After years of complaints by parents, employers, and foreigners, the Saudi Ministry of Education is now ready to test new approaches to education in the Kingdom. This Arab News article reports on some of the changes scheduled to be tried out in a number of schools in the Jeddah area.

The Saudi education system has relied on an authoritative teaching methodology. What the teacher and the text says is not just to be accepted uncritically, but is to be parroted back, verbatim, on exams. Questions about the material are strongly discouraged; questioning the teacher can lead to expulsion—and in some cases, physical retribution.

There’s not much question that the Saudi education system needs renovation from the bottom up. It appears that the government is now ready to take the first steps to do so.

Select Schools to Test New Teaching Methods This Year
Lulwa Shalhoub, Arab News

JEDDAH, 29 August 2007 — The new academic year that starts in early September will include the introduction of new teaching methods that will be tested at some schools. If these techniques are successful they might later be introduced in all of the Kingdom’s public schools.

Two secondary schools and two middle schools in North Jeddah will apply a new technique called the Comprehensive Developmental Project that would merge a number of schoolbooks and subjects into one course.

The studies of the Arabic language, including grammar, literature, composition and reading, will be merged into one textbook. Geography and history will also be merged.

Computer science will be introduced as a new subject in elementary and middle school levels and, according to Lamia Al-Haj, head of the Curriculum Development Department at the Ministry of Education in Jeddah, computing courses might be added to higher grades later.
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Curious story, though far from unique in the annals of Saudi Arabia and press freedom, alas.

The Saudi government is banning the distribution of the Lebanese paper Al-Hayat within the Kingdom according to reports from both Associated Press in this Los Angeles Times piece and Agence France Press report out of Lebanon.

Reports say the ban is the result of Al-Hayat‘s naming a Saudi—Mohammad al-Thibaiti, AKA Abu Sulaiman al-Otaibi—as the current head of the ‘Islamic State of Iraq’, an extremist organization in Iraq. The piece also notes that al-Thibaiti studied at the Imam Mohammad bin Saud University in Riyadh. This school, with a reputation for being a hotbed of radicalism, is unfortunately also one of the showcase universities in the country.

The LA Times’ piece suggests that the ban may have a more personal level as the current Minister of Information has been complaining to the Saudi press that they are attacking individuals with government positions rather than the positions and the work they do. If the Al-Hayat article named prominent imams or professors as motivators of al-Thibaiti, then this could well be the reason for the ban. I cannot find the Al-Hayat pieces at the bottom of this ban, however, so I can’t verify this. If a reader has access to the articles, I’d appreciate hearing.

An interesting fact about Al-Hayat is that it is owned by Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the son of the Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister, Prince Sultan. Pr. Khaled is Saudi Deputy Defense Minister and one of the most influential members of the ruling family. It is not common—but far from unheard of, either—for one part of the government to be out of sync with another part. This looks like one of those instances. As owner, Pr. Khaled has the power to remove writers or editors from the paper, clearly a step not taken. Whether this is intentional, inadvertent, or he hasn’t gotten around to it is open to speculation.

UPDATE: The Washington Post has an Associated Press piece on the subject. This article picks up on the fact that there has been a growing dispute between the paper and the Ministry of Information. Whether it’s a matter of playing out private politics through government policy or something else is yet to be determined.

Khaleej Times, from the UAE, has this short article on the political complexity of trying to shift attitudes about determining the start of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. Ramadan, and the Eid that follows it, drives billions of dollars of commerce across the Muslim world. But there is not synchronization among the Muslim states on the starting dates. While some countries use astronomical tables, others insist on the traditional sighting of the crescent moon by human observers—something very much subject to the vagaries of the weather and atmospheric conditions. Before the world grew small through air travel and near-instantaneous communications, it didn’t really matter much on which day Ramadan started in any particular country. Now it does.

For the debate within Saudi Arabia about which method of assessing the start of Ramadan is best, see Astronomy v. the Human Eye

Ramadan start date to differ again
Habib Toumi

Manama: Pinning the start of Ramadan this year will again be a point of debate in the Muslim world as 1.2 billion Muslims will most likely begin observing Ramadan on three different days, a professor in Bahrain said.

“Muslims in at least one country will start fasting on September 12 while the others will begin either on September 13 or 14,” Dr Waheeb Al Nasser yesterday said in a statement to the press.

“I believe that Libya will be the first country to announce the start of Ramadan on September 12,” said the physics professor at the University of Bahrain.
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Saudi Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat runs this story, brief case histories of three young Saudis who were misled to take up the banner of jihad. One actually got to Iraq where he drove a truck bomb; the other two were arrested for promoting jihad over the Internet or through the production and distribution of video CDs extolling attacks in Iraq. All three have gone through the Saudi re-education program designed to show them the folly of their ways and to bring them back into Saudi society. Interesting reading.

