This was taken just now next to the highway that leads into Riyadh from the airport. A lot of teenagers and men gathering to welcome King Abdullah as he was expected this afternoon.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Arab Revolution Saudi Update
Remember, in a former post, when I said that Saudis were captivated and shocked by what happened in Tunis and Egypt but hadn’t collectively made up their mind about it? Well it appears that they have. Everywhere I go and everything I read points to a revolution in our own country in the foreseeable future. However we are still on the ledge and haven’t jumped yet.
I know that some analysts are worried particularly of Saudi Arabia being taken over by Al Qaeda or a Sunni version of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. Calm down. Besides my gut feeling (which is rarely wrong), the overwhelming majority of people speaking out and calling out for a revolution are people who want democracy and civil rights and not more of our current Arab tradition based adaptation of Sharia. My theory of why that is, is that Al Qaeda has already exhausted its human resources here. The available muttawas, are career muttawas (fatwa sheikhs) and minor muttawas (PVPV) of convenience both paid by the government and do not want the current win-win deal between them and the government to sour. So it’s unlikely that they would actively seek change. Actually quite the opposite, they will resist and delay as much as they can. Fortunately the winds of change can’t be deterred by a PVPV cruiser.
Last night Prince Talal Bin Abdul Alaziz, the king’s half-brother, did a TV interview on BBC Arabia that was widely watched and discussed. In it he warned of an upcoming storm if reforms aren’t dealt with right now. He used the word “evils” to describe what would happen if King Abdullah passed away before ordering the required changes. Prince Talal also strongly advocated a constitutional monarchy and democracy as long as it’s similar to what they have in Kuwait and Jordon. However he hinted that there were people in the ruling family who do not believe in change.
This whole past week was eventful. The first political party to form during King’s Abdullah’s reign, the Islamic Umma Party, has been arrested. According to the party’s released statement, they were informed that they would not be released until they sign a document promising that they will abandon all political aspirations.
In Qatif, a Shia majority area in Eastern Saudi, there is talk that there was a protest demanding the release of political prisoners yesterday. Ahmed Al Omran from SaudiJeans tweeted a pamphlet that was being distributed in Qatif, calling for protests today, Feb 18th, at 8pm.
A hashtag on Twitter, #EgyEffectSa, about the effect of Egypt on Saudi was popular, with a lot of courageous Saudis speaking their mind. The common thread across most of the tweets was for human rights, freedom of speech, democracy and government accountability.
Saving the best for last, a 6100 strong and growing group on Facebook has been started. The group is only for Saudis and you need to be approved to join. I’ve translated their demands:
The People want to Reform the Government Campaign
To support the right of the Saudi people and their legitimate aspirations:
1 – a constitutional monarchy between the king and government.
2 – a written constitution approved by the people in which governing powers will be determined.
3 – transparency, accountability in fighting corruption
4 – the Government in the service of the people
5 – legislative elections.
6 – public freedoms and respect for human rights
7 – allowing civil society institutions
8 – full citizenship and the abolition of all forms of discrimination.
9 – Adoption of the rights of women and non-discrimination against them.
10 – an independent and fair judiciary.
11 – impartial development and equitable distribution of wealth.
12 – to seriously address the problem of unemployment
Impressive, right?! And if these demands aren’t met, according to a lot of the discussions on the group’s page, there will be a protest in Riyadh on Olaya street March 11th. I was also impressed by their code of conduct in which they committed to no sectarianism, no violence or incitement to violence, and no hate speech.
Everyone is holding their breath and delaying doing anything drastic until the King is back. Reports vary, some say he is expected Monday, others say Wednesday. Either way, whatever he does when he gets back will decide the fate of our country. In my opinion, the least he can do is draw up and announce a clear succession that will carry the throne from the brothers’ generation into their sons’. As this is an area of great concern and instability for Saudis because we fear that without a clear and public succession, we might have a civil war between factions of the ruling family. King Abdullah should name names such as heir1 then heir2 then heir3…etc so that the fifth or sixth is a ten or twelve year old. Thus stability is maintained fifty years into the future. Another thing that needs to be done is to aggressively fight corruption and promote transparency and accountability for everyone no matter who they are. If these two issues are taken care of as soon as he gets off the plane, then I predict that things just might calm down and a lot of people won’t be so anxious for change. If not, then the campaign above will just grow bigger and bigger and many more will crop up until eventually the Saudi people will cross the revolution threshold.
