Well, that didn’t take long! After the genius professor at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University offered up the inane suggestion that special floors be built in the Grand Mosque in Mecca to ‘protect’ female worshipers—two days ago, that was—he’s smacked down by a judge today. Arab News reports that Dr. Isa Al-Ghaith, a judge at the Riyadh Summary Court says that the irresponsible comments by the professor go even beyond worst fears of extremism.
The judge is calling for immediate steps to be taken to thwart this new and dangerous attempt to foist and extremist interpretation of Islam on the country.
Judge rejects calls for women-only floors in Grand Mosque
JEDDAH: A judge at Riyadh Summary Court has ridiculed calls for the construction of extra floors just for women at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in order to prevent them from mingling with men during tawaf (circling of the Holy Kaaba) and prayers.“Such opinions must be totally rejected. The issuers of such fatwas must be stopped and re-educated,” said Dr. Isa Al-Ghaith, a judge at Riyadh Summary Court.
Al-Ghaith said this while commenting on the remarks of Yousuf Al-Ahmed, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Al-Watan newspaper reported.
Al-Ahmed told a TV channel that mixing between men and women during Tawaf around the Kaaba was against Islam, and that the expansions carried out during the Ottoman era and the rule of King Saud should be demolished, adding that it would create more room for the increasing number of pilgrims who come for Haj and Umrah.
“I could not believe this when I was told about it. I did not expect matters to reach this level. This means that we have reached a dangerous stage that has not even been anticipated by the majority of pessimists,” said Al-Ghaith, while calling for urgent steps to protect the religion and the Kingdom from this dangerous thought.
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Arab News translates a piece from the Arabic daily Al-Watan in which the writer points out another absurdity in the Saudi court system. Some judges, it seems, don’t accept government-issued ID cards issued to women and still insist that a male relative of the woman come in person to make the identification. Sometimes, even that’s not enough and they insist on multiple male witnesses!
If nothing else, legal reforms in Saudi Arabia need to address the issue of judges exerting more power than they should hold. That may require re-education; that may require firing some judges as examples. It’s something that needs to be done, however, if the Saudi judicial system is to be something more than a joke.
Perhaps the judge can be charged with blasphemy! Here, he’s defaming Shariah law by making it the butt of unfunny jokes!
In courts, women bring men by the busloads
TURKI AL-DAKHEEL | AL-WATAN“Bring a man to identify you.” This is the sentence a judge usually says to any woman standing before him.
The identifier is a man who goes to the judge to vouch for the woman standing in court.
He will tell the judge who she is and will answer all other questions about her identity.
A woman lawyer said she used her identity card to identify herself and said that she was ready to unveil her face to show the judge that she was the same woman in the picture.
She said the judge threw away the card, which was issued by the Interior Ministry, because he did not accept female identity cards. In other words, a government department does not recognize the work of another government department! Is this not a double standard?
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Arab News reports that an unnamed Saudi writer has been charged with blasphemy for comments he made about a hadith on a television program. The complaint was filed, not by the government, but by individuals who believed the writer went too far. The paper, naturally, doesn’t reprint what the writer said in order to avoid the same complaint being leveled against itself.
The issue raises an interesting question, though. According to Wikipedia, Blasphemy is irreverence[1] toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs. So, how does criticizing what someone said about the Prophet on the basis of hearsay, scores if not hundreds of years after His death, add up to defaming religion? At most, it calls into question the accuracy of what someone was told by someone else. To me, this comes very close to the Islamic concept of shirk, in that it raises the writer of the hadith and the hadith itself to the level of an inerrant God.
The facts of the article go a long way to explaining how and why reforming Islam is going to be a difficult task: People will allege blasphemy whenever a criticism or even critique is made. In many Islamic countries, blasphemy is a very serious allegation with very serious consequences.
Saudi writer charged with blasphemy
MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: The Summary Court in Jeddah is expected to look into complaints raised by a number of people against a Saudi writer for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Saudi writer had allegedly described a Hadith of the Prophet as barbaric, during a program on Al-Hurra Channel, which is presented by Nadeen Al-Badr.
Sources told Arab News that the court had sent a copy of the lawsuit filed against the man to Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Eissa in order to seek his opinion on the issue.
