The furor raised by Sheikh al-Shethri’s complaint about the co-educational nature of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology didn’t end just with his being removed from his official positions. Now, the Grand Mufti of Egypt and Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi, a noted Saudi Egyptian conservative sheikh with a large follwoing in the Kingdom, are on record saying that al-Shethri was wrong. Saudi Gazette reports:
Grand Mufti of Egypt & Qaradawi laud Kaust
The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Al-Jum’ah, has praised King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) and cited several Ahadith to justify his position on the permissibility of coeducation.
Al-Jum’ah’s remarks come only days after the head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi, offered his full support to the university and its goals.
The backing from two of the world’s most prominent scholars follows recent backing from members of the Board of Senior Ulema in the Kingdom who have lauded the university as a “beacon of knowledge” that will “restore the Ummah to the forefront of science”.
Saudi Gazette also carries a piece by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi extolling the virtues of KAUST.
Abu Dhabi’s The National has an excellent piece on King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The article notes the various ways the university differs not only from other Saudi universities, but from international universities as well, e.g. no tenure system and the lack of traditional academic departments.
Controlled experiment
Can a new research university save the Saudi economy and transform a closed society? John Gravois on the birth of KaustIn a bustling harbour just north of Jeddah one recent morning, a white 27-metre diving yacht was nosing its way slowly toward the open Red Sea. It was a gorgeous blue day, and the marina was teeming with families – young boys running around in swimming trunks; girls clustered at the margins, garbed from head to toe in black. Saudi youths on jetskis were swarming around the yacht, using its wake to launch themselves in the air and perform various tricks. The boat’s passengers, however, were absorbed in sombre discussion.
They were academic scientists who had recently converged on Jeddah from all over the world, and they naturally fell into trading reports of the shocks their profession had sustained in the global recession. One of the scientists was regaling the others with the latest dismal news from the United States, where the University of California system, one of the country’s most prestigious networks of research universities, was enduring an emasculating set of cutbacks.
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The article points out that the focus of the university is very much Saudi-oriented. It will be addressing problems that are, if not Saudi-specific, at least of great concern for the Kingdom, including such things as solar power, desalination, and Red Sea research.
… In the realm of higher education, the institutional structure of Kaust is similarly otherworldly. For starters, the all-science university has done away with two of academia’s sacred touchstones: traditional academic departments, and tenure. Rather than departments, Kaust is organised around problems – specifically, Saudi Arabia’s problems. Hence, rather than a physics and a chemistry department, Kaust has a Solar and Alternative Energy Science and Engineering research centre and a Water Desalination and Reuse research centre. Several of the university’s nine research centres are explicitly organised around developing sustainable technologies of the sort that might be particularly handy once the petrochemical economy has gone the way of the typewriter. And while some of Kaust’s projects – like its Red Sea research centre – are slightly more geared towards pure science, most of Kaust’s research centres were very much designed with industrial applications in mind. “They’re already aligned with the needs of the industry,” says Ahmad O al Khowaiter, the university’s interim vice president for economic development. Unlike at a traditional university where professors operate out of standardised academic departments, at Kaust, al Khowaiter says, “companies don’t have the challenge of trying to find who’s interested in their problems”.
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Overall, this is one of the best piece on KAUST that I’ve read. You might enjoy reading it in its entirety.
Economist takes a look at the sorry state of education in the Arab world. Income levels, whether as a national figure or per capita, don’t seem to have much bearing on the quality of education. Arab countries, the piece states, spend more on education, on average, than the rest of the world. The only place money seems to have an effect is when students escape the state education systems by attending private schools. The article notes that until recent reforms, Saudi students spent 31% of their time on religious studies, but only 20% on science and math.
The article also notes that while KAUST is a magnificent effort, its value is diminished by an education system that does little to prepare Saudi students to deal with the real world.
