Category Saudi Arabia

More Statements

dostor_logoFollowing the statement issued about ten days ago asking the Human Rights Commission to act regarding the reformists who were detained last February, another group of activists who call for an Islamic constitution and civil society have issued another statement that they plan to send to King Abdullah on September 13th.

The statement has repeated the call to release the reformists or grant them a public trial. It also detailed the justifications for the call, saying these reformists have been involved in peaceful civil action for more than 15 years, which challenges the allegations behind their detention earlier this year.

Moreover, the statement has included some very harsh criticism to the ministry of interior and its approach of dealing with the case. “If MOI possess of evidence that they [the jailed activists] were supporting and financing violence, why do they hesitate to present them for a fair public trial?” the statement asked.

More than 30 persons have signed the statement so far, and and it is now circulating in the hope that more people will sign it before they send it to the King. The current list of signatories included many well-known reformists such as Abdullah al-Hamid, Matruk al-Faleh and Khlaid al-Umrair. Fellow blogger Khalid al-Nassir, one of the signatories, has more on his blog (Arabic).

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Thinking Outside the Box

Are student councils becoming a trend on Saudi campuses?

In short: No. Just because three universities in the Kingdom, two of them private, have decent student councils does not mean such thing has become a trend. Just take a look at the country’s oldest university: except for the occasional lame religious activities, student councils in KSU are either inactive or nonexistent. The rise of Sahwa in the ’80s and ’90s have brought most, if not all, non-religious activities on the campus to a nearly complete halt.

Of course most people outside don’t know anything about this because, unfortunately, my university is a locked box. And after studying here for four years, I can tell you for sure that the atmosphere and culture of KSU does not encourage its students (and staff) to think outside the box.

What Civil Society?

When I was interviewed by Naif Abu-Saida on Orbit few months ago, I asked: “Do we, in Saudi Arabia, really have a civil society? There is no system or law regulating the functioning of civil society organizations.” Naif disagreed with me and insisted that there are such organizations and it was simply ignorant on my part to deny their existence.

The interview was mainly about blogging, but civil society got a mention during a call by fellow blogger Hadeel al-Hodhaif who touched on the issue. Since then, I’ve been meaning to write about this but never got around to do it and I finally decided to give it shot, so here it goes.

What Naif meant when he was talking about civil society organizations is mainly charities and philanthropic bodies. It is true that charities are usually included when citing examples for civil society institutions, but most literature on the subject is focused on the political element of these organizations, which aims to “facilitates better awareness and a more informed citizenry, who make better voting choices, participate in politics, and hold government more accountable as a result.”

Needless to say, such political element is clearly absent in this part of the world. Of course this has much to do with the fact that we don’t live in a democratic system because the civil society concept is closely linked to democracy and representation. As far as I know, Shoura Council have been discussing a new law for regulating civil society organizations that is expected to be voted on soon.

Until we find out what our esteemed Shoura members have been up to, my question for now is: considering our circumstances, can we here in Saudi Arabia actually call the many charities and philanthropic bodies functioning in the country civil society organizations?

Thank You Sami

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The official website of Sami al-Jaber has announced that the footballer has finally decided to retire, concluding a great career that lasted about 20 years in the beautiful game. The announcement was expected since the end of last season, in which al-Jaber has minimally contributed to his club al-Hilal who finished second in the race for the Saudi league title.

There is no doubt that Sami is one of the best footballers Saudi Arabia has ever had, and his career on the international and club levels is simply incomparable. He captained al-Hilal to win many trophies over the years, and the way he led the national team on their journey to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals won’t be easily forgotten. His fans and Saudi sports media have given him many nicknames such as Sam 6, the Wolf, Samio, the Poisonous and Mr. Goal.

