In his editorial for Asharq Alawsat, Tariq Alhomayed takes up the issue of Saudi government efforts to control the Internet. He focuses his arguments on intellectual property rights (IPR), noting that there are sites out there which simply plagiarize others, as well as those that offer pirated films, music, and software. Without the protection of intellectual property, there simply would not be many of the industries that now do business in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
As for the issue of defamation and libel, he believes that specialized courts can handle the problem through existing laws.
I certainly get where he’s going here and mostly agree. I think he misses the fact that some blogs do more than just ‘stimulate creativity’. They try to explain current phenomena by providing factual information not given in broadcast or print media reports and to provide context and background. These are sufficient to annoy or anger some, who then start calling for new laws and regulation. Elided in his argument is the fact that different countries’ laws can differ very much. Even in countries as the US and UK, which share much of the same view of the law, libel laws are so different that some in America are looking to pass new laws to make British courts’ libel decisions unenforceable in the US. There is certainly enough friction between countries that highly value freedom of expression and those that value communal sentiments!
Yes, the Internet is a bit of a mess. There’s likely more erroneous information—as well as salacious, defamatory, insulting information—than ‘good’ information. That calls for developing the skills to weed out the bad from the good, however, not bringing in major defoliants that kill both.
It’s More Than Just 13 Saudi Journalists
Tariq AlhomayedAn internet website published false information about 13 Saudi female journalists, and now all hell has broken loose – which is a good thing – since defamation is unacceptable and has nothing at all to do with freedom of expression.
The most pressing requirement [now] is to enact laws that apply to online publications in the same manner that newspapers are subject to certain laws which govern [what can and cannot be published] while internet websites are not. So will this problem be solved?
I doubt it! Internet websites are like a flood, they usually find a watercourse. The most important solution [now] is to introduce laws that vigorously protect intellectual property rights whether in Saudi Arabia or the Arab world. There is a political proverb that says that one should “follow the money” in order to discover the source; online publications do not require the same amount of expenses [to run] as media institutes. Online publications also plagiarize news content from newspapers, and this is the problem. Whilst media institutes spend millions in order to create news content, creating jobs that help in the formation of a middle class, the bulk of Arab websites are used for personal glory or to serve a hidden agenda at a low financial cost.
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Six large earthquakes (ranging from 4.6 and 5.7 in magnitude) took place in northwestern Saudi Arabia today. This has led to a mandatory evacuation of the villages around the Al-Ais/El-Eis volcano (dormant, but perhaps awakening). Some 60,000 people are now sheltering with friends and family or in apartments and temporary housing provided through Saudi Civil Defense.
For those who are using Google Earth, you can download a .KML file that will integrate with the program and show the location of two of the earthquakes in much greater detail than is available through Google Maps.
You can follow discussion of the earthquake and the likelihood that they are precursors to volcanic activity as several science blogs. One I am following is Eruptions.
Arab News reports on the evacuations. It says that large numbers of people are leaving the cities of Madinah and Yanbu (the two nearest large cities) due to the tremors, causing serious traffic congestion. Interestingly, the paper also reports that rescue and recovery equipment is being moved into the area as a precautionary measure.
Aftershocks rock Al-Ais
Muhammad Al-Sheikh & Yousuf Muhammad | Arab NewsYANBU: Strong aftershocks were felt in the village of Harrah Al-Shaqah and its adjoining settlements in the Al-Ais area yesterday with the Civil Defense declaring emergency in the region and ordering complete evacuation.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the strongest of the aftershocks measured 5.6 on the Richter scale at 8:10 p.m. yesterday. Earlier, a Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) statement said: “The magnitude of the earthquake has been rising notably from 3 to 4.81 on the Richter scale with a total of 46 earthquakes recorded between 2 p.m. Monday and 2 p.m. today. The strongest tremor occurred 7.7 km beneath Harrah Al-Shaqah and its adjoining villages.” Aftershocks were felt in Umlaj, Wajh and Ula.
