Writing in Arab News, Saudi journalist Abeer Mishkhas is angry both that Saudis abuse people in positions inferior to them and that no one seems to take any responsibility for fixing the problem. She details a list of abuses for which laws—which do exist—appear to have been ignored when it came time to punish wrong-doers. The abuse of power is a shame on the country, she writes. She calls for the abusers to be publicly named and for the laws to be enforced. Worth reading the whole article.
It’s Time to Talk About Our Social Conscience
Abeer Mishkhas, abeermishkhas@arabnews.comSo what — I want to know, I really want to know — is being done to stop people from abusing domestic staff? The reports of abuse, murder and harassment seem never to stop and very little, if anything, is being done to stop them. Our officials, despite numerous public statements that they are dealing with the situation, clearly are not. The recent case of the two Indonesian maids who were beaten to death by their employers for whatever reason they choose to provide is simply incredible. It is not enough to hold the women’s employers and question them; we need to see some action taken against them and to see them publicly shamed for what they did.
People have not forgotten the Noor Miyati case, and the fact that this poor woman lost her fingers and suffered without seeing justice done is again unbelievable. So what are we waiting for? Up to now, no matter what the Human Rights society or any official body says, words mean nothing. It is no longer about individual cases and it reflects badly on every one of us. These horrible stories are reported around the world and as far as tarnishing our reputation, nothing could tarnish it more. The official reaction so far has been to try to calm things down and then to do nothing.
In the case of an Indonesian maid who accused her employer’s son of raping her (Arab News Aug.1), the case was officially closed for “lack of evidence.†Now the maid’s lawyer is trying to reopen it and convince the authorities that a DNA test should be used in the search for justice. To say the least, that is reasonable – especially since the accused’s denial was initially taken as proof that the maid was lying! And now to the recent case of the shepherdess who has been working here for decades without a salary. Had it not been for her goats, she would not have survived. Her employer owes her some SR63,000 in unpaid salary. What was done? Nothing. Nothing at all. He appeared once, stated that he was bankrupt, gave her SR7,000 and disappeared. Did the police do anything about finding him? Do our imams take these matters as subjects for their Friday sermons? If we look into these matter closely, there are two elements to consider. The first is the offender and the second the problem of law enforcement. Pertaining to the offenders, there seems to be a wider problem that has deep roots in our society and customs. Some people get away with mistreating those who are dependent on them — whether the dependents are the women and children of their family or their employees. To hold such unchallenged and unquestioned power is all too often to abuse it to the maximum extent. We have only to look at the records of abuse to see the truth of that statement.
We keep telling the world that we hold Islamic values dear to our hearts and that whatever we do is done according to religious teachings. If we stop, however, and ask ourselves “How many of us actually follow those teachings when one side is weaker than the other?†I am afraid we would find inhumane behavior all too common.
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August:30:2007 - 09:52
I track the Saudi funded expansion of militant, extremist Wahhabi Islam on my blog, Wahaudi — nearly 600 stories from around the world in less than 6 months. http://wahaudi.blogspot.com/
August:30:2007 - 10:17
You’re welcome to your opinions, of course, but I don’t have to agree with them.
Yes, the Saudis take seriously their obligation to proselytize in the name of a fundamentalist Islam. That Islam, however, is not in itself ‘militant’ or ‘extremist’. It can, however, be perverted as it has been by the likes of Bin Laden and others–including some Saudi imams.
It appears you have bought into the Schwartz viewpoint. He–although he has never actually been to Saudi Arabia–makes the logical fallacies of ‘Hasty Generalization’, ‘Guilt by Association’, and ‘Appeals to Emotion and Fear’.
I do not pretend that there are Saudis who are violent extremists. But they do not represent the vast majority of Saudis–even self-declared Salafists–nor do they or their actions represent government policy. That Bin Laden once had and that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi does not mean that all Saudis, or even a majority of Saudis, share their goals or views. Our anger at and fear of those Saudis who commit acts of terror in the name of Islam should not blind us to the fact that most Saudis are more concerned with day-to-day matters than they are with concepts like jihad and the global caliphate.
August:31:2007 - 06:56
John,
Schwartz is a guy who has little to no respect in the Muslim community. He is a neo-con who decided to convert to Islam, but his conversion to Islam certainly didnt change his politics.
It is interesting how the Western media often puts these types up as though they somehow speak for the Muslim community. He doesnt speak for anyone at all.
I guess there is a lot of money to be made by people by Asra Nomani, Irshad Manji, Hirsi, and Wafa Sultan who pimp their nonsense to a Western media who throw cash at them.
August:31:2007 - 08:00
Stephen Schwartz and I have had our contretemps. I’m not sure that he qualifies as a ‘neo-con’. That implies a certain amount of intellectual rigor I believe Schwartz lacks.
But he is certainly telling a story people what to hear and so gets disproportionate media time.
August:31:2007 - 09:22
I never read that exchange before. I almost have to laugh at the guy. His book was “published as an offical Islamic document”?
What does that mean? The angel Gabriel has endorsed it? Should it now be required reading next to The Qur’an?
It is clear that this guy fancies himself, although why I do not know.
He has almost no audience in the Muslim community itself and he seems to pander to the Islamophobe community out there. Why convert to a religion when your work is going to be supporting those who hate your new religion?
August:31:2007 - 09:50
I’m sure he doesn’t see it that way. When he became a Sufi, he seems to have come to believe that Sufism is the one and only ‘true Islam’. I certainly have nothing against Sufism, but it’s hardly the one-and-only Islam, nor is it free of all defects.
I’m particularly amused (if that’s the word) that Schwartz deems himself expert on Saudi Arabia when he’s never been there and bases his opinions on those of Saudi expats. Their views may have validity, but they are not representative of Saudi Arabs as a whole.
August:31:2007 - 13:50
I agree. I am not Sufi, that is not to say I dont think that some areas of Sufism do not have merit, but certain areas I think range into realms that are outside of Islam.
However, I think that if he really thinks Sufism is “the way” then he is not much better, if at all, than the Salafists. I think such an attitude is actually outside of Sufism as well. His stridency is rather “unSufi” like.
He can deem himself to be an expert on whatever he wants. Since 9/11 we seem to have hundreds of “experts” on subject that if the subject themselves were not Muslims, Arabs and Islam, they would have been laughed out of the field.
For some reason the study of the Middle East, Islam and Muslims is the only field in which you need not have formal education, experience, or even the ability to speak any of the languages to be considered an expert.
Imagine someone trying to pass themselves off as an expert in the Middle East, yet they cannot read/write or speak Arabic? Imagine calling yourself an expert of Islam, yet your only experience are books, the internet, and if you are advance, some travel in the area.
The whole thing is a joke.
August:31:2007 - 15:31
I’m not laughing….