The plaintiffs have presented audio and visual evidence to prove their argument. They want the court to give the writer a strong punishment in accordance with the Shariah law.
The Saudi plaintiffs said the writer’s action would not be accepted by any Muslim who is proud of his religion. They said such actions would not be tolerated in the land of the Two Holy Mosques.
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The Washington Post runs an article today about a collision between US and Saudi Arabian intelligence gathering through the monitoring of extremist websites. The Saudis and the CIA set up a site to attract extremists and monitored it to learn the who, where, how, when of potential attacks. The US military saw the site as working against military interests in Iraq and leading directly to the deaths of US soldiers there. The military won the policy argument and the site was shut down—but without informing the Saudis or getting their input.
The article discusses the utility of shutting down sites and whether it serves much of a purpose when it can be re-established via mirror sites in a matter of hours. Interesting reading…
Dismantling of Saudi-CIA Web site illustrates need for clearer cyberwar policies
Ellen NakashimaBy early 2008, top U.S. military officials had become convinced that extremists planning attacks on American forces in Iraq were making use of a Web site set up by the Saudi government and the CIA to uncover terrorist plots in the kingdom.
“We knew we were going to be forced to shut this thing down,” recalled one former civilian official, describing tense internal discussions in which military commanders argued that the site was putting Americans at risk. “CIA resented that,” the former official said.
Elite U.S. military computer specialists, over the objections of the CIA, mounted a cyberattack that dismantled the online forum. Although some Saudi officials had been informed in advance about the Pentagon’s plan, several key princes were “absolutely furious” at the loss of an intelligence-gathering tool, according to another former U.S. official.
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Five Americans, all from the N. Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, were arrested last December in Pakistan. The Pakistani government alleges that they were in the country plotting terrorist attacks and disbursing funds to terrorist organizations. The five say there were headed to Afghanistan for humanitarian efforts. They have now been charged under Pakistani law and will face trial there.
I know nothing about this case other than what has been published by the media—very sketchy stories—and interest groups. In other words, not much at all. I suspect that this case will take some time to play out in the Pakistani courts and, perhaps, in US courts at a future date.
Pakistan charges 5 Northern Virginia men
in alleged terrorism plot
Jerry Markon, Karin Brulliard and Mohammed RizwanAuthorities in Pakistan filed terrorism charges Wednesday against five Northern Virginia men and, for the first time, outlined an extensive plot that included plans to fight U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and possibly an attack in the United States.
The men, who lived and grew up in the Alexandria area, were arrested in Pakistan in December. They were each charged with five counts in a special anti-terror court, three of which carry a possible life prison term. Prosecutors say they were in the planning stages of attacks against a Pakistani nuclear plant and an air base and other targets in Afghanistan and “territories of the United States.” Defense lawyers said that referred to attacks inside the United States, though the government presented no evidence of such a plot.
Ever since the men were arrested at a time of growing concern about homegrown terrorists, there have been questions about whether they are hardened jihadists, as described by Pakistani police, or humanitarians who left the United States to help other Muslims, as they say.
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Arab News carries an Associated Press article on the matter:
The Saudi Minister of Justice, in a meeting of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, announced that female attorneys would be restricted in their court appearances to dealing only with women and on family cases. Apparently, criminal law is outside the boundaries. Why this is to be is not stated in this Arab News article.
I suspect that the argument will include the expense and difficulty in constructing the ’separate but equal’ facilities required by Saudi Arabia’s peculiar institutions. I suspect, too, that male attorneys don’t want the competition, especially from very intelligent women.
So yes, we see another half-step taken in social reform in the Kingdom. No great gesture yet that signals irrefutably that women are an equal part of Saudi society. Still, the half-step is better than no-step. It gives women more than they had last year, but not nearly what they deserve.
Women lawyers to handle family disputes: Al-Eissa
MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWSRIYADH: Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa said on Tuesday that women lawyers will only be allowed to appear in court to defend women and deal with family cases.
“The Ministry of Justice will allow women lawyers to only take up cases involving family disputes, including divorce and child custody, subject to the implementation of a new bill,” the minister announced at a meeting held at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).
He explained that women lawyers will not be permitted to participate in other court proceedings.
