The idea of a national ID card sends many libertarians up the wall, calling to mind remembrances of the WWII-era fascist states that were always asking, ’show me your papers!’ But in the case of Saudi Arabia, and particularly for Saudi women, an ID card makes more than sense; it’s critical to protecting women and their property. Too often, men have ‘identified’ women fraudulently and stripped their sisters of their wealth.
As the government has been trashing about trying to reconcile the need for positive ID and the social resistance toward showing a woman’s face, new, computer-chipped cards are being introduced. As this Saudi Gazette piece notes, the card would contain a digitized photo of the woman which would be machine-readable, but not visible to most passers-by. The piece also notes that the card could replace a multitude of other cards, including—sometime down the road—drivers license information.
New ID cards soon for Saudi women
RIYADH – Nasser Al-Hanaya, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Civil Status said new national ID-cards will be issued soon to Saudi women.
The cards, similar to those issued to men, will replace passports for travel within the GCC, Al-Hanaya told Al-Madina Arabic daily.
The new card will also replace the civil status card currently in use.
The card has a smart-chip and an optical strip to ensure identity scrutiny and prevent fraudulent use.
The holder’s picture, name and civil register number is embedded into the card’s optic strip.
Al-Hanaya said the card’s smart-chip can also do away with the need to carry multiple cards such as driving license and car insurance, which have not been incorporated as yet.
Well, the question got answered: The Saudis are willing to invite an Israeli rabbi to the interfaith conference to be held later this month. It would have been better had the conference been held in Saudi Arabia rather than Madrid, but it’s a useful step.
Israeli rabbi invited to Saudi interfaith meeting
MARK LAVIEERUSALEM—Saudi Arabia has invited an Israeli rabbi to an interfaith conference in Spain, potentially the first step in wider contacts between the kingdom and Israel, the rabbi told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Rabbi David Rosen said Saudi Arabia called the conference, set for Madrid from July 16-18, to bring world religions together to confront common challenges. Rosen called the invitation “a historic step for them.”
But he warned that it might be no more than a Saudi attempt to improve its image and that of Islam in the face of criticism over the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other instances of Islamic extremism.
No comment was available Thursday from the Saudi embassy in Madrid.
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Saudi Gazette runs a suite of articles focusing on how the Internet is being used by radicals to promote their ideology, teach their methodology, and recruit new members. The articles are built around a TV program that brought four extremist web masters to the fore as they explained how they developed their sites to bring war against the Saudi government.
The problem is that the Internet can be very seductive. Without any obvious or built-in fact-checking, all sorts of nonsense can be put forth as ‘the truth’ and there will be those convinced by that nonsense. This phenomenon is not restricted to Arabs, Muslims, or Saudis, of course; we see it (we can hardly avoid seeing it) daily in manifold websites promoting idiocies from conspiracy theories, to Islamophobia, to the latest schemes to a) get rich, b) make body parts bigger, c) cure all our aches and pains. It’s bad enough that fools are parted from their money—the ‘Nigerian scam’, that purports someone needs held to recover huge sums of money, if only you give them your banking information and ID results in the loss of millions of dollars every year, amazingly enough. It’s far worse, though, when minds are corrupted with lies and semi-truths, resulting in distrust of one’s own society and government. On-line ‘movements’ like the ‘9/11 Truthers’ are no different from their earlier incarnations like the John Birch Society or those who are constantly looking over their shoulders for ‘black helicopters’. When the lunacy moves from merely talking about it to taking violent action, however, an important threshold has been passed.
I think TV programs like this, and the attendant media coverage, are useful. They may not stop the problem, but they can help dissuade the fence-sitters, the not-yet-committed, from making mistakes from which recovery is painful and expensive in many dimensions.
I’d suggest that the government programs used to educate the population take up a bit of ridicule in its approach. It’s one thing to empathize with a dim person who is seduced into bad choices. It’s quite another thing to make them and their ideologies laughing stocks. I’ve found that humiliation is a powerful teacher.
Dangerous online traps set by radicals
RIYADH – Extremist websites are an important media tool for radical groups around the world enabling them to recruit new members and provide training on how to manufacture explosives, blow up targets, carry out suicide operations, and make explosive belts.
Prominent extremist websites include “Al-Sahab”, the media arm of the Al-Qaeda network, and its offshoot, “the Islamic State in Iraq,” which consists of a large number of terrorist groups operating throughout Iraq. The sites have created a so-called “Ministry of Information” with which the sites “Al-Furqan” and “Al-Fajr” are affiliated.
