Category Saudi Arabia

Saudi Jeans Turns Five



Birthday Cupcakes, originally uploaded by Glorious Treats.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Saudi Jeans. What I started as place to have fun and improve my English has become one of the most well-known blogs in the Middle East. It has been a great ride for the past five years, and I want to continue this journey. Now some people seem to believe that blogs are simply outlets to show and fuel one’s egotistic tendencies, and hey, that could be true in my case for all I know. But I think that over the course of the past few years many people have come to contribute to the blog in many different ways and make Saudi Jeans what it is today. Therefore, some words of gratitude are due on this occasion.

First, I want to thank my family for their unconditional love and support. I’m sorry if I get you worried sometimes or if I’m not the son you were hoping for. I can only promise that I will try my best not to disappoint you. Then, I’m indebted to all my friends, offline and online, for they have been a great source of endless inspiration and for adding all kinds of awesomeness to my otherwise lame life and boring existence. Last but not least, I want to thank the readers and commenters for their time and attention, and for turning this blog into a corner for debate and dialogue.

Keep the conversation going…

Girls Beware!

In a lecture he gave earlier this week at KSU, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulema, warned Saudi girls of those who want to deviate women from the right Islamic path:

They want her to go unveiled, moving about and traveling on her own, getting involved in relationships with whoever she wants, and calling whoever she wants to start up friendships with whoever she wants.

Who are they? They are the liberal forces. Damn them.

Al-Faiz in the TIME 100

norah_alfaiz_2In their annual TIME 100 issue, Time magazine named Norah al-Faiz, the new Saudi deputy minister of education, as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. I have nothing against al-Faiz, but I think that the magazine is overestimating her influence. The woman has been in office for less than 3 months. Her most talked about decision was a directive she sent to schools warning the students of the perils of reality TV shows. I’m not trying to pick on her, but I think it is way too early to try to assess her performance or influence.

Now the selection of al-Faiz by Time might be questionable, but how the Saudi media handled the news is just laughable. They reacted orgasmically, saying she came ahead of Obama and his wife! Does it really take a genius to realize that the list published on the website is not ordered according to influence? Probably not, but it is exactly this kind of idiocy that makes me despise Saudi media.

Again, I want to repeat that I have nothing against al-Faiz, but I believe that a critical analysis for the performance of her department could be much more useful than celebrating a fake victory.

والله ما مثلك بهالدنيا بلد

Saudi Arabia is one of the worst places on earth to be a blogger. Or a woman. Or a lawyer. Or a human rights activist. Or just someone looking for a job.

Sometimes, it is not even a good place to be a Saudi.

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The title comes from a well known national song here. It can be translated as: this country is like no other.

Spring Break

It’s spring break over here and we have a 7-day vacation. I’m using the break to spend time with my family. We are going to Qatar for a couple of days. Blogging will resume next week.

Wild Dreams

When you live here long enough, you become so accustomed to the absurdities of life in the magic kingdom that nothing can surprise you anymore, and you can come across the oddest of news stories without a flinch. Some recent examples…

Saudi Gazette says that the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MIA) has held a closed door meeting in Riyadh for “interpreters of dreams and visions.” As if it is not enough that our government has been trying to tell you who you can (or can’t) marry, now they are trying to tell you how you should interpret your dreams.

We have no constitution or written laws; our human rights record is dismal and corruption is becoming a common practice in the public sector, yet here is our government holding a closed door meeting to help us interpret our dreams. How about helping people to actually make their dreams come true? Oh, sorry, I guess that’s not on your busy agenda.

Speaking of dreams, a paper presented at the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market held in Riyadh said the country’s expanding tourism sector will provide 900,000 new jobs for young Saudi men and women by 2020. No disrespect to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), but this seriously wild dream calls for some extensive interpretation by the MIA people mentioned above.

What tourism are they talking about?

I have a suggestion for SCTA. Before embarking on your unrealistically huge ambition of making Saudi Arabia a tourist destination and invite millions to come, you, as well as many other government departments, may want to try make life more tolerable for those of us living here. I’m not talking about the enormous megaprojects you like to brag about so often (economic cities, techno valley, blah blah blah).

What I’m talking about is much more simple. Basics, really. People should able to meet freely in public without fear of being prosecuted. Organizing cultural and artistic events should not be a state security matter. Also, have you ever heard of public transportation? Yeah, we don’t have this.

Another Day, Another Statement

A group of reform activists has published an open letter to King Abdullah, asking him to ensure public and fair trials for alleged terrorists and demanding other judicial and political reforms. The group, called “Advocates of Constitutional Reforms, Civic Society and Human Rights” (ACRCSHR), is currently trying to collect signatures from the public. So far, 37 persons have signed the letter.

Supporting the alleged terrorists’ right to a public, fair trial is a noble call, but I wonder if associating other reform demands with this call is a good strategy. I heard many reformists accuse the government of practicing political opportunism when they deal with different groups in the country, but isn’t this kind of association similar to these practices?

One activist said the letter signals the end of a stage that witnessed a cautious flirtation between the king and the reformists. The letter boasts a strong language, but is it going to make any difference? Some people think that the era of statements and open letters is over.

If I sound skeptical, it is because I am. The glacial pace of progress the country has made over the past few years is not exactly a good reason to get all excited over anything. What many leaders in the government and outside it don’t seem to realize is that more and more young people are being left frustrated and now are considering leaving the country to pursue their dreams away from here.

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