This Saudi Gazette/Okaz article raises a point that I’d certainly missed…
Royal pardons of criminals, usually undertaken from time to time in the Kingdom and involving, for the most part petty criminals, is a disruptive act. Yes, it’s great to be released from prison, no doubt. Ten thousand have been pardoned in the latest release. In a sense, those 10,000 are being ‘dumped’ back into society, with little preparation and no real support structure in place to deal with their social re-integration. For many, that won’t be a problem. For 1,000 families in the KSA, though, it is indeed a problem.
The article describes a program that is seeking to make the reintegration smoother.
Committee seeks prisoner understanding from public
Khalid Al-ShalawiMADINA – The Madina head of the National Committee for Care for Prisoners and their Families has said that “tens of thousands” of felons in the region are due to be released under the royal pardon announced to mark the return of Crown Prince Sultan to the Kingdom and called for sympathy from the public for the plight of freed inmates.
“Committees have been instructed to attend to released prisoners’ needs as quickly as possible to assist them morally and financially,” said Abdullah Al-Mikhlif following the launch of a Prisoner Care awareness campaign. “Around 1,000 families are affected by the decision, and this sixth Prisoner Care Awareness Week hopes to form an enlightened and understanding opinion in the public of prisoners and their families.”
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Saudi Gazette catches up with a Crossroads Arabia commenter [Way to go Sandy!] and reports that the Mecca head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has not been fired and that the man supposed to be his replacement is, in fact, his newly-assigned deputy.
That the rumor took hold is a telling fact, I think. It demonstrates that many Saudis find it believable that the promoting of ‘mixing’ in public areas should be punished. Speaking of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, Al-Ghamdi publicly stated that those who thought social mixing of the sexes in public was criminal under Shariah law were simply mistaken. He pointed out that men and women have mixed for business purposes since the days of the Prophet. Ahadith that ostensibly banned such mixing, he said, were of weak isnad. If this takes hold, it should lighten the workload of many of the religious police who spend (waste) their time running around looking for transgressors.
I’m glad the rumor proved false. The cultural ban, cloaked falsely in religion, exacts a tremendous price on both individuals and the state. It’s certainly time to get rid of it.
Hai’a spokesman: Al-Ghamdi rumors completely untrue
RIYADH – Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) in Makkah, has not been dismissed from his post, contrary to rumors circulating over the past three days.
Sheikh Al-Ghamdi’s controversial comments on the subject of gender segregation in an interview with Okaz, reproduced by Saudi Gazette last Friday, led to the speculation, speculation which was exacerbated by the reported appearance in Al-Ghamdi’s office of the Hai’a chief for Taif, Abdulrahman Al-Juhani, purportedly to replace him.
The national spokesman for the Hai’a, however, spoke to Al-Watan newspaper on Wednesday to put the issue to bed.
“What has been going around are just rumors and bear not the slightest truth,” spokesman Abdul Mohsen Al-Qaffari told Al-Watan. “The Hai’a presidency has made no move related to the head of its branch in Makkah.”
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On the topic of KAUST, Arab News reports that the admission window for the 2010 academic year has now opened. More information is available at the KAUST website.
For the first time, a high level Israeli official is using the pages of Asharq Alawsat to address the Arab world. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and former Ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon says that Israel and the Arab world are being pushed together by outside forces—primarily Iran—and should use that impetus to advance their relationships.
The letter, published in English and Arabic is seen by the Israeli Foreign Ministry as ‘historic’. Various commentators, though, don’t see anything new or important in the letter, other than that it is an attempt to reach Arabs directly.
An Open Letter to the Arab World
Danny AyalonSince the reestablishment of our state, Israeli leaders have sought peace with their Arab neighbors. Our Declaration of Independence, Israel’s founding document that expressed our hopes and dreams reads, “We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help.” These words are as true today as when they were first written in 1948. Sadly, sixty one years later, only two nations, Jordan and Egypt, have accepted these principles and made peace with the Jewish State.
Recently the Israeli government has made significant steps to restart negotiations with the Palestinians and reach out to the Arab world. In his Bar-Ilan speech in June, Prime Minister Netanyahu clearly stated his acceptance of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel. My government has removed hundreds of roadblocks to improve access and movement for Palestinians and has assisted the facilitation of economic developments in the West Bank, through close cooperation with international parties to expedite projects and remove bottlenecks.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a right-wing government has, in an unprecedented move, declared it would refrain from building new settlements in the West Bank. All of these moves taken together amply demonstrate Israel’s willingness for peace.