Why I Joined the Insurgency in Iraq
Turki Al-Saheil
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – Ahmad al-Shayi, Saddam al-Saqabi, and Saleh al-Quayri are young Saudi men, the youngest of whom is still under the age of twenty.

These young men were duped into Jihad in Iraq after taking to heart a number of unsanctioned fatwas calling for there active participation.

They had a common goal of supporting the Iraqi cause, but differed in the methods. One of those young men traveled to Iraq and was used by Al-Qaeda there to carry out a suicide operation from which he survived by God’s will only. The other two participated in media-related propaganda activities that encouraged joining the insurgency in Iraq, while one of them was haunted by the romanticized idea of the alleged Jihad.

The sources of the fatwas on which they based their missions varied. Most of them relied on fatwas posted on the internet by unknown people such as Abu-Busayr al-Najdi, while some visual and audio footage contributed in attracting some of them to misguided thinking.

Salih al-Quayri — who served his sentence for distributing documentaries encouraging Jihad in Iraq — was not concerned about the Iraqi case. However, his admiration of the voice and words of an Islamic Jihadi singer and his call to participate in the insurgency pushed him to do what he did.

Al-Quayri told Asharq al-Awsat that he distributed documentaries about Jihad in Iraq after finding inspiration in the words of the unknown Islamic singer who Al-Quayri now feels deceived him by saying that Jihad is the least he could do for Muslims in such a chaotic country.
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Various media are covering this story (here from The Washington Post) about Muslims being offended by the presence of the Saudi flag (which contains the names of Allah and Mohammed) on soccer balls handed out in Afghanistan. The intent was good; the execution, flawed.

This points out a problem, however, when words or symbols that are strongly identified with a religion are used in secular settings. The Saudi flag, with the shahadda, or Islamic statement of faith, is the symbol of a country and countries are, by definition, secular concepts. The same issue arises when people see the abuse of the Star of David, which in addition to being a Jewish symbol is also the symbol of the State of Israel. When one attacks a symbol, is one attacking the symbol alone or all the meanings that are associated with the symbol?

Since it is unlikely that the Saudi flag will be changing anytime soon—as the Iraqis also declined to change their flag, (modified by Saddam Hussein, for political purposes, to include the words ‘Allahu Akbar’)—the flag will have to be taken out of most secular uses. The intent in the design of the flag, I’m sure, was excellent. The consequences, however unintended they may be, are unfortunate.

And yes, I do appreciate the fact that by focusing on what lies behind the symbol, any state could ensure its flag not be burnt or stomped upon simply by using the name of God on it. Of course, that only works in places that put the same meaning on the symbol and what it represents.

U.S. military regrets “blasphemous” balls for Afghans
Hamid Shalizi

KABUL (Reuters) – The U.S. military in Afghanistan on Monday expressed regret for a publicity campaign aimed at winning hearts and minds that ended up offending scores of Muslims.

U.S. troops on Friday dropped dozens of free footballs for soccer-mad Afghan children from helicopters in an area of southeastern Afghanistan, all marked with flags of various countries.

But the balls depicted the Saudi Arabian flag, which features the Islamic declaration of faith and includes the names of Allah and the prophet Mohammed.

The idea of kicking something bearing their names is considered deeply offensive to Muslims.
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This article from Saudi Gazette notes that Saudi women with law degrees may soon be able to represent their (female) clients in the courtroom. Until a few years ago, it was illegal for a Saudi woman to practice law, even though there were perhaps two dozen women trained to do so. They tended to work in the back rooms of lawyers’ offices, working directly with female clients, but having to pass on their work to a male attorney when the case entered the courtroom. Then they were permitted, under law, to work with those women, a definite improvement from the past when they had to do it clandestinely, but were and are still barred from the courtroom. Soon, it appears, they will gain the authority to represent women fully. This piece notes that rather than an innovation, this is actually a return to past Islamic practice, but a practice that had been pushed aside by the weight of custom.

Female Lawyers Optimistic after Shoura Council Support
Maha Sami Aboulola

THE Shoura council has recently raised the issue of female lawyers and their future in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi female lawyers do not have the right to represent their clients in court.

“Saudi women can represent themselves in court. But they cannot be represented by a female lawyer,” said Leila Al-Doghaither, who works in a legal office in Riyadh.

The Ministry of Justice is in the process of drafting new regulations and laws to develop the legal profession in Saudi Arabia.

The new regulations are expected to allow female lawyers hold licenses and the right to work legally.

The ministry also declared that it will form the Saudi Law Association and will provide training courses.

In a previous interview with the Saudi Gazette, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Banany, a professor in Islamic studies, said, “Female lawyers are better equipped to understand and represent their female clients and that has been allowed since the days of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).”

