According to this Gulf News article, a senior Saudi cleric is again warning young Saudis about going to Iraq to take up arms. Sheikh Saleh bin Fauzan Al-Fauzan sees these youths as ‘preachers of evil’ and calls for family and friends to turn them into the authorities before they can go to fight.

The article also reports on efforts to construct a security fence along the Saudi-Iraqi border.

Those who go to fight in Iraq ‘are preachers of evil’
Mariam Al Hakeem

Riyadh: Prominent Saudi Islamic scholar and member of the Senior Scholars’ Commission Shaikh Saleh Bin Fauzan Al Fauzan has warned Saudi youths against going to Iraq to fight in the war-torn country.

While labelling those who go to fight in Iraq as “preachers of evil,” he urged everyone to tell the authorities about such people. Shaikh Al Fauzan was speaking to members of the teaching faculty at Imam Mohammad Bin Saudi Islamic University here on Tuesday.

According to the scholar it is obligatory on the part of all to admonish those youths who are eager to go to Iraq to fight. He added it was important to convince them of the dangers involved in their move.

“If they are obstinate and insist on going, then security officials should be given a tip-off about such people,” he said.
…

Khaleej Times reports on a study of how attitudes change among people performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. According to the study conducted by the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, among Pakistanis returning from Haj, returnees come back with greater tolerance for difference, including the view of women as more important parts of society. This runs contrary to the initial expectation that Haj would serve as a locus of antipathy toward ‘the other’.

I don’t find this surprising, actually. The Haj puts millions of Muslims, of varying Muslim traditions, together in one place at one time. While differences—nationality, sex, color, sect—might create friction (and political activism assuredly does do so), the compelling nature of religious duty avoids this. It seems to rub off on Meccawis, as well, for many natives of Mecca are among the most ‘liberal’ Saudis I know.

You can download the Kennedy School working paper [46-page PDF].

Haj promotes peace, coexistence: study
Habib Shaikh

JEDDAH — Haj promotes understanding and peaceful coexistence, according to a study on the long-term effects of performing the annual pilgrimage.

Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims are expected to perform at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so, physically and financially.

The research findings were published last month. Titled ‘Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’, the study was conducted by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States.

It was based on data from over 1,600 applicants to Pakistan’s Haj visa allocation lottery in 2006. The study said that Haj increases belief in equality and harmony among people and leads to more favourable attitudes towards women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment.

It stressed that increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy towards non-Muslims, but develops a tolerant attitude among Hajis towards other religions and cultures.
…

Khaleej Times runs this article on efforts by the Saudi Control & Investigation Board to ensure that Saudi bureaucrats are in their offices when they’re supposed to be. While not as cumbersome as some bureaucracies—I’m thinking of India and Egypt as good examples of bad bureaucracies—the Saudi version has its own problems, starting with empty offices. Whether the Board can address the issue of constant interruptions from office visitors and phone calls remains an open question…

Govt employees told to be punctual or face action

JEDDAH — It is said that they also serve who wait and watch. But when it comes to government servants at large, anywhere in the world, they more or less just wait and watch.

Realising this, the Control and Investigation Board has issued a circular instructing government employees in Saudi Arabia to strictly follow their working hours or face punitive action.

The board, which was established to monitor activities of government departments and employees and their performance, reports directly to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

The circular, which has been sent to ministries and government departments, told public servants that arrival at and leaving of offices would be strictly monitored to make sure they follow the working hours.

The board has insisted that officials holding high positions must be the first to follow their duty hours to set a good example for others. “Nobody is allowed to arrive late at offices even by five minutes and to leave before the end of duty hours,” it added.

The circular contained a list of officials who have been found not following their working hours in the past. “No leniency will be shown to employees who do not abide by official instructions,” it said.
…

This Middle East Times editorial enthuses about how some Arab governments are seeking to make up the short-fall in the publication of Arab (and other) books in the Middle East. The piece focuses on the huge success Arab book publishers have had at the recent London Book Fair, but also sees governmental efforts to publish and translate more books as critical. I couldn’t agree more.

Arab cultural integration through books

One of the constant warning themes of annual reports on the Arab world published by the United Nations Development Program has been the danger of cultural isolation.

The first and seminal report of 2002 noted that more books were translated into Spanish each year than had been translated into Arabic over the past eight centuries. The 2003 report noted that fewer than 50 Arabic books a year make it into another language.

So it was striking to attend this year’s London Book Fair and see Arab publishers and writers taking pride of place, with Saqi books and the literary magazine Banipal both prominent.

There was a special stand for the foundation of Dubai’s Sheik Makhtoum, who has launched a project to subsidize the translation and publications of 1,000 books a year into Arabic.

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage has launched a parallel project, called Kalima, to subsidize the translation and publication of Arab works into other languages.

Such state-backed ventures are probably essential at this early stage, but if the increased literary opening is to endure it will need the support of the private sector and of independent publishers, which means it will have to become financially viable.
…

Here’s a tantalizing little piece from Khaleej Times. King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) is entering a collaborative effort with the US Library of Congress (LOC)to digitize materials pertaining to the ‘Arab and Muslim scientific heritage’. That sounds very interesting, but the story doesn’t describe just what those materials might be. Neither the Library of Congress nor the KAUST websites have any information on this project, at present.

Move to digitise Arab and Muslim scientific heritage records
Habib Shaikh

EDDAH — A project to digitise Arab and Muslim scientific heritage records is to be carried out jointly by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) and the US Library of Congress, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Quoting a Kaust statement on Sunday, SPA explained that the aim is to document the heritage in the World Digital Library. “The cooperation with the Kaust will enable us to get the help of leading scientists, librarians and museum curators in the Muslim world, Europe and the United States to develop this important content in the World Digital Library,” said James Billington, librarian at the US Library of Congress.

Various papers in the Middle East (here, Lebanon’s Daily Star) are carrying versions of this story alleging that former Saudi ambassador to the US Pr. Bandar Bin Sultan ordered the assassination of a top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh. The story, which originates with the Iranian government’s news service Fars, sees all sorts of conspiracies going on in the background.

Riyadh accused of role in Mughniyeh assassination
Iranian news agency says Syria’s delay in announcing results of probe is due to ‘Arab pressure’

Saudi Arabia is believed to be behind the assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said in a report carried on Wednesday.

The report, carried by the Italian news agency Aki, said Fars quoted unidentified sources as saying Syria’s delay in announcing the results of the probe into Mughniyeh’s killing “cannot be explained other than by pressure exerted by some Arab states.”

Fars, which is close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said the Syrian commission of inquiry was supposed to have concluded its investigation and the results should have been made public before the Arab League summit in Damascus March 29-30.

“Pressure by Kuwait convinced the government in Damascus to postpone everything until after the meetings in Damascus,” Fars said.
…

Gulf News from the Emirates reports that Saudis are getting fed up with abuse by members of the Commission. So much so, in fact, that the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has found it necessary to publicly state that Commission members are bound by regulation and that violators will be punished.

Religious police ‘do not endorse car chases’
Mariam Al Hakeem

Riyadh: Unprecedented local media uproar and public resentment over the abuse of power by some members of the “religious police”, especially the alleged Madinah car chase tragedy, has prompted its Chief to speak out against such extreme behaviour by members.

Shaikh Ebrahim Al Gaith, president of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, known as the religious police outside the kingdom, asserted in a statement carried by the Saudi official news agency that “we won’t allow any official at the commission to chase any suspects as it may result in causing harm to both the one who is chasing and the chased.”

Shaikh Al Gaith cautioned members that their behaviour in the field reflects the Commission’s functioning as a whole in society.
…

There is no question that marriages to close relations has had a bad effect on the health of Saudi Arabians. Among the problems is thalessemia, a blood disorder similar in its effect to sickle-cell anemia. Up until now, the government has played a role in monitoring genetic mis-matches among intended spouses and has strongly urged them to find other partners. Now, according to this story in Khaleej Times, the government is taking firmer action by banning problematic marriages.

The details provided in the story suggest that there will be ‘disparate impact’ on some Saudis as a result of this new regulation. The highest incidents of thalessemia noted are in Shi’a-dominated areas. I suspect that there will be complaints that this regulation is not motivated by public health concerns, but will instead be seen as an effort by ‘Wahhabis’ to reduce the Shi’a population. I’m not sure how it can avoid those complaints except, perhaps, to have some outside organization do the statistical analysis.

No wedding for Saudis having blood diseases
Habib Shaikh

JEDDAH — Couples who are at risk of having unhealthy children may not be able to marry following a recommendation made by the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

According to the HRC, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz approved a recommendation last week requiring mazoons (marriage registrars) not to wed couples at probable risk of producing unhealthy children.

“The King’s approval of HRC’s recommendations stems from the government’s keenness to resolve problems that touch the lives of citizens and residents alike,” said Dr Khaled Al Obeid, HRC member. In 2004, a royal decree was issued directing Saudis to have pre-marital blood tests.

This was an opportunity to quickly and accurately identify carriers of sickle cell anaemia and thalessemia. During the past years, the ministry has tested 488,315 men and women and 5,860 of them were offered medical consultations for remedial treatment for their abnormalities.

During the first year, some 241,825 were tested and the health ministry rejected 9.2 per cent, declaring them incompatible partners. During the subsequent year, 11.6 per cent of the remaining 24,615 cases were rejected on similar grounds.

According to statistics provided by the ministry, 55.7 per cent of those rejected were from the Eastern Province with 18.1 per cent from Jizan, 10.8 per cent from Ahsa and 5.2 per cent from the holy city of Makkah.

The statement showed that throughout the Kingdom, some 20,530 people have inherited anaemia while 15,740 cases have thalessemia inherited from their parents. “When the man and woman are both carriers, every time the woman is pregnant there is a 25 per cent chance the baby will have the disease and a 50 per cent chance the child will be a carrier,” according to one expert in the field. The other HRC recommendation was that the ministries of labour and civil service accommodate blood-disease sufferers who apply for jobs, in the same way kidney patients are treated. It also recommended that people with such diseases should not be stopped from working, as these illnesses are not contagious. In addition, the HRC recommended that the ministries of education, and higher education and the General Organisation for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) to accommodate sufferers of these diseases.
…

Khaleej Times from Dubai carries this Reuters story about a conference planned to gather senior Muslim clerics from around the world to condemn extremism. I wonder if their voices will be heard by those who claim that the ‘moderate Muslims keep quiet’? The critics can’t seem to find stories like these in their local media so they assume that the vast majority of Muslims just don’t care about the issue, if they don’t actually support extremism. Perhaps those critics need to expand the range of media they view.

Saudi plans Islamic forum against extremism

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to hold a conference of senior Muslim clerics from around the world this year to promote moderation in Islam and fight extremism, a newspaper reported on its Web site on Thursday.

It was not clear if the event is linked to a call by King Abdullah last week for dialogue of Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Such a meeting will be a milestone for the kingdom where a hardline school of Sunni Islam holds sway and has influenced al Qaeda and its Saudi-born leader Osama bin Laden.

Liberal reformers in Saudi Arabia are engaged in a battle with religious hardliners over the direction of the country, a key U.S. ally and the world’s biggest oil exporter.

The paper said the plans to organise a conference of Islamic scholars would be pursued in April and May with an eye to holding the event later this year.

The plans were made public at a seminar in King Saud University where the Grand Mufti, the government’s official spokesman on religious affairs, talked of the need for “the middle way” in Islam and appeared to attack radical preachers.

