Category Politics

Think

Shiekh Mohammed al-Nujaimi makes me laugh. No, not because he is funny, but because many of his statements are simply laughable.

Few weeks ago, when Human Rights Watch criticized Saudi Arabia for detaining thousands of terror suspects without charge or trial, he came out saying he has strong evidence that HRW is a zionist organization, because according to him they overlook Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians. Well, Israelis think that HRW is “maniacally anti-Israel” because the organization have recently done some fund rising efforts in Saudi Arabia. Go figure.

Something else: while debate on stopping all commercial activity during prayer times continues, one local news website has decided to advocate for this pause by closing the site for 20 minutes, five times a day. If visitors to Aen Hail visit the site during prayers, they are met with a message “Closed for Prayer” in Arabic along with a countdown to the end of the prayer break at the bottom of the page.

What does al-Nujaimi has to say about this? “Closing a Saudi website for half-an-hour during obligatory prayers is a noble Islamic act,” he said. “It’s free from any search for fame or unacceptable rigidness. It contributes to reviving the habit of individuals praying on time.” Let’s think about it. Prayer times differ depending on where you are. What if I’m in a city where it is not prayer time yet? “What if the person wishing to surf the page is a non-Muslim?” as Amal Zahid asked in al-Watan daily.

The two examples mentioned above can be forgiven or ignored, but to go and label everyone who disagrees with him as traitors who serve a foreign agenda is just unacceptable. Al-Nujaimi probably suffers from logorrhea, but that does not mean he is excused from at least trying to think before he opens his big mouth.

Wrong Side

News websites in Saudi Arabia have problems. But the answer to their problems is not regulation by the government, and the Ministry of Culture and Information’s idea to codify an internet law is dumb. I don’t see why anyone thinking of starting a website would want to ask for a license, or wait for the ministry to approve their editors. I guess the fact that the owners of these news websites have agreed to be under the supervision of the ministry says something about their understanding of press freedom and the so-called “professional integrity.” At a time when people go to the internet to seek more freedom and free themselves of old red lines and censorship, news websites in my country are running backwards. What’s next? Are they going to ask bloggers to register their blogs with the ministry?

Three words: not gonna happen.

Mohammed bin Nayef Escapes Assassination Attempt

Saudi Arabia was rudely awaken to some very disturbing news last night. A wanted terrorist blew himself up in an attempt to assassinate Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the assistant interior minister who has been spearheading the country’s war on terror. The Prince escaped with minor injuries, and was treated in a hospital, where he was visited later by King Abdullah. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, claimed the assassination attempt.

This is the first known assassination attempt against a senior member of the royal family since 1975, when King Faisal was killed, and it could be a pivotal point in Saudi Arabia’s antiterrorism efforts. I’m truly glad that Prince was not hurt. I just hope that this incident won’t be used as a fuel to the already raging debate battle between conservatives and liberals in the country. This is a time for solidarity and national unity, let us not ruin it.

Two Cartoons

Al-Watan newspaper have been on a roll with their cartoons recently.

white_abaya
Man: black is the king of colors, and a sign of modesty.
Woman: ok, so why don’t you and your son wear the king of colors?

tttttttttttttttttttttt

Saleswoman? Noooo
Housemaid? Disgrace
Nurse? Shame
Misyar wife? Done

Intrusiveness

Riyadh Police have arrested more than 800 men over the course of the past month, a spokesman told al-Hayat daily yesterday. They were arrested, he said, because they violated the ministry of interior’s instructions regarding clothes and appearance. The ministry have instructed the police force to follow and arrest men who do not conform to the conventional dress code. The main target of those arrests are young men who wear low waist jeans and afro hairstyle aka kadash.

Something to be proud of, huh?

Don’t Be a Victim

Yes, we have a discrimination problem. Racism, regionalism, tribalism, sectarianism, etc. You name it. We have it. Discrimination in many different forms and on many different levels. It is good that we are finally acknowledging this problem. But acknowledging it is not enough. We have to confront it. We have to work on it.

Ali al-Mousa wrote about this in al-Watan last week. He admitted that we have this problem, which is great. But then he followed this with another admission, one that was rather shocking and disturbing to me. “I’m the first to practice discrimination in marriage and tribe, for instance, and I will inherit this to my kids, as a will and a way of life.”

Some might read that and think: what a brave admission. But is it, really? I understand that we all have our prejudices, but simply admitting that they exist will not take us anywhere, it will not move us forward. What is the difference between those who deny the discrimination and practice it, and those who admit it’s there but also practice it? It is good to know our prejudices, it is great to talk about them, but it is fighting and not acting on them that truly counts.

I find it scary that an intellectual like al-Mousa feels comfortable about justifying discrimination for himself (and probably his readers as well) simply because he thinks we are all “victims of a long legacy of social hierarchy and the weight of tribe.” I refuse to be a victim. We should all reject this twisted logic. I wonder, if people like him, supposedly leaders in our country, do not push for change and start with themselves, how can we hope for anything to ever change?