The spate of camel deaths in Saudi Arabia—with the cause still under investigation—has caused Saudis to shy away from the traditional meat. This article from Arab News points out that camel meat is very much a part of the Saudi diet, almost like the ‘Chicken on Sunday’ that used to be the norm in the US. Meat merchants are starting to feel the effects of the public’s concern.

Jeddah Residents Boycott Camel Meat and Milk

JEDDAH, 27 August 2007 — According to butchers and restaurants, the demand for camel meat has decreased since news spread about the deaths of hundreds of camels, which are suspected to have died from poison fodder.

Butchers and restaurants selling camel meat have expressed concern that people are growingly uninterested in buying camel meat. Camel meat and milk is popular in the Kingdom.

“Though the affected areas are far from Jeddah, people are scared of eating camel meat and preferring to stay away from it,” a butcher was quoted as saying by Al-Madinah newspaper.

Saeed Asiri, a Saudi who said he loves camel meat, said that since he heard news about camels dying in different parts of the Kingdom he has stopped buying camel meat. “I used to like it and I even used to buy it daily. Now, however, I prefer to stay away from it to protect my family’s health,” he said.
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The Observer, the Sunday incarnation of the UK’s The Guardian has an interesting opinion piece discussing the vocabulary used to describe terrorism in the name of Islam. The writer, an author of a book on Al-Qaeda, notes that there’s been a lot of shifting in the nuance of these words. He’s not really taken with “Islamism” or “Islamist” as a tag to describe this terror, largely because that term already has a particular meaning among scholars, wider than the use of violence. He suggests ‘modern Islamic militancy’ as a possibility. I don’t find that objectionable, but ‘neo-Salafi’, coined by Anthony Cordesman at CSIS also works.

The problem extends to the term ‘Wahhabi’. This word, used to describe followers of the 18th C. Saudi reformer Abdul Wahhab, has had its meaning shift. The term—rarely used by Saudis—has now become a catch-all term for any fundamentalist Islam and has been irrevocably associated with violence. That’s a pity, though, because most Saudis do follow the fundamentalist line set out by Abdul Wahhab. They call themselves ‘muwahidun’, ‘those who acknowledge the oneness of God’ rather than ‘Wahhabi’ (which term in itself tends toward the idolization of mortals that the movement absolutely shuns). Yet the vast majority of Saudis are not violent, nor do they see their interpretation of Islam pushing them toward violence. The terms has lost all useful meaning now. It only means ‘some form of fundamentalist Islam that the writer/speaker doesn’t like’.

‘Islamism’ has no place in terror’s lexicon
Jason Burke

Very soon, a deluge of ’11 September six years on’ analyses will descend on us. They will almost all say the same thing: that the threat from modern Islamic militancy remains high, that victory in the war on terror is a long way off, that our own errors have often made a bad situation worse and that there have been some notable successes. There will be some debate over the exact current significance (and health) of the fugitive leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. The more perceptive writers will note that the vast bulk of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims continues to reject extremism. The less perceptive (and less travelled) will talk about a continuing war for civilisation.

As well as considering the views of the various commentators, we would do well to stop a moment to consider the language in which they are expressed. For we have reached a critical moment in the war on terror. Sorry, let me rephrase that, we have reached a critical moment in our efforts to counter the terrorist threat. No. We are at an important juncture in the continuing process of countering Islamism… no… Islamic militancy… er … modern Muslim radicalism… al-Qaeda… no, make that al-Qaeda-inspired violence… er… on second thoughts…

For the semantics of the post-9/11 era have never been easy. From the mantraps of the use of words such as ‘crusade’ in the days after 11 September to difficult decisions by broadcasters and print journalists over whether they talk about ‘terrorists’, ‘militants’ or ‘violent activists’, the battle fought to ensure a language that more or less accurately describes the phenomenon that we have seen emerging in recent years, which I call ‘modern Islamic militancy’, for want of a better term, and the response to it has been as important as any other. And that battle is far from over. It took many years to establish a vocabulary that was broadly accepted to adequately describe the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
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Arab News carries this story about a Filipina who was hired in 1987 as a domestic. She has spent most of the last 20 years herding goats in the remote Asir region, and has gone mostly unpaid. Her employer says he is bankrupt and cannot afford to cough up the $16,800 owed her in nearly 20 years’ of back wages. The woman is ready to give up trying to collect her due and only wants to go home to see the daughter she sought to support.

Again, I commend the Saudi media for bringing cases like this to the public’s attention. The Saudi government needs to do something, both drastic and quick, to pull itself out of the depths of 20th C. slavery.

Stranded Filipino Shepherdess Gives Up SR63,000, Wants to Go Home
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, Arab News

JEDDAH, 26 August 2007 — It may sound incredible, but a Filipino woman who was hired by a Saudi family in 1987 as a domestic helper is now stranded at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah after working as a shepherdess for 18 years in Al-Baha and weathering unpaid salaries, ice storms and being arrested several times by the police.