There are also numerous independent media companies serving these groups, such as, the International Islamic Media Front, which created the “Media Jihad Brigades,” and the “World News Network” which relays messages to terrorist networks, including Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State in Iraq (hosted by “Sitegenie LLC Company in Iraq” and located in the US state of Minnesota), and a number of terrorist organizations in Iraq, such as, the “Ansar Al-Sunnah” group.
A number of extremist websites dedicate special sections to the Jihadist media companies, including Al-Nasrah forum affiliated with the International Islamic Media Front hosted by Select Solutions LLC in the state of Texas, the Jihadist Iraqi Militant Group hosted by Layered Technologies Inc. in Texas, the Mujahidin Army Group hosted by Network Operations Center Inc. in Pennsylvania, the supporters of the Jihad site in Iraq hosted by Electric Lightwave Company in Washington, and, the most visited site, Al-Hesbah hosted by Realweb Host Company in Texas.
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The Italian news agency AKI also reports on the TV program: Terrorism: Al-Qaeda draws new recruits via Internet
Here’s an interesting piece from Arab News. It discusses how it happens that senior clerics might say one thing in public and another in private. For generations, this kind of behavior in the political realm was known as ’speaking to the market’, i.e., telling large groups both what they wanted to hear and that which was uncontroversial. This isn’t unknown in the American political realm, of course, as Obama supporters are discovering to their dismay—most recently in reaction to the Senator’s vote on a bill that would give retroactive immunity to telecon companies for their role in what some deem to be illegal wiretaps.
What’s interesting about this is that although the practice is quite and old one, it’s now being brought to public attention. In the past, before the days of near-instant global communication at everyone’s fingertips, it was quite easy to tell a domestic audience something quite different from what one told a global audience. Whether this was taqiya or just politics, it became quite frustrating for international actors to know just which statement represented the truth.
Now, the result of technological advancement—here, audio recordings—is backing a senior cleric into a corner over a statement he made (he says he didn’t) and a ‘clarification’ he offers when his statement caused an uproar. An astute piece.
A source of mercy
Samir Al-Saadi | Arab NewsJEDDAH: A wise man once told me, “If you want to ask a scholar a question whisper it in his ear to get an accurate answer. If you do it in public there is a chance you might get a different answer.”
Hadi Fakeeh, a journalist for Al-Hayat newspaper, recently asked Sheikh Abdul Mohsin Al-Obaikan, a prominent Saudi scholar, a question relating to the mixing of genders in Islam.
The question was asked on the sidelines of the Seventh National Dialogue.
Sheikh Al-Obaikan, who is also a member of the Kingdom’s Higher Religious Committee, replied that not every form of mixing is forbidden. Only if there is “fitna” (strife), citing that there is mixing at the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, and in the Kingdom’s malls.
He added that Shariah does not ban “intermingling,” it only bans “Khalwa,” which is when a man and a woman are in a state of isolation away from other people.
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I confess to being a bit lost in the murk of who was responsible for the first (of the recent) efforts to show family films in Jeddah, open to mixed-sex family viewings. This Saudi Gazette article points to another instance. The point, though, seems to be that this is a Saudi-produced film, specifically made to attract Saudi family audiences. The film, according to the producers, will be shown in other Saudi cities, not just sybaritic Jeddah.
Any steps toward opening doors and minds to the world of film is to be welcomed, I suppose.
Jeddah hosts first family feature film
Fouzia Khan Saudi GazetteJEDDAH – Jeddah is all set to witness the first family feature film at Al-Sawari landmark from Wednesday. The film festival is part of the Jeddah summer festival.
“Habbab and the Dogs’ Magician” is different from other movies and the production company has a strong purpose and vision.“Our mission is to produce meaningful and valuable educational films which will help in planting true Arab and Islamic values in the hearts of our young generation,” said Mamdouh Salem, Executive Director of documentary films, Rowad Media for Media Production and Distribution.
The film is based on the work of Hamd Al-Shihabi, a Bahraini writer and producer. Al-Shihabi himself was inspired from the legendary stories of the Arab World written by Aqil Abdul-Qadir.
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Last week, media around the world reported on Saudi Arabia’s anti-terror efforts resulting in the detention of over 700 militants this year alone. Asharq Alawsat’s Turki Al-Saheil furthers the reporting to note that these detainees were seen to be very much involved with Al-Qaeda.
Saudi Minister of Interior, Pr Nayef, acknowledges that Saudis made up the majority of those arrested: 90% of terror suspects were Saudis: Naif
Cells Were in Contact with Major Al-Qaeda Leaders- Official
Turki Al-SaheilRiyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Major General Mansur al-Turki, the Saudi Interior Ministry’s security spokesman, has disclosed that the plans of the terrorist cell which intended to target oil and security installations in the Eastern Province had reached advanced stages and sought the help of elements from Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa to carry out these attacks.