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Criticism of the political administration of Jeddah doesn’t belong in the pulpit, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs is cautioning. Saudi Gazette/Okaz reports that the Ministry has told imams and khateebs to tone down their attacks on the Mayor and other municipal officials following last month’s killer floods. I take this to mean that the government wants to put some space between religion and government, at least in this case while the government conducts its investigation into the causes of the floods.
The article notes that some 30 mosques were damaged by the flooding, most receiving minimal damage.
Corruption is a fine topic for hellfire and damnation sermons, but it really should be based on some sort of fact. Flinging allegation of corruption at individuals needs substantiation, not just logical deduction. Whatever the failings of the municipality, I doubt that they are the doings of the current Mayor all by himself.
Mosques told to ‘ease off’ Mayor
Naeem Tamim Al-HakimJEDDAH – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has warned imams and those giving Friday sermons to refrain from apportioning blame over the Jeddah floods and to instead concentrate on “consoling bereaved families” in this and coming Friday sermons.
“A lot of families of victims are going through a terrible time at the moment because of the disaster and the emotional, physical and financial tragedies it has left in its wake, so the ministry has advised that sermons keep to consolation and care from the aspect of Shariah,” said the Manager of the Ministry’s Endowments and Mosques in Jeddah, Sheikh Faheed Al-Barqi.
“This is part of the ministry’s continuous program of the state’s involvement in helping the public tackle problems of all types, as the Friday sermon is the pulse of the people,” Al-Barqi said.
According to Al-Barqi, a missive from the ministry has advised that sermons refrain from “addressing the Mayor’s office or any other authority”.
“The pulpit was not put there for the settling of scores,” he said, adding that no reports had been received of any sermons attacking authorities, “either the Mayor’s Office or anyone else.” Any reported instances, however, “will not go unpunished”.
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So… Saudi Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is about to establish women’s sections. It’s to be assumed they they will be charged with dealing with female sinners. I guess that’s a step forward in empowering women. Women will have a new category of jobs toward which to aspire. The women who receive their attention will be spared the humiliation of males making personal comments about them. Too, female vice police will be able to enter places where no male should (properly) tread, e.g. beauty parlors and spas.
As odious as the organization and its goals are to most Westerners, the existence of the Haya is strongly supported by a majority of Saudis. Personal autonomy and responsibility take second place to social and religious order in this society. That’s simply a fact. The Haya is showing that it is adaptable in its taking on new roles—that’s not bidaa, is it?
This piece from Saudi Gazette/Okaz notes that the organization is looking at reforms in other areas, though there’s not much given in terms of exact policies. I did note that they want to take a look at the way the Haya interacts with the diplomatic community, though.
Women depts, curriculum inclusion for Hai’a proposed
Khaled Al-ShalahiMADINA – Over 40 scholars and researchers have offered proposals to improve the work of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) by including the organization’s principles in educational curricula, setting up nationwide regional Hai’a councils, and opening women’s departments at Hai’a offices to “communicate with women”.
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OK, it’s back to confusion time in Saudi Arabia…
The head of the Mecca branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice went on record last week, pointing out that Saudis had followed a wrong path that seemingly equated the sin/crime of khulwa, improper seclusion with a member of the opposite sex, with ikhtilat, simple social mixing of the sexes in benign environments. As this story from Saudi Gazette reports, Sheikh Al-Ghamdi’s remarks met with favorable public reaction though unquestionably there was negative reaction, too. Further, the Minister of Justice has publicly supported Al-Ghamdi’s opinion. It has not gone unnoticed that if Al-Ghamdi’s interpretation is to stand, it undercuts much of the function of the Haya.
Hai’a chief’s ‘ikhtilat’ interview welcomed
‘Overwhelming support’ seen for Al-Ghamdi’s viewsRIYADH – The recent interview given by the Makkah head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) on the subject of the mixing of sexes – “ikhtilat” – has provoked an overwhelmingly positive response, according to Al-Arabiya news network.
“The term ‘ikhtiliat’ in this usage is a recent adoption that was unknown to the early people of knowledge,” Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi said in a lengthy interview with Okaz, reproduced in last Friday’s Saudi Gazette. “Mixing used to be part of normal life for the Ummah and its societies.”
Al-Ghamdi said that “the word in its contemporary meaning has entered customary jurisprudential terminology from outside,” adding that “those who prohibit the mixing of the genders actually live it in their real lives, which is an objectionable contradiction, as every fair-minded Muslim should follow Shariah judgments without excess or negligence.”