Recommended reading:
From Tunis to Cairo to Riyadh? Wall Street Journal piece by Karen House
Will the House of Saud adapt enough to survive … again? Toronto Star piece by Caryle Murphy
Rage, Rap and Revolution: Inside the Arab Youth Quake Time piece by Bobby Ghosh
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Saudi Justice Ministry: Ban Child Brides!
If you were to ask me as a Saudi woman from one of the most conservative regions of Saudi Arabia, ‘What is the one change that you would like to see?’, there are many that come to mind: allowing women to drive cars, allowing women to enter government buildings, opening up more employment options to women and lifting the guardianship system under which every woman (no matter how old she is) has to have a male guardian everywhere she goes.
But when I get right down to it, there is one change that I would like to see happen yesterday: the criminalization of child marriages…Read on here
Tell the Saudi minister of justice what you think of child marriages by using the Twitter hashtag#Saudichildbrides, and sign this petition calling on the minister to set a legal age for marriage, so that we can prosecute parents and guardians who willingly give or sell their daughters to a pedophile.
Filed under Child marriages, Uncategorized, Women driving
Wife-tracker revisited
In my last post I wrote about how guardians receive SMS notifications if their dependants leave or enter the country. Dependents in Saudi Arabia are defined as anyone on a man’s family card, including wife and adult daughters. A few years ago only men were allowed to have individual national ID cards once they turned 16. Women had to rely on being listed by name and number only on a man’s family card. The only way to have a photo ID for a woman is to get a passport. But that didn’t matter too much because the family card was accepted everywhere including banks, hospitals and courts. No need and requirement for a photo ID resulted in a lot of men abusing the system in several ways. Cases where men have another woman pose as his wife, daughter or even sister to get access to benefits or harm female relatives were common. This has changed since it is currently an absolute requirement that every high school student, boy or girl, has to have a national ID card before graduating. Of course this was initially fought by the muttawas who even suggested having a fingerprint where the face photo should be, anything to avoid a woman’s face being shown and on record.
Despite women having their own individual ID cards with a photo, they are still listed on a man’s family card as a dependant, regardless of age or income. And that’s where the SMS notification comes into play. As a male guardian you can sign up for an E-service through your bank account to get notifications of any governmental transaction or change. Currently I know that SAMBA bank offers it, and other banks are signing on as well. This service is offered to banks not directly from the government but through a “middle-man” information security company, Al-Elm. The list of the type of information that they send is here. You’ll notice that the dependant leaving and arriving is the fourth and fifth from the bottom.
Filed under Eman, Gender Apartheid, Informative, Uncategorized
Prominent Saudis: Mrs. Nora Al Faiz
Mrs. Al Faiz has only recently become a household name in Saudi Arabia. She comes from an average middle-class family from the central region in Saudi Arabia. She graduated from King Saud University in Riyadh in 1978 majoring in Sociology. She married Sulaiman Al Suwlai a year before graduating and later accompanied him for higher education in the USA where she went on to get a masters degree in education from Utah State University in 1982. After returning to Saudi Arabia, she worked as a teacher in public schools for a couple of years and was quickly promoted to educational supervisor and then from there she moved on to numerous management positions in the field of education, most notable of which is head principal of the girls section at Prince Al waleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Schools. And the most recent was director of the women’s section at the Administration Institute in Riyadh. And I just have to add here that in her last post she truly made a reputation for herself and I have yet to come across any negative comments by people who have worked or studied under her. Also I myself, having sat at a few recruitment interviews, I find that the ladies from the Administration Institute always outshined the others in professionalism and skills.
What truly stands out about the appointment of Mrs. Nora Al Faiz is that even though she is highly qualified, everyone was surprised that she was chosen. Usually high profile women positions are reserved for members of the royal family or at least distant relatives. Some of my friends just assumed that Mrs. Al Faiz is somehow related to the royal family. Another issue concerning Mrs. Al Faiz that has overtaken the topic of her being appointed on forums and in social gatherings is the emergence of a photo of her with her face uncovered. The photo was taken from a book, Saudi Leaders, of which there is a digital version at:
http://www.leaders-saudiarabia.com/leaders_saudiarabia_az.php
Some of the more outrageous comments that I saw is one at a women only forum in which someone started a thread urging all women to condemn the publication of the photo in newspapers on the basis that this will lead to girls looking up to an uncovered Saudi woman and ultimately Allah’s punishment of our country. Some of the ladies at these forums think that the photo is a passport photo that was stolen from Mrs. Al Faiz and published against her will as part of a conspiracy against Muslim women.