Laggards trying to catch up
One reason that too many Arabs are poor is rotten educationA RECENT issue of Science, the weekly journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was devoted to research into “Ardi” or Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4m-year-old hominid species whose discovery deepens the understanding of human evolution. These latest studies suggest, among other things, that rather than descending from a closely related species such as the chimpanzee, the hominid branch parted earlier than previously thought from the common ancestral tree.
In much of the Arab world, coverage of the research took a different spin. “American Scientists Debunk Darwin”, exclaimed the headline in al-Masry al-Youm, Egypt’s leading independent daily. “Ardi Refutes Darwin’s Theory”, chimed the website of al-Jazeera, the region’s most-watched television channel. Scores of comments from readers celebrated this news as a blow to Western materialism and a triumph for Islam. Two or three lonely readers wrote in to complain that the report had inaccurately presented the findings of the research.
The response to Ardi’s unearthing was not surprising. According to surveys, barely a third of Egyptian adults have ever heard of Charles Darwin and just 8% think there is any evidence to back his famous theory. Teachers, who might be expected to know better, seem equally sceptical. In a survey of nine Egyptian state schools, where Darwin’s ideas do form part of the curriculum for 15-year-olds, not one of more than 30 science teachers interviewed believed them to be true. At a private university in the United Arab Emirates, only 15% of the faculty thought there was good evidence to support evolution.
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To counteract the negativity of Sheikh Saad al Shethri’s views on King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, up steps the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Imam, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais not only assured his congregation that the university is a good thing, but encouraged them to support it. He also warned them, according to this Arab News article, against those who cast doubts on the university.
Sudais commends opening of KAUST
MAKKAH: Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, on Friday commended the establishment of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, 80 km northwest of Jeddah, as a major cultural and historic achievement.
“Everyone who loves science and knowledge will support this great qualitative development in (education),” said Al-Sudais while delivering his Friday sermon to thousands of worshippers who thronged the Grand Mosque.
Al-Sudais described the international research university as a lofty scientific fort and a giant bastion of scientific knowledge. He said the new university would contribute to restoring the past glory of the Islamic Ummah.
… “It is the duty of leaders, scholars, writers, media persons and youths to support this great effort and historic achievement,” the imam said and cautioned against those who create doubts about the university and its programs.
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Saudi King Abdullah is making his first official visit to Syria as monarch. Syrian and Saudi media are extolling the brotherly nature of the visit and focusing on how it will improve the already good relations (sic) between the two countries. Arab unity, resolution of the Rafiq Hariri assassination in Lebanon in 2005, and of course Palestine and Arab-Israeli peace are noted as the reasons for the visit.
The King spent a great deal of time (relatively speaking) with President Al-Asad during the KAUST inauguration ceremony, much more than with other heads of state. That, I think, was a tip-off that he was looking to improve relations. Saudi Gazette‘s coverage of the visit is all sweetness and light, accentuating the positive at every turn…
King in Syria
Ziyad Eitani and Ali EidDAMASCUS – King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, arrived here Wednesday for talks with President Bashar Al-Asad on a wide range of regional issues.
The is King Abdullah’s first visit to Syria since becoming the monarch, the strongest indication yet of consolidating Arab unity following years of tension.
The Saudi Press Agency said that the visit is in response to an invitation extended to the King by Asad.
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Arab News‘s coverage isn’t very different. It does note that the two countries signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation and to prevent tax evasion. As there’s no Saudi income tax, this is clearly to Syria’s benefit.
King’s Syria visit opens new chapter
DAMASCUS: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah began his landmark visit to Damascus on Wednesday opening a new era in Saudi-Syrian relations. President Bashar Assad honored the king by conferring on him the country’s top medal.
King Abdullah and President Assad held two rounds of talks at Ash-Shaab presidential palace. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the two leaders discussed major regional and international issues and ways of strengthening bilateral ties.
The first meeting attended by top officials from both sides saw Abdullah and Assad exchanging medals as the king received the Umayyad Order, the highest national honor in Syria. He reciprocated by giving King Abdul Aziz Medallion to Assad.