“In many Muslim houses – even those of Muslims who say mixing is haram – you can find female servants working around unrelated males,” Al-Ghamdi said, before citing numerous ahadeeth – sayings of the Prophet – to support his position.
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But now, rumors swirl through the country, reporting that Al-Ghamdi has been sacked, replaced by the Haya chief from Hail. Is it rumor, or is the grapevine performing quicker than the bureaucracy? Are the ones who are happy with the confusion between khulwa and ikhtilat pushing back, and with sufficient leverage to get Al-Ghamdi fired?
If so, their actions raise the question: Why? Who gains by enforcing a social rule (confused with a religious rule) that keeps half of the population out of the workplace, doubles the cost of most public functions, and inconveniences the entire population to one degree or other?
Saudi Gazette/Okaz report on the rumors.
Al-Ghamdi’s status unclear; rumors of dismissal abound
Majed Al-MafdhaliMAKKAH – Confusion reigns over the status of Makkah Hai’a chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi with website rumors and telephone text message services insisting Tuesday that he had been removed from his post as President of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) in Makkah following his interview with Okaz earlier in the week.
The interview, reproduced by Saudi Gazette last Friday, witnessed Al-Ghamdi praise the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and make declarations on the subject of the mixing of genders – “ikhtilat” – which raised the eyebrows of many observers.
The source of rumors concerning his dismissal appears to have been prompted by the presence over the last two days of Taif Hai’a chief Abdulrahman Al-Juhani in Al-Ghamdi’s office in Makkah, and a reported confrontation between the two over who was the rightful occupant.
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After an unexpectedly long delay, I’m once again connected to the world. At least through my PC.
I do regret the interruption, particularly as I’ll be intentionally interrupting blogging next week. I’ll be traveling north for the holidays to see friends and family and will be taking some time off from writing. Of course, I’ll still be watching what goes on in the Kingdom. If there’s something that I think worthwhile to point out, I’ll do so, but without the self-imposed obligation of writing everyday.
The fates are telling me to not try posting new stories today. My cable Internet connection is down. My DSL connection isn’t connecting. My WiFi laptop is working so slowly that it’s impossible to post.
I can handle comments through my iPhone—and will!—but that device just isn’t cut out to lengthy writing.
With luck, systems will be up tomorrow. Til then…
Misk Lake, the sarcastically named sewage retention pond to the east of Saudi Arabia’s second city, is the subject of several pieces in Saudi Gazette/Okaz. The lake presents a number of hazards, from a collapse of retaining walls to providing a breeding ground for disease-carrying insects. Various proposals are being offered to deal with the problems. Fixing the problems, though, is only part of the overall need to fix Jeddah’s water-based infrastructure, the failure of which led to the deaths of over 100 people and billions of riyals in damage last month.
In this piece, Saudi geologists say they issued warning about the lake six years ago and made concrete recommendations on ways to fix the problem. The piece also notes recommendations for mitigating the dangers of future flooding in Jeddah, primarily through the use of building dams. This, rather than moving people out of flood zones, argues one, is a reasonable solution. I disagree: letting people continue to live in danger zones is not wise. It isn’t wise in the case of American cities built too close to rivers that occasionally flood, nor is it wise in the case of cities like New Orleans, built below sea level, which has historically seen flooding due to hurricanes. It is the same thinking—it’s easier and cheaper to keep the water out—that leads to disasters.
Another piece discusses the public health and environmental hazards raised by the floods:
Arab News runs an interesting piece on minarets, written by an assistant professor at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. The article delves into the history of the minaret—the earliest mosques lacked them—and suggests that they developed as a counterpoint to Christian bell towers. The writer, Tarek Kahlaoui, makes a few assertions for which I’d like to see some documentation, however, including that the ‘dome and minaret’ idiom of Islamic architecture actually is the product of ‘Western Orientalists’.
The reason for the article, of course, is the recent vote by the Swiss to ban the building of minarets at new mosques. This, the author says, is motivated by a false fear that minarets represent the ‘bayonets’ of Islamic expansion, building on an unfortunate turn of phrase by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in 1997. Instead, the author argues, minarets are substantially just architectural decoration that, at one time, performed a useful function. Now, he says, many modern mosques are being built without them.
Misunderstanding the minaret
Tarek KahlaouiTHE controversy over the Swiss vote against the construction of new minarets seems to emphasize political and constitutional issues, notably the restructuring of many right-wing parties around the issue of a “European-Christian” identity standing against an “Islamization of Europe” and the possible conflict between the democratic right to make decisions by voting and the constitutional principle of freedom of faith. Yet the main argument suggested to support the ban position is rarely discussed.