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Here I thought that innovation (bida) was scorned in Saudi religious circles, but no. According to a Saudi religious scholar, as reported in Arab News, the ‘mingling of sexes’ during Haj and Umrah, in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, should be fixed through engineering. Somehow, the ancient practice of men and women praying together has become unacceptable—for this guy at least. He wants women-only floors constructed in the Grand Mosque to ’save’ women from those ferocious men who want nothing more than to maul them during prayer.
I’m sorry, but this professor needs to lose his position at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. His expansive view of what constitutes un-Islamic behavior is incredible. I don’t know his own, particular family situation, but I’m glad I’m not a part of it.
Scholar calls for new women-only floors in Grand Mosque
JEDDAH: A professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh has called for the construction of extra floors just for women at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in order to prevent them from mingling with men during tawaf (circling of the Holy Kaaba) and prayers.
“Mingling of sexes is not allowed in the Grand Mosque and outside the mosque according to the Shariah,” Dr. Yousuf Al-Ahmed told Arab News.
“There are two types of mingling of sexes; mingling that takes place casually in the passages and at the Jamrat in Mina; and permanent mingling that takes place during tawaf causing congestion and harm to women,” Al-Ahmed told Arab News.
Al-Ahmed called for the building of separate floors for women after demolishing the expansions carried out during the Ottoman era and the rule of King Saud, adding that it would create more room for the increasing number of pilgrims who come for Haj and Umrah.
“This engineering solution will give women privacy and keep them away from cameras that project them and show them on satellite channels. Is it not the right of women not to battle with men during tawaf? Is it not their right to have one or two floors to perform tawaf and what is wrong in reconstructing the mosque for this purpose,” he asked.
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It’s not only women who come in for abuse from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia. Men, too, find themselves on the receiving end of criticism and more from the religious police. Saudi Gazette reports on the case of a man who was bothered because the vice cops didn’t like his trousers. He, in turn, has filed his own legal complaint…
‘Wrong trousers’ man gets bail
MADINA – The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution (CIP) has released on bail a man who was arrested by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) last Saturday for wearing trousers “deemed immoral”.
Al-Watan Arabic daily reported Tuesday that investigations are continuing into the incident, and the Hai’a has been asked to urgently provide their version of events which led to Muhammad Sultan accusing them of “assault” and “unlawful detention inside a restaurant” after he was stopped on Sultana Street in Madina and handed over to the police who in turn passed him on to the CIP.
His release on bail, Al-Watan said, will continue until “investigations into the two disputing parties are concluded”.
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The Commission is sending out a questionnaire asking the public how it views its actions. Depending on how this survey is conducted, it might be an interesting read.
The floods that killed over 120 people in Jeddah last November created a new attitude in Saudi society, one that publicly demanded public accountability of officials whose actions and inactions led to the disaster. In the past, people might grouse, but they did it in private.
Now, Arab News reports, a number of officials will be facing trial. Just who and just how many remain opaque though. Transparency in governmental and legal operations is a concept not fully embraced by either the government or society. [See post below on 'naming and shaming'.]
Jeddah flood disaster accused to stand trial
JEDDAH: The files of those allegedly responsible for the disastrous consequences of the November Jeddah floods have been transferred to the Court of Grievances, sources have said.
They also disclosed plans to set up joint panels on behalf of the Justice Ministry and Court of Grievances in order to try them.
“Those accused will appear before the administrative court and if the defendant wants to appeal, he should approach the administrative appeal court and then appear before the higher administrative court,” Al-Madinah reported on Tuesday.
The source said the date for the trial had not been fixed yet.
“The formation of the panels including members of the ministry and the Court of Grievances is still ongoing,” he said.
He did not disclose the number of people who are facing trial.
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I’ve noted before how Saudi society is reticent to ‘name and shame’ miscreants, even when they’ve been convicted of crimes. There’s a belief that the shame falls not only on the malfeasor, but also on his/her family, composed of innocents. This piece from Arab News discusses the issue a bit more. I can certainly agree that it’s not entirely necessary to name those involved in domestic abuse situations—though once one is adjudged guilty and sentenced seem to move the issue from private to public spheres. Nor, arguably, might it be useful to name those who are only charged, but not yet tried.
Those who violate laws, however, should not be able to escape accountability, even public accountability.
‘Accused should not be publicly identified’
JEDDAH: Saudi rights activists and legal experts have demanded that those accused in court should not be publicly identified until a guilty verdict is reached to avoid defamation. But they do not want any public identification in domestic abuse cases.