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The Jerusalem Post runs an analysis that is both hopeful but not expecting much to result from the meeting. The analysis focuses on what it sees as an attempt by the Saudis to separate Syria from Iran. I’m not sure that’s the purpose of the Saudi visit and doubt that the Saudis would go that route. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, Syria, whose government is dominated by a Shi’a sect, has been a strong supporter of Iran. Even during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Syria split with the majority of the Arab world to embrace Iran. There may well have been financial inducements to lean that way, but that’s the path Syria has chosen. It’s possible that the Saudis could out-induce Iran, but I wouldn’t expect much from such an effort.
Trip by Saudi royal unlikely to herald radical change
JONATHAN SPYERThe Syrian Al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday that a two-day visit by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz was due to begin that day. The talks, Al-Watan noted, would conclude with the signing of a joint agreement on the issue of taxes.
This is what is known as setting a low bar for success. The editors of Al-Watan have good reason for their caution. Despite the great importance being attached by some regional analysts to the Saudi-Syria talks, they are unlikely to herald a fundamental shift in regional diplomacy.
In seeking to repair relations with Syria, Riyadh is adjusting to an existing reality. That reality is the decision by the US administration to end the policy of isolation of Damascus.
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This article from the UAE’s The National exemplifies sloppy journalism, in my book. The writer focuses on the push-back to the King’s sacking of a cleric critical of the social rules to be followed at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Specifically, he criticized the co-educational nature of the campus and, in a program broadcast over the Qatari religious TV channel Majd, raised concerns about the possible teaching of evolution, something about which conservative Muslims (as some conservative Christians) have strong feelings.
The article quotes several Saudis who see his removal from his appointed positions as the result of an ‘organized media campaign’. I suggest no such thing is necessary. The cleric’s views—which he has absolute freedom to express—differ radically from the King’s vision of the university. As the sheikh’s position on the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and on the Ijma Committee (which issues fatawa) is through the grace of the King, it doesn’t take a conspiracy to realize that the sheikh was being stupid. He was biting the hand that fed him. He was free to speak, but he was not free of the consequences of his speech.
Holding a royal appointment is not a human right, contrary to what Walid abu al Khair, identified as a Saudi human rights activist may believe. Sheikh Al-Shethri was not jailed for his speech; he was not exiled. His human rights were not curtailed. He was removed from government-provided positions because he no longer held the confidence of the King.
Freedom of speech, in its absolute form, means that one can say anything without being punished under the color of law. It does not mean that one speaks with no consequences, however. Those consequences can run the gamut from social ostracization to, as here, losing a government-appointed job.
Sheikh’s sacking unites opponents
JEDDAH // King Abdullah’s decision to relieve a senior scholar of his duties has disappointed intellectuals and rights activists, and raised questions about both the level of extremism in the Saudi liberal stream and the place of secularism in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom.
King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Sunday relieving Sheikh Saad al Shethri, a young university professor who was appointed this year to the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, of his duties as a member of the council and the fatwa-ruling body.
The king’s decision came a few days after liberal newspapers and writers condemned Sheikh al Shethri for his controversial statement last week on the al Majad Islamic TV channel questioning the appropriateness of co-education at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) and calling for a Sharia committee to monitor the compatibility of studies being conducted at the international university with Islamic law.
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Sheikh Saad Al-Shethri was the foremost cleric to criticize the co-ed nature of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. He’s no longer a foremost cleric.
In move the meaning of which is unmistakable , King Abdullah has removed him from his position as a member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars. He no longer holds any official position. This does not mean, of course, that he loses his followers. There are plenty of Saudis who think he is right in fearing the consequences of having unrelated men and women in the same room. It does mean that he loses the amplification that came from his official position, however. [Correction: I'm informed by a commenter that Al-Shethri likely continues to hold his position as a university professor. That means he still has a soapbox, but a considerably smaller one.]