An SGS team that is conducting an aerial survey of the quake-hit area found a large crack in the earth and opened a quake detection station at Harrah Al-Shaqah.
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On its part, Saudi Gazette reports that Saudi state TV has been running public safety announcements about the situation and covers the evacuation as well. It also notes that rumors of smoke, gas, and changes in the color of local water sources are yet to be confirmed.
Residents told to leave Al-Eis amid stronger tremors
Asma Al-SharifRIYADH – The Civil Defense urged the remaining residents of Al-Eis in northwest of the country, to leave their homes for shelters after considerable seismic activities were measured Tuesday night. Warning sirens reportedly echoed in vulnerable neighboring areas of Al-Eis as safety instructions during disaster were announced on the state TV.
Two medium-size earthquakes hit a volcanic region in Al-Eis Tuesday, but there were no injuries and no damage to buildings, a seismological official said. A 5.4 earthquake hit the northwestern region in Al-Eis on Tuesday, just hours after a 4.8 tremor, said Ahmad Al-Attas, vice president of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS).
Reports of toxic gas emissions and change of the color of well waters have not been confirmed.
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As I’ve said before, I’m not a geologist. This activity is, however, very suggestive of a coming volcanic event. As I’ve also said, this seismic activity might peter out, with no more excitement than has already happened. It is also possible that a major eruption might occur. They have in Saudi Arabia’s past, both geologic and historic.
Given the complex nature of Saudi geology, a volcano might be one of several types. Most likely is a ‘shield volcano‘ which doesn’t create huge mountains, but does create vast amounts of lava with low viscosity which spreads over large areas, similar to the volcanoes currently making Hawaii. But there are also ‘scoria volcanoes‘ in the Kingdom, ones which produce cones up to several hundred meters in height. These are most like Stromboli, off the coast of Sicily. There is always a possibility—though I rate it low—for a stratovolcano, similar to Mt. Saint Helen or Mt. Mayon in the Philippines. These are hugely explosive and can lead to pyroclastic flows of hot gases and ash.
Saudi media, of course, are reporting on Sunday night’s earthquake in the Al-Ais/El-Eis region of northwest Saudi Arabia. Arab News carries a lengthy report on the quake, noting that hundreds of people are willing to evacuate the affected area. It reports panic in some of the villages, with people abandoning their homes to gather and sleep outdoors. Civil Defense, the story continues, is standing by to continue the evacuation to apartments in Yanbu and Madinah.
Moderate earthquake rattles Al-Ais region
MADINAH/YANBU: Hundreds of people were evacuated from Al-Ais area in the Madinah province after an earthquake measuring 4.68 on the Richter scale shook the region on Sunday night.
Eight hundred people, including families, were evacuated from the villages of Al-Hadama, Al-Amid and Al-Qarasa in Al-Ais, 240 km north of Madinah, where the tremors were felt the most.
The evacuees have been housed in Madinah and Yanbu. They have been given accommodation at furnished apartments and hotels. “Several hotels and furnished apartments have been reserved for the purpose in both these cities, and hundreds of buses and trucks are being kept in readiness for any eventuality,” said a Civil Defense official in Madinah.
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Saudi Gazette/Okaz and Reuters report that evacuations were mandatory in five villages.
Villages evacuated in volcano scare
RIYADH – Authorities evacuated five western villages on Monday after tremors hit a volcanic region in the past weeks raising concerns of possible eruptions. “There was a large quake, the largest so far,” Ahmed Al-Attas, vice president of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), told Reuters after Civil Defence officials evacuated the villages near the town of Al-Eis.
Attas was referring to a 4.68 earthquake, which hit the region on Sunday. Al-Eis, 150 km (100 miles) northeast of the Yanbu on the Red Sea, is not close to the world’s top oil exporter’s oil and petrochemicals facilities.
The region lies on a fault line, according to SGS, which declined to comment on current magma levels, but newspapers reported that in the past few days magma levels had risen to 4 km (2.5 miles) below the surface from 8 km.