Today in Al Watan newspaper, there was an interview with Mrs. Al Faiz and the photos accompanying the interview were of her father, her sons and a baby granddaughter (everyone except the interviewee). The interview was impressively long and comprehensive. I’m only going to translate the parts concerning her stance on the publishing of her photo in local newspapers and a few other points. I would like to point out beforehand that the administration that runs girls’ education in Saudi is completely male:
Q. The sections concerning the administration of women is all male and they waited for you to visit as part of your introductory tour last Sunday but you did not pass by them.
A. I’ve never said that I would visit mens’ office buildings and I have no intention of visiting them because I am still a woman of this country and the blood that runs through my veins is Saudi. Saudi Arabia has guided us in not mixing with men. Men are my brothers and colleagues and with my hand in theirs we will carry out this journey together regardless if the man is above me or a subordinate. We have means through which we can carry on discussions such as closed circuit TVs. And we have a meeting today with managers and general directors through closed circuit and we will exchange on an intellectual level and not as a man to a woman. We will meet intellectually, cooperate and hold each others hands. Gender is an obstacle that can be overcome between men and women.
Q. How will meetings with the minister of education be conducted?
A. Through closed circuit TV as well.
Q. The building of the administration of girls’ education forbids the entrance of women even though it runs an administration which chiefly concerns women. If women need to have paperwork done they have to resort on asking a male relative or hiring a male representative, will this continue?
A. Now I’m the deputy minister and my door is open and accessible And Allah willing we will make it as easy as possible for people who need a service.
Q. We saw your photo on the first page of a newspaper with photos of other ministers, what is your comment regarding that?
A. The publication of my photo upset me immensely and frankly I don’t know where they got it from but they asked me several times and I rejected and it is well known that I am a Saudi woman from Najd and thus I wear a niqab. I will never allow the publishing of my photo in newspapers and I will not accept that it be put up anywhere. Regretfully however I wished that they had first asked me for permission and if I would have prosecuted them through the judicial system, I am sure that I would win. But I am forgiving. If it is possible, I would like to express through your good newspaper my absolute refusal to any form of photography published of me, but some things are out of my hands and Allah is above all and I hope that they will eventually find the true path.
Q. How did they get the photo?
A. I swear that I don’t know its source nor where they got it from.
Q. Did you speak to the newspaper and try to ask about your photo?
A. yes, and a lady from there came to meet me and told me that they would publish it again and I said no please and if you do, expect that there will be a reaction on the photo from me or the vice minister Faisal Al Moamer.
Filed under Uncategorized
The recent changes in the ministry of education
- Former minister of education: Dr. Al Obaid
New minister of education: Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohamed Al Saud
Former deputy minister of girls' education: Dr. Khalid bin Abdullah Al Mashari Al Saud
NO CLEAR PHOTO AVAILABLE
New deputy minister of girls’ education: Mrs. Nora Al Faiz
Former deputy minister of boys' education: Dr. Saeed Al Malais
New deputy minister of boys' education: Dr. Khalid Al Sabti
(New position)Vice minister of education: Dr. Faisal bin Moamer
So the dust has settled and now that we can look more closely at the changes made, we can see that there is a new position that wasn’t there before. It’s not the position given to the first Saudi woman minister. But I can’t help but think that it might be because of it. I am speculating here and to me it could be one of two things. The first cynical point of view is that the job given to Mrs. Nora Al Faiz is only for show and Dr. Faisal bin Moamer is the one that is really going to call all the shots in girls’ education. The other way you can look at it is that it was necessary to create a general vice minister position because the new minister is one of the more prominent members of the royal of family and was previously a direct assistant and consultant to the head of the secret service agency and as such requires someone close by to take over when need be.
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Saudi Blogger’s Meet up!
Last week over at Saudijeans a blogger’s meet up was organized but only for males. Of course that’s the only way to do it because otherwise they’ll have a much longer meeting with the muttawa vice patrol. I got a little jealous though so I’ve decided that I’m going to test the waters for a women meet up of bloggers. Women here are notorious for ignoring these kinds of opportunities and even set appointments. Let’s see how this goes. So if you are a blogger writing about Saudi Arabia and happen to be a woman as well, please free up the early evening of November 12th. For further details Email me at saudiwomanblog at gmail dot com with the following:
1- name
2- blog link
3- Phone number
Call me paranoid but I will only disclose the location to ladies after verification. Lots of weirdoes to watch out for on both sides of the spectrum; ultra conservative muttawas hell-bent against women and desperate perverts looking for a love interest, so for everyone’s safety we’ll do it my way.