But despite his achievements and excellence, al-Jaber has come under some sever attacks in the media during different stages of his career. Many of these attacks were unjustified and unfair, in my opinion that is, but I guess being a big superstar like that has drawbacks that should be tolerated if one wants to go on with whatever he does. What he was doing is playing football and scoring goals, and he was very good at that. As for media wars and other stuff, that really should not matter, except for one thing that not many mention when they talk about him: in 2005, Sami was named Goodwill Ambassador for the UN; an honor no other footballer here has won.

Since he first joined al-Hilal as a teenager, Sami has become an indispensable part of the club and the national team. The highlights of his career are many, but playing in four consecutive World Cups is probably the most distinguished one. He is also one of the very few players who scored in three World Cups.

Being a big fan of Sami, I can go on and on talking about him for hours, but what I really want to say is simply this: I want to thank Sami for bringing joy and happiness to millions of football fans here in the Kingdom and around the world. You were great, we are proud of you, and we won’t forget you. Thank you Sami.

On Health Care Saudization

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Today’s Arab News is running an editorial by yours truly. The editorial is based on a post I’ve written on Saturday commenting on a headline the paper carried in which an “expert” claimed that the country is in need for 100,000 Saudis to work as pharmacists in the government and the private sector. The expert went as far as saying “Those who pass the degree will instantly be employed.”

But as anybody here can tell you, statements of experts are one thing, and reality on the ground is usually quite another. As a matter of fact, many pharmacy graduates like my own brother are unemployed because they could not find any proper jobs for their qualifications. I hope this piece would draw the attention of officials in the Government and Shoura Council to this situation.

Many thanks to my friends at Arab News for giving me the chance to write about this important issue, and I’m looking forward to contribute more to the newspaper in the future.

Al-Hilal Signs Huge Sponsorship Deal with Mobily

hilal_mobilyAl-Hilal is one the leading and well-known football clubs, not only in Saudi Arabia but in the Middle East and Asia. The Riyadh-based club have announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement for a sponsorship deal with Mobily, the country’s second telecommunication company.

Now this kind of sponsorship deals is common place for football clubs all over the world, and clubs here have been involved in similar deals for years. But what makes this deal special is the large scale that is unprecedented in the region. According to al-Hilal’s official website, Mobily agreed to pay SR 200 million over the next five years to associate their brand with the team.

Few details are available at the moment, but the club’s website says that al-Hilal will host a press conference following the official signing ceremony. This deal should be good for al-Hilal and for Saudi football in general, and I predict that more clubs will be looking for deals like this one in order to cover their increasing expenditure.

Activists Release New Statement

A group of political and human rights activists in Saudi Arabia have sent an open letter to the head of Human Rights Commission (HRC), the government body concerned with human rights, asking the commission to act according to its responsibilities regarding the reformists who were detained last February.

The letter, which was also sent to the head of Shoura Council, the minister of justice and the head of NSHR, asked HRC to handle the case of the detainees and ensure to grant them their lawful rights which were violated upon their detention. It also pointed out to the arrests of other activists known for their social status and contributions who also underwent the same violations.

“These actions by some bodies violate basic human rights, and do not go well with the reforming steps led by King Abdullah,” the letter read, but it does not go as far as naming these bodies. It does not, however, take much thinking to realize that the letter talks about the Ministry of Interior, which said the arrest were related to allegation of financing terrorism.

The letter was signed by 76 activists, including many well-known reform figures such as Ali al-Domaini, Matruk al-Faleh and Khalid al-Umair. The list of signatories also included many Shiite activists such as Najib al-Khonaizi, Mohammed al-Ali and Jaafar al-Shayeb.

However, as Abu-Joori pointed out, the list reveals the absence of any prominent religious leaders. “It indicates the ignorance in which the leaders of Sahwa and Islamists in Saudi Arabia are plagued with when it comes to human rights issues.” On the other hand, many of the so-called liberals are absent from this list, he added.

I believe all the demands in the letter are fair and the detainees should be granted their rights according to the law immediately. But it is anyone’s guess if the receivers of this letter would actually respond to it. Let’s wait and see, but my advice is not to get your hopes too hight. I, for one, again, is not holding my breath.