Amb. Turki’s comments about Arab acceptance of the state of Israel:
But Turki said the Arab world has “made our peace” with the creation of Israel. He noted that in 2002, the Arab League adopted a Saudi plan that committed Arab nations to a peace process that would result in the creation of Palestine and an acceptance of Israel, including normalization of relations, once it leaves territory occupied after the 1967 Six-Day War.“It is a done deal for us,” he said. “We are not going to go back on that.”
He also talks about women’s rights in the KSA. There’s a lot of information in a tiny article, so take a look.
Iraq and the Arab “Wait and See” Strategy
Amir TaheriWhenever they run out of ideas, diplomats come up with the phrase “wait-and-see”. This has been the position of Arab states from the beginning of the crisis that, rising in the middle of 2002, led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Even the arrival of a foreign army in a major Arab capital for the first time in almost six decades did not change that position. The Arabs waited and waited, and in a sense they are still waiting, but ended up by seeing little or nothing.
Instead of seeing anything after their long wait, they ended up being seen as a coalition of strange bedfellows quarrelling over a common nightmare.
Should the Arabs continue with a position that has scripted them out of developments in Iraq? Is “wait-and-see” the best they can do in the face of the most dramatic change in the balance of power in the Middle East since the Khomeinist seizure of power in Tehran in 1979?
Here’s a great op-ed from Amir Taheria, writing in Asharq Alawsat. He saying, quite clearly, that the time of Arab governments to reserve their judment (and actions) concerning Iraq is over. The train is leaving the station; Iraq is going to be a successful democracy.
Relying on past assessments of how things work is no longer sufficient, he says.
With regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq, the jigsaw that represented the balance of power in the region has been thrown into the air, its many pieces plummeting in different directions and at different speeds. Because the Arab states are among these pieces it would not do for them to remain mere observers of the way the new jigsaw is being shaped.
And he’s right. Much as the Iraqi Sunni population realized that if they did not take part in the political process there would be no one to protect their interests, Arab governments need to realize that whether they will it or not, the world is changing around them.
Taheri provides a list of steps Arab governments need to take, right now. Read the piece and see what you think.