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I wonder if there are any betting pools on just which senior Saudi cleric will be the first to declare a volcanic eruption—assume such takes place—as a sign of God’s unhappiness with modernization?
At least one conservative Saudi is enjoying the fruits of anonymous speech, according to this piece from Saudi Gazette. It reports on a poster hung in downtown Riyadh calling on the public to reject the idea of sports clubs for women as ‘deviant’ and ‘Westernization’.
I, as a non-Saudi, have trouble understanding the objection. As a child of the West, women’s playing sports has always been the norm, though the scope of women’s athletics has expanded considerably within my lifetime. In schoolyards, there were games that boys and girls played together, though as we grew older, sports tended to segregate on gender lines.
The proposition here is for women’s sports clubs to be formed. The clubs would be run by women, exclusively for women, thus no opportunity for khulwa, or illicit mingling. The complaint seems to be that in wearing sports clothing, one becomes ‘un-Islamic’ and that participating in sports might lead to heightened sensuality. Well, the first issue has never been much of one in the West. Nudity in same-sex situations has rarely been seen as sinful—though I did have a Third Grade teacher, a nun, who might take exception to that. Women’s ‘Turkish baths’, at least in the Arab countries for which I have sources, are certainly the scene of nudity—though oddly to me, not in men’s baths. Women’s participating in sports, though, did face historic rejection from some quarters in the West. There was concern that things like horseback riding or running might lead to spontaneous orgasm, thus leading to animalization of women, but those concerns were pushed aside fairly promptly. The danger that vigorous sports might damage a hymen, though… well there, I think, is the likely cause for the Saudi protest.
Saudi Arabs still put exceptionally high value on the presence of a hymen in a bride. The lack of one is sufficient cause for divorce, no matter the reason behind that lack. A new specialty for plastic surgeons has arisen, comprised solely of repairing hymens. Various reports state that Saudi and other Gulf Arab women are a large segment of the demand for such surgery. That is a sadness of a different order, but it’s a fact nonetheless. It’s a true pity that following such thinking is likely to end up with bored young women in less than good physical condition.
Furtive poster opposes sports clubs for women
RIYADH – “No to women’s clubs” was the legend of a large, professionally-produced poster hung prominently on a fence in an area of the capital popular with women out for a walk.
The six meter-square poster, which bore the slogan “My Veil is My Life” and was hung on the King Fahd Medical City fence on Khurrais Road, a favorite location for people wishing to exercise along its walk path, gave no clue as to its origin, Al-Watan daily reported.
The poster had an image of a football crossed out with a large X, and also claimed to be part of the “national campaign for confronting deviant thought and trends towards Westernization.”
It cited a saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and other expressions urging Muslim women to adhere to modesty as a constituent of belief.
The poster, Al-Watan reported, is presumed to have been prompted by recent demands from some members of the Shoura Council for the General Presidency for Youth Welfare to set up women’s clubs supervised by women, in full compliance with a Shoura Council decision issued several years ago.
Passersby varied in their views of the poster, some ambivalent, some opinionated.
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Saudi Gazette/Okaz report that the government has removed a layer of bureaucracy in the quest for Saudi women (at least in the Eastern Province) to obtain divorces separating them from abusive husbands. By getting rid of the requirement to go through the Social Protection Committee—which offered just another barrier to divorce—women can now take their divorce pleas directly to the courts.
This does not mean divorces will happen quickly or effortlessly, of course. Saudi courts are still the realm of judges with the individual power to rule as they see fit, according to their interpretation of Shariah law. It does get rid of one barrier, however.
Immediate processing for divorce of abused wives
Muhammad Al-IniziDAMMAM – Wives who have fallen victim to domestic violence are now allowed to file for divorce directly with the court without going through the social protection committee in the Eastern Province, court sources said.