It also means that the King has laid down a very clear marker that in this reform, he is not to be crossed. Other members of the ‘Ulema have been warned.
This is, perhaps, a rare example of the government pushing back against conservative religious forces. As Mshari Al-Zaydi’s piece, posted earlier today notes, though, this isn’t the first time the Saudi monarch has had to draw a line and enforce it. I think King Abdullah is strong enough and has enough public support to do more of this and I hope that he does. For too long, the religious conservatives have impeded social reform and social and economic progress in the Kingdom.
Al-Shethri relieved of his duties
Arab NewsJEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Sunday issued a royal decree relieving Sheikh Saad bin Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Shethri of his duties as member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and the permanent committee for Islamic research and ruling (Ifta).
“We hereby instruct all concerned departments to implement this order,” the decree said.
The action against the scholar came a few days after his controversial statement questioning co-education at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which was officially opened by the king on Sept. 23 in the presence of several world leaders and renowned scientists and academics.
During a talk show on Al-Majd Islamic TV channel last week, Al-Shethri said mixing of sexes in the land of the Two Holy Mosques was unacceptable. He also wanted a Shariah committee to look into the studies being conducted at the international university and their compatibility with Shariah Law.
The sheikh’s comment drew widespread criticism. Many Saudi writers and intellectuals opposed his views and said the mixing of sexes should not be considered immoral. “If the sheikh views it immoral then we have to shut down all hospitals, shopping malls and even the Two Holy Mosques,” Abdu Khal wrote in his column.
Here’s an article I’d meant to post on last week, while still in Jeddah. It slipped by, but perhaps for the better, as it’s no longer buried in the clutter of the scores of articles on KAUST.
Though I’ve yet to meet him—and missed him at the KAUST inauguration, sadly—Robert Lacey is an interesting fellow. He wrote a book back in the 1980s, The Kingdom, which opened windows on the closeted Kingdom as none before him. His book, as could be anticipated, was banned in the Kingdom. He’s now finished a follow-up to that book, Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. I’m awaiting my review copy and will review it as soon as possible.
Lacy’s views of KAUST, then, are worth noting. I think he’s exactly put his finger on what the school could mean, but as yet does not mean. The university is all potential, but as a new entity, it cannot yet have substance beyond the physical plant and laboratories. What it becomes is not dependent solely on the university or its faculty, staff, and students, but will rely on other things going on in the country, from the government and its ministers to social changes in other arenas. He is most candid in saying that the experiment of KAUST might not succeed; it’s not a foregone conclusion, though we wish it the best.
The level of scientific research will improve: Robert Lacey
Siraj Wahab | Arab NewsTHUWAL: Among a galaxy of world leaders, Nobel laureates and well-known professors and scientists at Wednesday’s opening ceremony of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) was the British historian Robert Lacey. A distinguished journalist with a fascination for history, he is known very well in the Kingdom for his meticulous research on events that have shaped Saudi Arabia’s history.
He is an author of a number of international bestsellers, including “Majesty” and his earlier book on Saudi Arabia, “The Kingdom.”
Lacey’s new book, “Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia,” will be published next month in London and New York.
In an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the KAUST opening, Lacey said KAUST would undoubtedly raise the level at which scientific research is conducted in this country. Following are excerpts from the interview:
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Lacey’s views and books make his presence in the country an interesting puzzle. Why does the Saudi government granted him leave to live in the country while he was researching and writing the book which is most likely to be banned as his earlier one?
I think it’s because he’s getting the story right, that he’s accurate in his details as well as with his broader brushes. Top levels of government can accept that there are flaws in the system, but the general population cannot. Were the book available generally, then the government would spend too much time defending its actions in permitting the book rather than being able to focus on fixing problems. The ban on books in Saudi Arabia is porous. Some books get banned only months after they’ve been on sale. This assures that the most interested already have the books in hand. Others order their copies from foreign bookstores or online. Saudi Customs has clearly been told to lay off their most extreme vetting of titles as many heretofore books are now getting in.