“I want to go home as I don’t want to die here,” said Leonora Somera, aged 65, in an interview with Arab News yesterday. “My employer still owes me SR63,000 in back wages, but since it seems he cannot afford to pay me that amount, I’m ready to just go home.”
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The rash of camel deaths in Saudi Arabia—close to two thousand animals have died in the past month—is now being attributed to some toxic material that entered the fodder at some point after its leaving the processor. That means it is not a naturally occurring toxin from infected grain. Just what the toxin is and where it was introduced is still under investigation. This Arab News article notes the various ways in which camels are still used in Saudi Arabia, from racing and food to ‘beauty contests’.

Camel Deaths: Minister Doesn’t Rule Out Foul Play
Javid Hassan

RIYADH, 26 August 2007 — Agriculture Minister Dr. Fahd Balghonaim said yesterday he would not rule out the possibility of foul play in the deaths of 1,982 camels.

A breakdown of the figures released by the minister shows that the largest number of deaths occurred in the Riyadh region (Wadi Dawasir-1,008, Al-Sulayl-14), followed by Makkah (452), Asir (212), Najran (191) and Jizan (105).

“It could be foul play. We don’t know yet, since the investigation is still going on,” the minister said at a press conference attended by Deputy Minister Muhammad Al-Sheha and other senior ministry officials. He added that the bran produced as feed for the camels was not infected or contaminated but arose from distribution chain and was the result of poisoning outside the factory. “We are working in collaboration with our technical experts and laboratories outside the Kingdom in order to identify the poisoning material. Only then can we take counter-measures to solve the problem. We also want to know where the material came from.”

The problem of piracy of intellectual property, including copyrighted broadcasts of sports events, is a global problem. It’s a serious one in the KSA, but not as bad as it was in the past. Still, as more entertainment goes digital, the more attractive it is for hackers to step in and steal a slice of the money.

This Arab News article reports on how Showtime Arabia, the most popular of the satellite TV packages, is working to protect its rights for the English Premiere League football/soccer broadcasts. The reporter, though, seems to have little trouble in finding a couple of pirates who see nothing wrong with their actions. The piece also points to a condemnation of piracy by a popular Egyptian scholar, Amr Khaled, who says that this kind of theft is religiously forbidden.

Showtime Battles Digital Pirates
Samir Al-Saadi, Arab News

JEDDAH, 26 August 2007 — The English Premier League, which is shown on Showtime Arabia, the Middle East’s leading satellite television network, has made the channel a prime target for hackers in the Kingdom in an ongoing digital war between code-makers and code-breakers.

Showtime currently owns the exclusive broadcast rights for the English Premier League and is also tied with the Al Jazeera network, which exclusively owns broadcasting rights of the Spanish Premier League and Italian SerieA.

Showtime’s monopoly of broadcasting rights of major international football leagues is a well-thought move since football is considered the world’s most popular sport and the English Premier League the world’s most popular event. However, the move is also a risky one. Showtime has attracted the attention of digital pirates keen on hacking the network and providing black market cut-price viewing of the channel.

Research supports the fact that football is the most viewed sport in the world and that the Premier League is the No. 1 football league.

The problem of hacking is so acute that even Amr Khaled, a prominent Egyptian religious scholar, has made appearances on television commercials highlighting the impermissibility, according to Islamic law, of pirating signals.
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Khaleej Times, from the United Arab Emirates, carries this report on a new contract between the Saudi government and Lockheed Martin to train up to 35,000 to provide enhanced protection of Saudi oil facilities. The piece also notes that a lot of this protection will be in the form of high technology.

US helps Saudis train oil security force

DUBAI (AFP) – US defence giant Lockheed Martin is training thousands of recruits for a special force designed to protect Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities from attack, a specialist economic newsletter said on Friday.

Saudi authorities have recruited around 5,000 members of the Facilities Security Force and plan to raise the number to 8,000-10,000 over the next two years as an interim target, the Nicosia-based Middle East Economic Survey said.

The plan to set up a 35,000-strong force to guard oil and other vital installations was announced in July by Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as the oil powerhouse continues to battle suspected Al Qaeda militants.

In February 2006, militants carried out an abortive attack on a massive oil processing plant in the Eastern Province.

Nayef said that Saudi Arabia had foiled 180 “terrorist” operations by Al Qaeda since 2003, when the Islamist militants launched a spate of bombings and shootings in the vast Gulf country.

In April, the interior ministry said 172 terror suspects had been rounded up, along with weapons and cash, in a series of swoops.

Some of the militants were allegedly plotting airborne attacks on oil facilities and army bases.
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