He reported that the arrests of all 701 terrorist elements which Saudi Arabia announced yesterday were carried out without any worthwhile resistance and said: “We were able to arrest them before they could carry out any action which might drag us into armed confrontations with them.” He attributed the absence of any confrontations during the security operations that led to the arrest of hundreds of Al-Qaeda organization elements inside his country to two main reasons. The first is the “professionalism with which the security organs dealt with them” and the second is the “success of the security men in reaching the terrorist elements before the readiness stage which directly precedes implementation.” Maj. Gen. Al-Turki underlined his country’s determination to combat terrorism which he said “is a quest that has not stopped since the May 2003 events and until the issuance of today’s (yesterday) statement.” He referred to the Saudi Interior Ministry’s announcement that one group arrested had direct connection with the elements with which Saudi security engaged before five years when they formed a (financial and logistical) support cell for the terrorism. He said this group was known to the security organs and was brought down during the series of arrests of the past six months.
The security official talked about the big role played by the country’s society “which helped foil the terrorists’ plans” and said “every security action is essentially based on a single piece of information. The citizens had naturally a big role in providing it.”
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Asharq Alawsat’s Editor-in-Chief, Tariq Alhomayed, tries to answer the question, Why does Terrorism Exist in Saudi Arabia?
He argues that Islamist terrorism went on basically unnoticed in the 1990s as it was seen as a low-level, world-wide activity. It was not taken seriously until 9/11 (and particularly not until after the 5/12 bombings in Riyadh). He states, too, that too many Arab states turned a blind eye, willingly, to terrorists because they served those states’ interests in the political turmoil of the period.
The former Editor-in-Chief, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, has his own views on the matter: Shock of The Seven Hundred. He, too, notes that terrorism is still an attractive option to certain states in the region. More usefully, he points out that there are fixes to the problem, starting with decent education and decent economic prospects for youth.
Yet another Asharq Alawsat piece points out that getting intolerance out of the mosques is a necessary step, even if insufficient to resolve the problems: Official Stresses Importance of Keeping Mosques Hate-Free
My take is that for many years, officials simply were not paying attention to what was going on beneath their noses. They accepted extremist thought in the schools and mosques because it didn’t seem to be hurting anything and, besides, to criticize a ‘good Muslim’—i.e., an extreme conservative—would be interpreted as the actions of a ‘bad Muslim’.
Financial Times offers this interesting analysis of Saudi King Abdullah’s efforts to promote religious tolerance. The piece notes that while inter-faith dialogue is important, perhaps more important is intra-faith dialogue: Getting Muslims of different sects talking with each other calmly.
The article notes the great resistance the King is facing in the more radical of the fundamentalists. Some, the report says, intentionally avoided last week’s conference in Mecca because they disdained its goals. Some people are calling for the fundamentalists to be reformed. Others are calling for their heads to be knocked together until some sense can creep in. Worth reading.
King Abdullah seeks stability by reaching out on religion
Andrew EnglandA photograph of King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s ruler, walking through a palace in Mecca flanked by two other notables was no doubt exactly the type of image the kingdom’s leaders hoped to portray. Clearly, too, it was one intended for both internal and external consumption.
To the king’s right was a beaming Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheik, Saudi Arabia’s top Sunni religious leader, while to his left was Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Shia Iran. Together the trio represented the Middle East’s powerhouses - two nations with a history of fraught relations but that lay claim to leadership roles for the Sunni and Shia communities respectively.
The snap was taken at a conference in Islam’s holiest city this month that brought together some 500 Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world. The meeting was intended to assemble often fractious groups and present a united front.
Saudi Arabia is known for the religious intolerance of its puritanical brand of Wahabi Islam. But King Abdullah, tired of what many in his country see as a constant barrage of Islambashing since the attacks of September 11 2001, is hoping to change that image. His latest initiative is to foster dialogue between Moslems and Christians and Jews. The idea, a Saudi official says, is for the Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - to explore their shared values to positive effect.
But, before serious wider dialogue can happen, Muslim leaders recognise they have to put their own house in order and that means going some way to healing the divisions between Shia and Sunni communities - tensions that have been exacerbated by the sectarian violence in Iraq and Lebanon. Those factors, combined with Iran’s rising influence in the Middle East, have brought the spectre of a widening Sunni-Shia conflict to the uppermost of the minds of many Arab leaders.