The courts in the Eastern Province have already started processing divorce cases filed by wives who have accused their husbands of physical and verbal abuse. When the divorce is finalized, the social committee will follows up the child support case, if applicable. The social committee, composed of different government offices, used to look into divorce cases from allegedly abused wives before referring them to court. – Okaz/SG
The Saudi government has announced that it will postpone the Municipal Elections, scheduled to be have been held this autumn, for two years. In doing so, it also announced that the Municipal Councilors currently in place will have their terms extended for those two years, says Saudi Gazette in its report on an SPA press release.
The Municipal Elections, first held in 2005, have been a bit of a disappointment. No one—from the Councilors to the central government—quite knew what they were for, it appears. I suspect that two things pushed the holding of elections in 2005: Pressure from foreign governments to be seen as moving toward representative government and a true desire on the part of the central government to get citizens involved in government, albeit in a controlled manner. The government was not willing to simply hold elections and let the dice fall as they may.
The government, in delaying the next elections, has bought itself two years in which to figure out just what it expects from the Councils. It will have to decide how much power, in just what areas of governance, it will delegate its own authority. The two-year delay will also permit the government to figure out how it will include women in the voting, if not in the slates of candidates. The election of female members of parliament in neighboring Kuwait will put added pressure to act. Delaying tactics such as a claimed lack of segregated voting areas will not work anymore.
Municipal Councils term extended for 2 years
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia on Monday decided to extend the term of the current Municipal Council members to two years, reported the Saudi Press Agency Monday.
“The membership of members in current local councils will continue for another two years, starting from Nov. 2 this year,” SPA said after the Cabinet meeting.The Cabinet approved listing the Municipal Council rules to meet the objective of the State to expand the citizens’ participation in the administration of the local affairs while benefiting from the results of the studies carried out by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in this regard.
The ministry has been asked to submit the draft regulations of Municipal Councils.
The Kingdom held municipal elections in 2005.
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, briefed the Cabinet on his talks with world leaders and their envoys during the week.
The Monarch said his talks with the visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva focused on ways and means to boost mutual cooperation between the two countries.
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The legal case of a young Saudi who was executed, as a minor, for a crime he committed as a minor has been kicked down the road. The issue is one of court jurisdiction, i.e., whether the proper court is being asked to take action. That can be a legitimate argument, but it looks sketchy when the court decides it is not the right venue after having conducted 15 hearings on the case. Normally, one hearing would be sufficient for a court to determine that it was the wrong court.
I am not saying that the court reached an incorrect decision here. I am saying that the way in which the decision was reached gives the appearance that something other than justice is being done in the court. Good of Arab News to be reporting on it.
Lawsuit over Mueed execution rejected
Samir Al-Saadi | Arab NewsJEDDAH: The Court of Grievances has refused to consider the case of a 16-year-old Saudi whose father claims he was tried, convicted and executed for a crime he committed when he was a minor.
Abdullah Al-Zmami, the lawyer representing the boy’s father, Hussein Al-Hakami, said the court refused to consider the case saying it did not fall under its jurisdiction. “It’s shocking for us all. It contradicts the law,” said Al-Zmami, an attorney from Al-Zmami Law Firm.
The court has held 15 hearings into the case of Al-Hakami’s son, Mueed, who was executed in Jazan in 2004 for a crime he committed when he was 13.
According to Al-Zmami, the court concluded that the complaint contests procedures carried out by the judge who presided over the original case and that this, therefore, is an issue of jurisdiction. “The judge could have told us that on the first, second or third hearing, but not 15 hearings later. This raises a huge question mark,” he said.
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Arab News carries this piece on the National Family Safety Program’s experts meeting. The meetings seeks to find ways to end violence against women and children and identifies the obstacles. One of the primary ones is, according to one participant, the lack of a ‘clear definition of abuse due to major misunderstandings of religious teachings’. That is indeed a problem as there are verses in the Quran that are interpreted—by senior clerics—in a way that makes violence permissible. Other barriers include a lack of adequate reporting and a lack of awareness by family members of the legal rights.
Don’t use religion to justify abuse!