“That is because it would, obviously, negatively affect the interests of the other party involved. Moreover, severe punishments to such abusers, including prison time, lashes and deprival of some of their rights could be more effective than publicizing their names,” legal expert Khaled Abu Rashid told Arab News.
However, Abu Rashid added that publicizing the names of abusers who were family members was a form of punishment that did not breach Islamic Law.
Hussein Al-Sharif, supervisor general of the Human Rights Society in Makkah, said public identification was an option left purely to the discretion of a judge.
In Islamic legal terminology identification is known as taazir.
Al-Sharif did not agree with the lenient attitude of judges toward abusers who were also family members. “Anyone who abuses his family is considered a mentally ill man who needs to be treated. On the contrary, in many cases it has been proven beyond doubt that the abuser was not sick at all. What he needed was rehabilitation programs that ensured a positive behavioral change,” he said.
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Arab News runs this article noting two Saudi judges arguing for codification of the Saudi legal system. In it, the judges point out why codification is necessary and how it is legitimate to do so under Shariah law. They note that resistance to codification is coming from those who don’t understand the judicial system (I’m assuming they’re also including some judges in this group). Codification, they say, protects rights and limits governmental actions.
Need to codify laws stressed
MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: Two judges from the General Court in Jeddah, Hamad Al-Arwan and Abdul Ilah Al-Arwan, have stressed the importance of spreading a culture of human rights in legal circles.
The judges made the comments at a seminar — titled Human Rights in the New Legal System — organized by the National Society for Human Rights at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to mark Arab Day of Human Rights on Sunday.
The judges also said there is a need to codify the Kingdom’s laws to make the legal system easier for the public to understand. They further called on critics of the Saudi judiciary to familiarize themselves with the legal system before criticizing.
… “The aim of the codification is to make it easy for the public to know about regulations and understand their legal rights besides giving them an opportunity to learn what the punishment for a violation is and how some violations can be redressed.”
He added that ignorance of court procedures and laws among people involved in court cases leads to delays in getting justice, particularly in cases of family violence.
Speaking about the need for people to know what their legal rights are, Hamad said: “People are not aware that people, cars or private mail cannot be checked without valid and legal justification. No woman can be searched except in the presence of another woman.
“Only authorized officials can carry out such searches. The General Board for Prosecution and Investigation is the only body authorized to interrogate people. If any unauthorized person or official interrogates or searches a person, then the person involved has a right to seek legal action.”
The Israeli-focused Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI) takes a look at how Egypt and Saudi Arabia are trying to contend with child marriages. In Egypt, they are forbidden by law but go on nevertheless; in Saudi Arabia, reformers have a hard time countering religionists who point to the Prophet’s marriage to the child Aisha as an example of proper behavior. The media in both countries, however, are fighting to protect children. Of particular note, I think, is the realization on the part of some Saudis that this should be a matter of law, not fatwa.
MEMRI also provides a selection of Saudi editorial cartoons on the subject, this among them:
Credit: Hajed for Al-Jazeera
In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Conflict Escalates
over Child Bride Marriages
Y. Admon and L. Azuri*Saudi Arabia has recently seen a rising tide of criticism over child bride marriages, especially following the marriage of a 12-year-old girl to her father’s 80-year-old cousin who already had three wives.[1] The phenomenon of underage marriage, extensively covered in the Saudi press during the last two years, has come under intense fire from social bodies and activists, and more recently from Saudi princesses, who demanded that it be stopped.
This wave of criticism prompted the Saudi press to publish articles detailing the attempts made by official, legal, and social elements to curb the practice by urging the banning of marriage under the age of 18. So far, however, these attempts have failed to gain momentum, due to the religious custom, well established in Saudi Arabia, permitting the marriage of underage girls based on the tradition that the Prophet Muhammad married his wife ‘Aisha when she was only six. [2]
The struggle against child marriages has also intensified in Egypt, which does ban marriage under the age of 18, but which has nevertheless in the past year seen a nationwide increase of child bride marriages. Egyptian Mufti ‘Ali Gum’a condemned the phenomenon, calling it a sin deserving of punishment.
The following report reviews the escalating conflict over child bride marriages and current attempts in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to reduce it.
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