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Saudi Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
All across the media, the portrayal of Saudi women is always one of two facets; victimized and brainwashed or surprisingly educated and powerful. Here’s a third never before seen aspect. A bunch of Saudi girls acting just plain old silly for a laugh. These are photos that have been making the rounds in Saudi inboxes and I thought I would share them here with you. I don’t know the girls in the photos are but they are typical and could be any young ladies that I do know.
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The Saudi Supernatural world
Saudis (and Muslims who follow the Saudi version of Islam) do not believe in ghosts the way that the western world does. When it comes to the immediate worldly afterlife, it is believed that a person at death only temporarily leaves his/her body. In the grave, they come back and inhabit it waiting for judgment day. Meanwhile, after an interview with an angel a window opens in their grave either on hell or heaven, depending on that person’s deeds. The only dead people spirits that walk among us are martyrs and Muslims who die for an Islamic cause. One possible reason for this is that they might like to follow up on what they died for. This a translation from the Quran:
And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: “They are dead.” Nay, they are living, though ye perceive (it) not. (Chapter 2 Al Baqara, verse 154)*
But this indifference to ghosts in the western sense does not change the fact that Saudis are strong believers in the supernatural. To truly comprehend you’ll have to go back to before the beginning. In the prequel to the Adam and Eve story, there were other creatures inhabiting the Earth. The angels are made of light and humans are made of mud and these others called jinn are made of fire. They ruled the Earth much as we do now and Satan was one of them. He was either a good Jinn ruler or a Jinn prophet while the rest of his people were abusing the Earth and not worshipping God as they should. So God sent his wrath down onto them and only a very few survived by hiding high in the mountains and underground in caves. Satan was spared and raised up to heaven to live among the angels. Then later God created Adam. That’s why in the Quran it states that the angels upon hearing about Adam reacted negatively:
Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” (Chapter 2 Al Baqara, verse 30) *
The angels were not predicting the future but were more like saying oh not again. They eventually submitted except for Satan who thought that it was beneath him to bow down to a creature made of mud. The rest is almost identical to the Christian and Jewish story. So Satan, Adam and Eve were sent down to Earth. It is said that God created three versions of everyone. That is that there is a Jinni that has your exact personality, mannerism and there is also an angel that way too. The jinn version is called a qareen in Arabic. And that’s how Muslims explain away those who claim to talk to the dead. They say that those so-called experts are actually talking to the dead person’s qareen.
The Jinn people that survived reproduced and so did Adam and Eve. And now it is like a two dimensional Earth. The inhabitants of both dimensions have their own civilizations, races and religions. But there are some of both dimensions that mesh them together. This meshing is where the supernatural comes from. Humans through witchcraft and such make use of Jinns’ invisibility to Human eyes to gain knowledge. And outcast Jin come into our world to wreak havoc. The belief in them is so strong that it affects real estate. One example is a prominent marble palace that some Saudi family built in Riyadh. It is near the intersection of King Abdullah street and Al Takhassisi. After the family moved they experienced something unexplainable. And it went on like this from buyer to buyer until eventually it was closed up completely for almost a decade. Now the government bought it and is using it as a guesthouse and club for officers.
The outcast Jinn are also believed to take forms and most commonly they take the form of a dog. That might be one of the reasons dogs are not seen in a positive light here. The worst thing a jin outcast could do is take up a person’s body. They do this for a number of reasons; they are bribed or ordered to by a sorcerer, they have fallen in love with the human, or a person through wrong actions invites them in. Once they are in it is difficult to get them out. A shiekh has to exorcise them by reading certain parts of the Quran. Even Shiekh Bin Baz, the most renowned Saudi shiekh in the past century, wrote about his experience with these beings. I have a booklet that was distributed free of charge at the Riyadh Military Hospital written by Shiekh Bin Baz. This is a photo of the cover:
Translation of the cover: Two letters
- 1- The issue of Jinn being in the body of a psychologically disturbed person and the Islamic law on conversing with Jin.
- 2- Treatment through the use of sorcery or witchcraft is an extreme danger to Islam and Muslims.
This whole concept is so ingrained into Saudi culture that even people who are laid-back about religion will think of Jinn when they hear a bump in the night.