If you want evidence that KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is a paradigm-shifter, you need look no further than the pages of the Saudi papers.
Letters have been flying in about how KAUST could serve as a model for other educational institutions in the Kingdom. Some see that as a good thing, others as unmitigated evil. So far, I’ve yet to see much in terms of neutrality.
A writer for Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, whose piece is translated by Arab News, says that it doesn’t matter whether KAUST is a great or poor example. He sardonically points out that the Saudi school system, including its universities, is so hidebound and tied up in red tape, that no model of anything could every change it!
Fear of change
Hashim Abdou Hashim | Al-RiyadhMakkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal recently asked in an article whether our universities would be liaising with King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST). He also asked whether our universities would try copying the new university’s scientific, research, managerial and technical abilities, and whether they would try introducing them in their classrooms and to their staff and administrators. I would also like to add to this list their students.
I will volunteer to answer the prince’s question by saying what he asks for is, if not impossible, unexpected. My justifications include the administrative problems Saudi universities experience despite the efforts and initiatives of some university heads. Instead of lighting the road ahead for us, these universities have become part of obsolete administrative systems and victims of bureaucracy and their complexities. There is, therefore, no difference between a university and a secondary school or government department.
A university should be able to conduct scientific research, and be independent in its decisions, regulations, plans, programs and budgets. Even the most successful of our universities depend largely on the clout of their heads and the initiatives of their staff.
Thanks to the administrative structure governing them and the traditional managerial structures that have paralyzed their scientific and creative abilities, our higher education institutions lack an understanding of the basic elements that make up successful scientific and research institutions.
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All it takes is one ill-advised offering of opinion on global satellite TV and firestorms can sweep a country. That is the case of Sheikh Sa’ad bin Nassser Al-Shithri, member of the Board of Senior Ulema, who opined on a Qatari channel that the mixed-sex environment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology was a sin under Shariah law. The educated classes objected vociferously, as this Saudi Gazette story reports, but the less-educated think he might have a point.
Saudi Arabia, for all the billions of dollars it has poured into higher education, is still troubled in producing large numbers of top-notch scholars. Part of that is due to the fact that the country must pay twice as much for its product because it insists on ‘separate but equal’ facilities for most male and female education. Certain sectors, as medicine, are exempt from this, but generally there are two, more or less parallel education systems running in the country. At the very least, this is inefficient.
It is based on a belief that men and women, whether they be child, teen, or young adult, simply cannot exist in the same confined space without uncontrolled sex happening. I do not belittle the power of sexual drives, in either men or women, but the fact is, they can be controlled, both by the individuals and by social structures. While a wall between the sexes works to mitigate the problem to a large degree, it is an expensive solution, one that 99% of the world’s educational institutions has avoided. As those institutions do not seem to suffer academically, they strongly suggest that sex segregation isn’t a requirement for excellence.
I think it was most intentional of King Abdullah to insist that his namesake university be integrated. He knew he would take flack for it from social conservatives, but nevertheless felt it had to be done.
Outrage after Sheikh rakes up segregation issue at Kaust
JEDDAH – A question live on television to a member of the Board of Senior Ulema over gender segregation at the King Abdul Aziz University of Science and Technology (Kaust) has sparked debate in the local press and public.
Sheikh Sa’ad Bin Nasser Al-Shithri, when asked on Sunday by a Qatari viewer of the Al-Majd channel for his position on the university and the “mixing of the sexes in the land of the Two Holy Mosques,” responded by describing such a thing as unacceptable and called for a Shariah Committee to look into the studies being conducted at the university and their compatibility with Shariah Law.
The issue of segregation has generally been assumed by both press and public to be a done-and-dusted subject as far as Kaust is concerned, and attention both locally and internationally has focused on efforts to realize King Abdullah’s self-professed dream of making it a “beacon of tolerance.” Sheikh Al-Shithri’s remarks provoked widespread criticism, coupled with a degree of bewilderment.