“The extremism of fanatics cannot be considered part of religion, even if they are falsely wearing religious robes,” Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Al al-Sheikh said, according to the paper.
…

The UAE’s Gulf News reports that the elected Riyadh Municipal Council is frustrated by its lack of executive powers. It quotes various members complaints, but also the statement by one that the Council is working to find its way. With little or no experience in elective government, the Council is having to invent its own rules. Worth reading

Frustrated council members prepared to quit
Mariam Al Hakeem

Riyadh: Several elected members of the Riyadh Municipal Council, who failed to fulfil the promises given to their voters, voiced their frustration and willingness to resign from the council.

“The council virtually possesses no real powers to execute any decisions,” they complained. In an open meeting with their voters held in south Riyadh on Friday, the members shared their frustration and disappointment with those who elected them to the council.

Abdullah Al Suwailem, one of the members, said that he plans to tender his resignation from the council shortly.

“The election process and [our commitment to voters] is more important for us than holding this [ceremonial] post. We have to cope with the [hopeless] state of affairs at the council.
…

Yemen Times reprints an article appearing on the German website Qantara that takes a look at Saudi educational reform. The piece generally finds improvements—texts no longer cite the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ for instance—but also notes that there remain ambiguities and some intolerance. If what is described is the full extent of that intolerance, I can tolerate it. It’s not much different from the view of any religious education in reference to other religions, so far as I can tell.

That’s just a fact of life, I think. I certainly remember a certain amount of disdain toward various Protestant groups in my education in Catholic schools, particularly at the elementary level. By the time of high school and university courses, there was far more nuance and recognition of the values of other religions. But in elementary school? Well, everyone else was going straight to Hell, unless they had good intentions in their hearts.

The article is worth reading.

[Thanks to Jane at Armies of Liberation for the pointer!]

Hell Fire in Primary School
Educational Policy in Saudi Arabia
Joseph Croitoru

Saudi Arabia is hoping to modernise its image with new school textbooks. The new books were published recently and made available in the internet. Joseph Croitoru has read them, and reports that they leave an ambiguous impression

Following the attacks of 11th September, in which the majority of those involved were Saudi nationals, international attention focussed on the Saudi education system. Studies by Western experts showed that, not only did education in the Kingdom concentrate very strongly on religion, it was also extremely tendentious. In 2006 an American study demonstrated that Saudi children were taught to be missionaries of Islam.

The religion was to be spread, if necessary, by Holy War. In addition, children were told that they had to continue to defend themselves against the Crusades – which were still continuing. Violence against Jews was glorified, and the anti-semitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was taught as fact.
…

UPDATE: I’m informed by e-mail from someone at the Gulf Institute that the ‘Protocols’ still find their way into some textbooks. According to the correspondent, Page 104 of the 10th Grade book on Hadith refers to them. I’m being sent an example and will post a link to it.

The Times from London offers this analysis of discussions about the possibility of opening a Catholic church in Saudi Arabia. It notes that Qatar is the most recent country of the Arab Gulf States to do this.

I think the talk is a little too optimistic. While Saudi Arabia is now the only Gulf State without a Christian church, I think it will remain that way for quite some time. Too many Muslims appear to believe that the entirety of Saudi Arabia is reserved exclusively to Islam.

Analysis: Saudi Arabia and the Vatican
Richard Owen

News that the Vatican is in behind the scenes contacts with the Saudi authorities over opening a Roman Catholic church in Saudi Arabia follows a series of hints from senior Catholic prelates involved with the Middle East following last November’s ground breaking encounter in Rome between Pope Benedict XVI and King Abdullah.

Not by chance, the disclosure came just after the first Catholic church in Qatar, Our Lady of the Rosary, was inaugurated at a mass in the seaside capital of Doha attended by 15,000 people and held by Cardinal Ivan Dias, head of the Congregation for Evangelisation, who presented a chalice sent by Pope Benedict XVI.

Officially the Vatican is being cautious, downplaying expectations.The Vatican and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic relations, and Saudi Arabia does not allow religious freedom, with Christian worship in effect forbidden.

However Archbishop Mounged El Hachem, the papal nuncio to Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Yemen and Bahrain, who attended the Doha inauguration, said moves toward diplomatic ties were under way following the unprecedented visit to the Vatican last November by King Abdullah.
…