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Gulf News runs this story about Saudi Minister of Labor Ghazi Algosaibi and his personal effort to get young Saudis to recalibrate their expectations in work. By serving burgers, he’s demonstrating that honest work is dignified and you shouldn’t be expecting more. With many Saudi youth woefully equipped to move into demanding jobs, they need to start somewhere. Avoiding available jobs because only third-world employees do them is no longer an excuse. Saudi women have already taken significant steps in this regard, with some even wanting to take up jobs as domestic servants, but the barriers Saudi culture puts up have been significant. Saudi society could use a little ‘attitude adjustment’ if it truly seeks to deal with the problems it faces.
Saudi Arabian minister serves burgers to get nationals to work
Riyadh: A Saudi Arabian minister served as a waiter at a fast-food restaurant to encourage Saudis to take jobs they think are beneath them, according to media reports on Tuesday.
Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi surprised customers in a popular restaurant in Jeddah by serving hamburgers for three hours, Saudi media reported.
“The beginning will always be tiring and difficult, but young people can realise their ambitions if they are persistent and work hard,” Algosaibi told the Al Watan newspaper.
Algosaibi is considered the champion of the “Saudisation” of the workforce.
Many Saudis prefer to work in the government sector than take many menial jobs done mostly by the expatriate labour force.
This report in The Washington Post on the Saudi Academy is amusing, in a macabre sort of way. Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, where the academy is located, is clearly feeling heat from it decision to renew the Academy’s lease on its school property following the report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. So, it’s decided to get out of the crossfire and let two government entities, the Commission and the Department of State, sort out the issue. I’m sure State is trilled to be handed this hot potato.
Board Seeks Input On Islamic School
Amy GardnerFairfax County leaders asked U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday to determine whether the county should continue leasing property to the Islamic Saudi Academy following controversy surrounding the school’s teachings.
With unanimous support from the county’s Board of Supervisors, Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) sent a letter to Rice “formally requesting” that the State Department provide direction regarding the county’s one-year lease renewal, approved last month, with the Saudi Arabian government for operation of the academy.
“As a local governmental entity, Fairfax County is not capable of determining whether textbooks, written in Arabic, contain language that promotes violence or religious intolerance, or is otherwise offensive to the interests of the United States,” Connolly wrote. “The county simply does not employ the linguists and scholars required to make such a determination, and more important, such an effort is well beyond the scope and responsibility of local government.”
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Looks like we’ll have a new Madrid Conference in our futures. The Saudi government announced that the first of its inter-religious dialogues is to be held in Madrid, Spain starting on July 16, both Saudi Gazette and Arab News report.
I’m pleased that the conference is being scheduled so quickly following the Islamic conference in Mecca. The timing suggests that King Abdullah sees this as an urgent matter—and it is. The meeting, to be headed by the Muslim World League, will bring together Christians, Jews, and Muslims of various sects. The announcements do not mention whether Israeli Jews will be invited, but as the conference is in Spain, I don’t think that will be the problem it might be had it been held in the KSA.
A bit troubling is that former Iranian PM Rafsanjani, who attended the Mecca conference, seems to want to extend the discussion to political issues like Palestine and Iraq. That’s a sure-fire way to derail the conference and drive it into the sand.
Inter-faith meet to be held in Spain
Global interfaith dialogue set for July 16 in Madrid
Iman Kurdi writes an interesting piece for Arab News comparing the cults that have arisen around Che Guevara and Usama Bin Laden. Both, she suggests, have become iconic for would-be revolutionaries who don’t bother to check the facts about those they idolize. Both went from anger at the status quo to hatred and murder, but some still find them worthy of adoration, at least to the extent of wearing T-shirts or hanging posters. Worth reading.
When anger turns to hate
Iman Kurdi | Ik511@hotmail.comI have a confession to make: When I was 12 I thought Che Guevara was a brand of T-shirt, not just any brand of T-shirt mind you, but the coolest and most desirable brand, the kind only the hippest girls at school wore. And of course I wanted one.
Later I realized that Che Guevara was the man with the beret and the indomitable look in his eye whose picture appeared not just on the T-shirts but on posters, mugs and all kinds of other objects. So who was he? My parents fobbed me off with a vague and unflattering description. At school, all I got was that he was some kind of revolutionary, someone who fought for good against evil. A little reading revealed that he was from Argentina, had been a hero of the Cuban revolution and had died in Bolivia. This was all I needed to know. Here was a truly romantic figure: Good-looking, passionate, fought against injustice and died for his beliefs. In other words a hero.
Still, I didn’t buy the T-shirt.
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I think it’s interesting that Arab News reported on the problem the director general of the Islamic Saudi Academy is having as a result of his failure to report allegations of child abuse. The reporting both informs Saudi readers of the problems the school is having regarding its texts as well as pointing out that child abuse allegations are handled quite differently, by law, in other places.
Director of Saudi Academy arrested for failing to report alleged child abuse