This is a video I coincidently received in my Email today. It is a soccer player that supposedly got beaten up by a Jinn on the field. Watch and make up your own mind:
And here’s a website that specializes in making nonbelievers see the light (visit at your own risk) : http://www.islam-universe.com/Exorcism.html#Exorcism_Clip
*Abdullah Yusuf Ali Translation of the Quran
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The Saudi Poverty Line and Freedom of Press
The minister of Social Affairs recently made a statement that there are 1.5 million Saudis under the poverty line. Everyone knows that there are poor in Saudi but to have it stated as such a matter of fact has gotten some to take notice. Two quite outspoken Saudis just won’t let it go. The first is Mohammed Al Ritayan from Al Watan Newspaper. He has written two articles on the issue. The latest was published yesterday. In the beginning he sarcastically comments on how expensive the minister’s office furniture looks in the interview photos. Then he moves on to make mathematical calculations that prove that the minister’s number was underestimated. He argues that the real number of poor is no less than 25% of all Saudis. Then he ends the article with a remark that regardless of whether his calculation are correct or not, even the minister’s number is shameful considering that Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the world!
The second Saudi to speak out is a social activist, Trad Al Asmari. He has gone one step further by producing and directing a documentary on Saudi Arabia’s poor. In it a Saudi security guard recounts his struggle.
Translation:
Title: My salary is one thousand riyals (267 dollars)
Security Guard: “No accommodations, no insurance, no education, no hospital expenses cover, not even for our kids. They (employer) give us absolutely nothing. They won’t even give us health insurance. They basically just give us our salaries and say good-bye. Now I’ve been working here for three to four years. I should have at least health insurance. I live in this misery. I should at least be covered under the company’s health insurance plan. But no, three years and still I am at loss.”
Newspaper headline: Saudi family under the claw of poverty: Only dream is to own a tent
Director’s question: Is every working Saudi outside the circle of poverty?
Security guard: “My whole salary is 1200 to 1300 riyals. It is not enough for rent, my kid’s expenses, school supplies. We have kids, we have…lots of things. It’s not enough. 800 goes to rent. I end up with maybe 300 riyals. It’s not enough with six kids and household expenses…water…electricity. It doesn’t cover it all.”
Director’s note: For a Saudi, it takes 1600 riyals monthly to sustain them without factoring in rent. Accordingly, a monthly income of 1200 is considered beneath the poverty line.
Director’s note: The courage of a King
King Abdullah quote: “Hearing of is not like seeing and responsibility goes beyond offices. The problem of poverty cannot be cured improvisationally.”
Newspaper headline: The King visits poor districts
Director’s note: The king of the people and friend to the poor
But
There are some who deny their (the poor’s) existence
Newspaper headline: Government committee finishes discussing poverty in one meeting and ensures the limitedness of the problem.
Director’s note: Why deny their existence?
Security guard: “In this problem we are lost. We can’t do anything and every time we try to complain no one listens and they keep throwing blame around. Everyone I go to tells me it’s not their job. You can never get answers. No one takes responsibility. “
Director’s note: They live among us
They are hurt and too modest to beg
Quran verse translation: (Charity is) for those in need, who, in Allah’s cause are restricted (from travel), and cannot move about in the land, seeking (For trade or work): the ignorant man thinks, because of their modesty, that they are free from want. Thou shalt know them by their (Unfailing) mark: They beg not importunately from all the sundry. And whatever of good ye give, be assured Allah knoweth it well.
Security guard: “Of course I finish work at eight completely tired out. I barely have time to see my family over dinner and then it’s another day’s work. So I can’t make any good use of my time. I don’t even have time to spend with my kids.I can’t take them out. I only go to and from work, from 8am to 8pm. We as Saudis should get our complete rights.”
Director’s note: One saudi citizen asks
Who says I don’t live here?
Poverty is a huge problem here with more and more people falling into it because of inflation. Logically with the demand on expatriate workers, this should not be. The government won’t assign a minimum wage and I can see their point of view. With millions if not billions of riyals seeping out of the country through expatriate workers’ salaries, assigning a minimum wage would only raise the money going out. And even though nationality discrimination is widely accepted here, fortunately, the government will not stoop that low. The issue is multi-dimensional and the solution is beyond me. However to have these two men openly speak out and criticize without fear of prosecution is a tremendous step forward.
On a more personal note, last year I drew up a complete business plan for an after school center. The plan provided part-time jobs for seven Saudi women with a minimum salary of 3000 riyals. My target employee was enthusiastic college students or young school teachers looking for a second job. And my target clientele was two income families whose both parents have full time jobs i.e. mothers who hold jobs in the medical or banking sector. I had an investor signed up. All I needed was to launch the project. But I had to put the whole thing on the back burner because of all the red tape and bureaucratic nonsense.
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