Saudi Arabia

NOVANEWS There’s an ancient Arab saying that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and this may best sum up what is happening now with Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring.  Saudi Arabia and the United States remain allies yet there is now a new layer of separateness between the two nations.  The cracks of the former close relationship opened up wider when the United States publicly supported the ouster of former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.  The United States had to stand by and silently simmer when Saudi troops entered Bahrain to crack down on demonstrators and a feared Shii’a uprising. The Saudi action violated the United States stance on human rights but not enough to take actions which could risk jeopardizing the base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Yet the glue that now ke...

NOVANEWS The carefully orchestrated plan for Saudi women to begin driving on 17 June has hit a road block with the arrest and detention of its organizer, Manal Al-Sherif on 22 May.  It is now uncertain whether Saudi women will actually take to the roadways as planned.  For someone not familiar with Saudi Arabia it is likely mind-reeling to learn that women, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race or religion, are prohibited from driving.  Saudi Arabia is the only country which legally prohibits women from driving. Yet when King Abdullah was asked during one of his first television interviews when he became King in 2005, his response was “I believe strongly in the rights of women... I believe the day will come when women drive.”  Even King Abdullah cited how women presently dri...

NOVANEWS   Najla Hariri is taking to the roads in Jeddah. After driving in Egypt, Lebanon and Europe she found it too ridiculous not to be able to go anywhere with two cars but her husband and eldest son away. Although she does not want to be at the vanguard of change she feels she has no choice. She has the full support of her husband. Najla Hariri says she was inspired by the protests taking place elsewhere in the Middle East. "Enough is enough", she told the BBC as she drove around the city. "I have the right to [drive]." Ms Hariri holds a driving licence from both Egypt and Lebanon from her time living abroad, and also has an international licence that she uses when she drives in Europe. ''In this society I am a little bit brave - I am not scared. There is no law against...

NOVANEWS When you ask a Saudi about Makkah many will talk about the way Makkah was…before the day of the Clocktower.  I used to believe that the Clocktower in Makkah was a welcoming beacon but I have changed my view.  I now see it as part of the ‘extreme commercialism’ that keeps gaining momentum in Makkah.  Only last week Marriott Corporation announced that by 2014 three new hotels will be built in Makkah adding more than 1500 rooms.  These hotels will also overlook the Haram.  Among these three hotels will be a landmark J W Marriott which is described as “…unique environments, spacious guest rooms with luxurious amenities, imaginative dining experiences and an overall heightened level of sophistication without pretense.”  Sophistication without pretense? Is this necessary for a hote...

NOVANEWS Saudi Arabia is viewed as home to the holiest sites in Islam and all Saudis are naturally born Muslims.  One might expect that Islam would be foremost in the lives of Saudis and practices of Islam would take precedence.  However expectations do not always lead to realities. For example, in Islam a woman does have the right to choose her future husband.  She also has the right to turn down a suiter.  She is not to be forced into a marriage against her will.  Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the top religious authority in the Kingdom, stated “Forcing a woman to marry someone she does not want and preventing her from wedding [the man] whom she chooses ... is not permissible," Samia, a surgeon, has come forward with her story.  She is from Medina but now lives at a government ru...

NOVANEWS "CAIRO — Saudi authorities have re-arrested an activist who defied a ban on female drivers in the conservative kingdom, a security official said Monday. Manal al-Sherif was accused of “violating public order” and ordered held for five days while the case is investigated. The 32-year-old al-Sherif launched a campaign against the longtime ban last week by posting a video clip on the Internet of herself behind the wheel in the eastern city of Khobar. Through Facebook, the campaigners set June 17 as the day all women should drive their cars. The page, called “Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself,” was removed after more than 12,000 people indicated their support for the call. The campaign’s Twitter account also was deactivated. Saudi Arabia is the only country in ...

NOVANEWS Enjoy his reference to Saudi Arabia "leading" the Arab world.  This is like saying that Fouad Ajami speaks for Arabs.   "Saudi Arabia will not allow the political unrest in the region to destabilize the Arab monarchies — the Gulf states, Jordan and Morocco. In Yemen, the Saudis are insisting on an orderly transition of power and a dignified exit for President Ali Abdullah Saleh (a courtesy that was not extended to Hosni Mubarak, despite the former Egyptian president’s many years as a strong U.S. ally). To facilitate this handover, Riyadh is leading a diplomatic effort under the auspices of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council. In Iraq, the Saudi government will continue to pursue a hard-line stance against the Maliki government, which it regards as little more than an Irania...

NOVANEWS   This is a report from Wikileaks. أطفال موريتانيا واليمن ضحايا عبوديّة جنسيّة سعوديّة 20 ألف دولار «ثمن» الطفلة الموريتانيّة التي تُرمى في الشارع بعد دورتها الشهرية الأولى يستغل «تجّار» الفتيات الفقر المدقع للأسر الموريتانيّة (أرشيف ــ أ ب) تعيش دول عربية، أبرزها موريتانيا واليمن خصوصاً، فضيحة عبودية جنسية ضحاياها أطفال إناث يُتاجَر بهنّ على أيدي أشخاص سعوديين لتحويلهنّ إلى مستعبَدات جنسياً. مأساة يومية تجري فصولها على مرأى ومسمع الحكومات العربية والسفارات الأميركية في العواصم العربية كشفت إحدى برقيات السفارة الأميركية في العاصمة الموريتانية، نواكشوط، التي نشرها موقع «ويكيليكس»، النقاب عن فضيحة أخلاقية وقانونية كبيرة، تجري خطوطها بين موريتانيا والسعودية. تاريخ البرقية يعود إلى شهر نيسان 2009، وتشير فيها السفارة الأميركية إلى أنّ موريتانيا تعرف ظاهرة من العبوديّة ا...

NOVANEWS I came back yesterday from a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia. I didn’t blog about it beforehand because I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the chances of my getting a visa, which arrived on the morning of the day I left. Now I’m back and I’m suffering from a type of cognitive dissonance — something more like cultural dissonance. I’m having so much difficulty making sense of it that I’ve found myself anxious about trying to describe the two days to my family. Blogging about it is yet more difficult. First, there are so many reasons I distrust my own impressions: I was there for two days. I hung out with Saudis studying the Internet and with Netty foreigners. I saw only the inside of the Marriott, King Saud University, and a coffee shop. I was one of two Americans (as far as I ...