The basic reasoning of the ban position is presented in a flyer prepared by the “Federal Popular Initiative Against Minarets”, which is initiated by a provincial “Egerkinger Kommittee”, and it focuses on the significance of the minaret. The key idea lays in the following assertion: “The minaret is an expression of willingness to have politico-religious power.” The two-page flyer suggests that this is the case because the minaret “has nothing to do with faith,” and also because of what Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 1997 when he compared, playing with the words of a 1912 Ottoman poem, the minarets to “the bayonets” in an Islamist march to power.
Rejecting Erdogan’s statement as irrelevant to this discussion or especially to use it as proof that building minarets signify an intention of politico-religious conquest by Switzerland’s Muslim diaspora is the easier part. Since Erdogan also suggested then that the domes of mosques are their “helmets”, then it would be incomprehensible not to include the “domes” in the referendum. Then the “Egerkinger Kommittee” should include the “believers” themselves as a forbidden entity because they are characterized in the same quote as Erdogan’s “soldiers”. Obviously what is said rhetorically by a man at a time when he was still part of an Islamist hard-core group involved in a heated debate in the Turkey of 1990s should not be even considered as a statement of any worth in the debate over the meaning of the minaret for more than one billion Muslims.
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The US has seen several dozen arrests of American Muslims over the last year, all charged with various terrorism-related crimes. So far, those arrested have predominantly been of Somali or Pakistani origin, though several have been American-born converts to Islam, both black and white. The arrests are, of course, causing concern and comparison to the state of Muslims in Europe, particularly in states such as the UK which have seen attacks undertaken by citizens of South Asian descent.
As The Washington Post reports in this piece, the general assessment is that American Muslims are less prone to radicalization, but clearly they are not immune to it…
Arrests suggest U.S. Muslims, like those in Europe,
can be radicalized abroad
Mary Beth Sheridan and Spencer S. HsuA spike in terrorism cases involving U.S. citizens is challenging long-held assumptions that Muslims in Europe are more susceptible to radicalization than their better-assimilated counterparts in the United States.
Four investigations disclosed in the past 12 months, including the arrests of five Northern Virginia men in Pakistan this week, underscore what the Obama administration asserts is a domestic threat emanating from Americans training overseas with al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups in Pakistan. “We have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror,” President Obama said this month in announcing plans to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
American Muslim organizations, jolted by the spate of cases, are abandoning their hesitation to speak out about the issue. While underlining that only a tiny minority has become radicalized, two major groups — the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations — said this week that they would launch counter-radicalization programs aimed at young people.
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The Post reports, too, on the most recent arrests in Pakistan of five men from the Washington, DC suburbs:
Five from Northern Virginia had months
of contact with Taliban, officials say
Saudi Gazette carries a story based on wire reports stating that these five will not be deported back to the US until Pakistan establishes that they have not violated Pakistani law. If they have, they will face courts in that country first.
Saudi Gazette runs a piece on ‘mixing’ of the sexes in public places that really kicks down the door of stereotypes, particularly those held by many Saudis. The head of the religious police, formally the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, says that not only is it permitted, but those that object to it are doing it in their daily lives. It has always been religiously permissible, but weak ahadith have been seized upon by cultural conservatives to insert a non-Islamic practice into Islam.
The article notes that support for this sort of mixing comes also from Sheikh Yousef Qaradawi and Egypt’s Grand Mufti.
Those are strong words and coming from this source, might even have an effect. If taken consistently, they could also change the way women function in the workplace, not just KAUST, the focus of the article.
Hai’a chief: Kaust an ‘extraordinary move & huge accomplishment’
Majid Al-MufadhaliMAKKAH – The head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Makkah has added his voice of support to the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) and addressed the issue of “ikhtilat” – the mixing of the sexes – that has prompted numerous scholars and commentators to speak out in recent months.
“The term ‘ikhtilat’ in this usage is a recent adoption that was unknown to the early people of knowledge,” Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi said in a lengthy interview with Okaz.
“Mixing was part of normal life for the Ummah and its societies.”
“The word in its contemporary meaning has entered customary jurisprudential terminology from outside,” Al-Ghamdi said.
“Those who prohibit the mixing of the genders actually live it in their real lives, which is an objectionable contradiction, as every fair-minded Muslim should follow Shariah judgments without excess or negligence,” Al-Ghamdi said.
“In many Muslim houses – even those of Muslims who say mixing is haram – you can find female servants working around unrelated males,” he said.
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