Nuha Adlan | Arab NewsRIYADH: A lack of awareness, misunderstandings about the meaning of guardianship and the absence of definitions for terms such as abuse, violence and violations in the domestic setting are the major problems that need to be solved to fight domestic violence, said Dr. Maha Al-Munief from the National Family Safety Program at the second experts meeting on abuse against women and children on Saturday.
“We are still calling for a fatwa in this regard,” said Al-Munief.
The meeting, which was attended by Princess Adela bint Abdullah and addressed by Minister of Justice Dr. Mohammed Al-Eissa, identified five major obstacles facing all governmental and nongovernmental efforts to fight domestic violence.
Experts tried to identify hindrances in the way of efforts to fight domestic violence.
The major obstacles of fighting violence centered on what was believed to be “a crucial defect of the society” as there is no clear definition of domestic abuse due to the major misunderstanding of some religious teachings regarding discipline and guardianship to both women and children.
Writing in Arab News, Samar Fatany reports that the demand for legal rights for women is gaining an increasingly high profile. She tells of the involvement of King Abdullah’s wife and daughter in various campaigns to promote women’s rights and awareness of those rights.
Saudi Arabia, unlike Jordan or Egypt, does not have a history of women in the royal family taking a high profile on issues. Very few non-Saudis—and likely most Saudis—do not even know the name Hissa Al-Shalaan as wife of the King. I sincerely doubt that King Abdullah is seeking to emulate the high profile of Queen Rania of Jordan, but that he does see utility in having her address issues of domestic politics.
Social ills crying for redress
Samar Fatany | samarfatany@hotmail.comIn the wake of the growing violence that is threatening Saudi society today, Princess Hissa Al-Shalaan, wife of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has launched a nationwide campaign. Conducted by the Human Rights Commission, the campaign aims to educate women about their legal rights and to offer legal and social assistance to the victims as well as to provide centers to care for abused women. Meanwhile, Princess Adela bint Abdullah, deputy chairperson of the National Family Safety Program, opened a seminar in Abha titled, “The role of judicial and security institutions in fighting family violence.” Researchers concluded that the lack of awareness about rights is the main problem. They stressed the problem lies in the individuals who violate religious teachings and follow aberrant customs and traditions.
Such initiatives are highly appreciated, and the fact we are finally confronting our problems and admitting our ills is very encouraging. It is about time that we abandoned a lifestyle blocking progress and development. We need to recognize that the reason the Saudi family is suffering is due to the fact that a large segment of our society still insists on holding on to old customs and traditions, and they refuse to modernize or adopt a more progressive way of life. The Saudi family is threatened by the failure of the society to adapt to economic needs that dictate that young married couples both need to work in order to afford a more comfortable lifestyle for the mother and children. It is no longer acceptable for the man alone to enjoy a life of luxury while ignoring the needs of his own family. Male-dominated families are oblivious to the rights of women to enjoy the same privileges afforded the menfolk. Society still debates the rights of women to work, their rights to travel and their rights to conduct business. There are even cases when women are not allowed to leave the house in the company of a relative or friend without the permission of the man of the house.
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The US Geologic Survey (USGS) reports that a large earthquake, 4.5 in magnitude, hit Saudi Arabia about an hour ago. [UPDATE: It is now recorded as 4.6 magnitude.]
The report is useful as it provides links to maps—the first I’ve come across—that accurately point exactly where the activity took place, i.e., the surface epicenter of the earthquake. The depth of the epicenter is reported to have been 15km, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center.
The above reports are purely scientific: they do not report on any damages or injury. Given that people living in the region were already growing skittish, though, I suspect there will be many more voluntary evacuations from the area.
UPDATE 05/18/2009: Arab News reports that the Saudi National Guard isn’t overly concerned by the seismic activity and sees, as of now, no need to deploy military forces to the area. That, it seems, is likely the case. Nothing other ground shaking and noises has happened yet. I do hope that the SANG is preparing plans if something more is needed, however.
Prince Miteb downplays Al-Ais tremors
Muhammad Humaidan | Arab NewsJEDDAH: Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard for military affairs, yesterday downplayed the tremors in Al-Ais, about 250 km north of Madinah, and said the activities did not require the deployment of military forces.
“The tremors in Al-Ais are normal. Such tremors occur often and do not require the deployment of military forces as the Civil Defense is capable of dealing with such incidents,” he said.
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While Saudi Civil Defense staff urge residents to stay calm and stay put, continued tremors in the Al-Ais area are telling people to leave. That’s the substance of this Saudi Gazette report on the earthquake activity that’s currently rattling the northwest corner of the country. I suspect there’s a fine line between informing the public and creating a panic. The Saudi government appears to be on top of the issue, with training programs for the public. But people will react strongly to continued earthquakes, particularly if they increase in intensity.
40% of Al-Eis residents flee from earth tremors
Muhammad Talib Al-Ahmadi and Muhammad HadhadhMADINA/JEDDAH – Forty percent of the residents of Al-Eis have left their homes and relocated to Madina and Yanbu as a result of the series of earth tremors that hit the area on Thursday, including one particularly strong tremor that created general panic and caused cracks to appear in some buildings. Official sources confirmed that there has been a mass exodus of residents due to the fear that the tremors will continue to increase in intensity.
The Civil Defense in the region is scheduled to train teachers and students who have volunteered to take part in rescue work in collaboration with the Saudi Red Crescent Society in case of emergencies due to the seismic activity in the area.
Maher Al-Jihani, Director of the Social Development Center in Al-Eis, said that there are contacts between the center and Col. Zuhair Ahmad Sibieh, Commander of the Civil Defense force in Al-Eis, and the Red Crescent station to organize training courses in rescue work. He pointed out that the center has increased its public awareness efforts by conducting meetings and presenting lectures to residents in order to reassure them and urge them to stay in their homes and remain calm, as there is nothing that currently necessitates leaving the region.
In a related development, the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) said that 29 tremors hit Al-Eis area on Thursday.
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While there have been no reported cases of swine flu (A/H1N1) in Saudi Arabia—or the Arab Middle East, in fact—fear of it is having an effect on Umrah pilgrimage, reports Arab News.
The government is doing its part in producing this result by not issuing Umrah visas to visitors from countries with outbreaks of flu. But according to the article, that only accounts for a 20% decrease in traffic. It seems that pilgrims are staying away on their own, too, with a total 60+% decrease in Umrah visitors.
Umrah, or the ‘lesser Haj’ is a voluntary act on the part of Muslims. It is, essentially, a reduced version of the Pilgrimage taken at times other than during the Haj proper. Because it is not obligatory, there is less pressure to visit and the Saudi government has no qualms about strictly enforcing health regulations. The issue will change come November, when the Haj itself is scheduled to take place. That is a religious obligation and one the Saudis will be loath to restrict beyond the already existing country quotas. The public health aspect of disease and Haj is further complicated by the belief that dying while performing Haj is a guaranteed route to Heaven, a ‘martyrdom’ of the purest sort. That belief means that those who are ill might not be inclined to stay home to avoid spreading disease to others, given the rewards for simply dying in Mecca during Haj. Tough luck for fellow pilgrims and those with whom they come into contact…
Huge drop in Umrah traffic
Muhammad Humaidan | Arab NewsJEDDAH: Umrah visas are not being issued to pilgrims from Egypt and Malaysia as a precautionary measure to tackle swine flu, said an official from the company that handles pilgrims in the Kingdom.
“The ban on pilgrims from countries where cases of swine flu have surfaced has resulted in a considerable fall in the number of pilgrims coming in recent days,” said Mahmoud Abul Majd, director of the computer department at Tasheel United Company. “Only 3,000 pilgrims arrived yesterday, while 10,000 pilgrims used to arrive daily until a few days ago,” he added.
The Ministry of Haj issued more than 1.6 million visas for the present Umrah season that began on Jan. 14. Over the past three months, 1.3 million people have come to the Kingdom for Umrah, Abul Majd said.
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