Dirty word
“The term ‘mixing of the sexes’ is for some in our society a dirty word implying degradation, immorality, and corruption, yet we see it in airports and shopping areas and in the Two Holy Mosques, so how can it be viewed with different moral and religious standards in different places?” wrote Abdu Khal in Okaz Wednesday.
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In the same issue of Arab News there’s a piece translated from the Arabic daily Okaz that points to much the same issue. There are those who will use the narrowest possible interpretation of Islam to hold back development.
Planes with shaded windows
Khalaf Al-Harbi | Okaz, klfhrbe@gmail.comAbout half a century ago, Malaysia was a backward, poor and disunited country while Afghanistan was a civilized, rich and united nation. Malaysians and Afghans were known to be very religious. However, religion did not prevent the Malaysians from seeking knowledge, uniting their ranks and opening themselves up to the world.
The Afghans, on the other hand, succumbed to the calls for seclusion and takfir. The country became the target of invaders and a haven for outlaws. We cannot today compare Malaysia with Afghanistan. The disparity between them is the distance between light and darkness.
Amidst the Kingdom’s celebrations marking the opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) there were some calls which bore the dust of Tora Bora and belittled this gigantic national accomplishment by raising the issue of co-education.
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Asharq Alawsat reports on the media presence at the inauguration ceremonies for KAUST.
Over 100 Media Bodies Compete
to Cover KAUST Opening Ceremony
Ali Sharaya and Amal BaqziThawal, Asharq Al-Awsat – Over 100 local and foreign media bodies competed to cover the opening ceremony for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology [KAUST] that was held last Wednesday. KAUST is the largest research university in the region, and its opening ceremony coincided with celebrations of the 79th Saudi National Day. All of these media representatives sought to produce the best reports and footage of the event.
Farouk al Zoman, a project manager at Attariq Communications, which is working in coordination with KAUST, said that 200 media ID cards were issued to media figures covering the KAUST opening ceremony. The 200 media representatives visited the KAUST campus in Thuwal over the past few days, and are transported there daily in a convoy of buses.
Mr. al Zoman also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the plan of the media representatives to cover the opening ceremony means leaving the Meridian hotel in Jeddah in two batches.” He also revealed that the organization committee offered the visiting delegations and the media representatives the opportunity to visit the university on Thursday, allowing them access to the KAUST campus, including its laboratories, classrooms, and exhibitions.
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The links below go to photos of KAUST, Jeddah, and various parts of the program. The first set is from Scott Merrill. The others, my own snapshots.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skippy/sets/72157622340362753/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xrdarabia/sets/
Here’s something interesting from Arab News. Last Wednesday, National Day and the day upon which KAUST was inaugurated, saw exuberant crowds around the country. The roads in Jeddah were certainly packed with cars from which celebrants were hanging, waving Saudi flags, blowing horns, and generally having a good time.
In Al-Khobar, in the Eastern Province, though, things went a bit differently. There, according to the article, the crowds turned into mobs, trashing numerous businesses in protest against society’s lack of provision of any sort of entertainment for youths. While families are given a variety of entertainments, from circuses to family-friendly restaurants and clubs, young males are shunted to the streets, with nothing to do and no place to go.
I doubt, however, that destruction of property is going to catch government attention in the right way to effect change.
Rioters caused huge losses, Alkhobar businesses claim
DAMMAM: The rampage by a large group of Saudi teenagers in Alkhobar last Wednesday, destroying restaurants, showrooms and shops, caused losses worth millions of riyals, press reports said quoting owners of businesses.
Witnesses said the rioting during the National Day celebrations started after one youth pointed at a fast-food chain, saying, “It’s a supporter of Israel.”
The youths then broke the windows in the restaurant before ransacking nearby showrooms and shops.
Al-Watan Arabic daily said the youths targeted mostly shops of international brands.
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UPDATE: Through Chiara, a link to photos of the destruction: