Comments on: Getting Saudi Women behind the Wheel

By: DW

DW — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:41:48 +0000

The sad thing Sandy, when such people have the fear of their wives/daughters mingling over shadowing their lives.. They underestimate how a desperate housewife/prisoner who is bored out of her mind would do. You don’t have to look at the women of Saudi Arabia to realize that.. Just look at the suicidal car stunts the young boys do.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:08:42 +0000

Sadly, there are already plenty of folk here that see the religious problem with drivers and there solution is that women stay home. Men drive their kids to school, leave work to pick them up- and do the grocery shopping etc. Wives stay home unless the husband takes them out.

By: ratherdashing

ratherdashing — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:02:25 +0000

@ anonymous,

From the article:

“How can a person stop his wife and daughters driving a car without a Shariah text to support him, and then go and permit them to get in a car with a foreign man?”

This comment from Islamic thinker and former Minister of Information Dr. Mohammed Abdo Yamani and is another step toward erasing what the Grand Mufti said. Recall that Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al Sheikh uses Islam for his position and says that women driving equates to “mingling” and is forbidden. As these arguments are brought up one by one they are being knocked down.

Mr. Burgess is correct. The treatment of driving within Islam should be the first thing addressed. Then the custom issues can be confronted.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:56:57 +0000

Agreed, but I think it is important to clear religious (or supposedly-religious) objections out of the way and make it clear to all that it’s a matter of custom that’s at issue here. Too many times and in too many places, the flag of religion is raised to stop change, and deviously at that. By clearing the underbrush, it makes it more plain that change is possible, that it only takes making a decision to accept change.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:24:19 +0000

Of course the issue has never been whether Shariah allows it or not. Arguing about whether Shariah allows it or not is just a way of keeping those reforms “on slow burn”, which is a conscious effort by those who have hijacked Islam in order to assert their cultural, tribal hegemony in the region and those who have personal financial and political interest in not rocking the boat of those crazies. So they engage in this ceaseless debate over something that is only an issue in Saudi Arabia (and in Talibanistan or anywhere mouse minded tribal folks hijack Islam in order to assert their ways on others).

Let’s be clear: Women are and have always been allowed in Islam to participate in the same modes of transport as men. Khulwa is a pact between an unrtelated man and unrleated woman in SECLUSION.

This is not up for debate. What’s up for debate is whether the customs of Arab nomadic tribes include a secular/cultural ban on women driving. It’s very important that we parse Islam from this debate and not allow these hicks to hijack the religion.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:52:38 +0000

nic: what DW said. I don’t think it’s so much ‘racism’ as pointing out the absolute contradtiction in behavior that results from this no-women-driving policy. I think it is smart to use religion as the hammer to quash an argument supposedly based on religion. It’s almost a by-product that other races are involved and that only because very few Saudis would drive non-related Saudi women, even if they could.

By: DW

DW — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:56:02 +0000

Nic, The problem is much deeper than racism. They wouldn’t let even a Single Saudi man be the domestic Driver help without crucifying him as well… and they wouldn’t want the Single Saudi guys to be ogling their “Maharim” if they let their women drive on the road. It’s sad though that to pitch women driving they had to play on different cards, which one of them is the racism card… The first one that “non-mahram” living under your roof.. second one is “that foreigner” card, which is succefessfully been smeared by sponsorship system failures. (Guy establishes a fake company, he sells visas, sponsors whoever pays and wouldn’t care if he was inviting a cartel of thugs into his doorstep)

Well looks like Women driving is going to wreck its way into the Saudi life, its going to be ugly to watch how this folds out.. I just hope they don’t cower to pressure once problems start to arise and pull out of the whole thing. We have been waiting for this for an eternity.

By: nic

nic — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:29:27 +0000

Too bad they have to rely on racism (those scary foreign drivers! such predators!) to make it happen. But I still hope to see it happen.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:18:06 +0000

I hope, I hope! I’m buying a car when it happens!