Saudi women must redefine what is 'Saudi society'

The election of four women to the Kuwait parliament should be an object lesson for Saudi females who wish for the same thing in Saudi Arabia but find the obstacles too daunting.

The four newly elected women last week were among 16 women in a field of 210 candidates running for election. The 16 for years have fought a battle to win a seat in parliament with dismal results. They were attacked by conservatives as unworthy of a parliamentary position. But they returned every election year until they finally persevered. And guess what? The ultra-conservative candidates didn’t win a single seat.

The Kuwait parliament holds considerable power, although the royal family still maintains absolute authority. Yet Kuwait is the most democratic GCC country with a particularly friendly relationship with the United States and other Western countries.

What does this mean for Saudi women?

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Netanyahu's hints at a two-state solution lack sincerity and it's up to Barack Obama to call him on it

Maybe it’s just me but I thought that when President Barack Obama comes to Egypt next month for his major speech to the Arab and Muslim communities that he’s going to have to do a lot of groveling.

He did his mission for reconciliation no favors recently when he suggested to the Arab League that it abandon demands for the right of return for Palestinian refugees in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Already skeptical of efforts by the United States to negotiate a peace, the Arab League just got a little more skeptical.

But then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throws something new into the mix. Maybe a two-state solution isn’t so bad. Netanyahu will be visiting Obama this week at the White House to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran. And wouldn’t you know it? Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak implied the prime minister is open to the two-state solution.

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Will Obama truly respond to Muslims' concerns?

President Barack Obama’s speech next month in Cairo is highly anticipated by the Arab world, but there is considerable trepidation about what the future holds for us since U.S. foreign policy affects not only our perception about the United States but also how we go about our lives.

Obama has already demonstrated that he wants a new and different relationship with the Ummah, but sincerity often takes a back seat to reality. There has never been a lower point between the United States and Arabs and Muslims than right at this moment.

For Obama to repair the damage he must state unequivocally his break from former President George W. Bush’s Middle East foreign policies. We must hear it directly from Obama. There should be no tip-toeing with the niceties of respecting a former president’s foreign policies with silence. The damage has been so great that it must be acknowledged.

While Obama has spoken in positive generalities, his foreign policy goals remain elusive for the Muslim world. But if we can expect him to hold the stick in the middle and practice a balanced and nuanced foreign policy, then we are on the right track to reestablishing.

Naturally, that means a new and bold approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The so-called peace process over the past two decades has reached ridiculous proportions with the parsing of each act, each word and each event.

Obama has already stumbled with his administration’s suggestion to the Arab League that it abandon its demands for the right of return for Palestinian refugees. If Obama hasn’t read the 2002 Arab Peace Plan perhaps now is the time to take a look. Israel’s primary concern is its security and safety. What better guarantee than Arab nations recognizing Israel’s right to exist and establishing diplomatic relations in exchange for the right to return to Israel and return to its pre-1967 borders?

Many Western leaders have adopted the position that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the cause rift between the West and Islam and the rise of terrorism. I’m not sure what reality these leaders live in. An Arab’s view of U.S. foreign policy is colored by the conflict. It colors our view of the West’s intentions in Iraq and Afghanistan and even how we view ourselves in a world of blind loyalty to a country that inflicts human suffering without consequences.

The recognition by Arab nations of Israel, if Obama sincerely wants it, will not satisfy the likes of Al-Qaeda. While Al-Qaeda has its supporters within the Muslim community their attitude is not reflective of most Muslims. Yet the Bush administration’s misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan have made the issue so complex that Muslims are conflicted.

Obama has made it clear he seeks withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, but now we wait to see how he rebuilds a destroyed country. The reconstruction of schools, hospitals and infrastructure, long a failure in Iraq, is paramount to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims. Awarding university scholarships to Iraqi students to study abroad and funding university research in Iraq to pave the way for Iraqis to become members of the international community also will be a good start.

Obama is rethinking U.S. strategy by installing new a new military commander to direct operations in Afghanistan. But is Obama willing to assist, not control, operations in northwest Pakistan to defeat the Taliban? Is he willing to help stabilize the Pakistan government to ensure a consistent and effective campaign to minimize Taliban influence?

The key to winning the confidence of Pakistanis and Afghans is to demonstrate that collateral civilian casualties are not acceptable at any level. Diplomacy should be the primary directive, and assistance, not a military campaign, will win that confidence.

But given the behavior of the United States over the past eight years, Muslims perceive the U.S. as a destroyer, an invader and a country to be feared. Given the choice between joining the Taliban, Al-Qaeda or the U.S., it seems that Pakistanis and Afghans prefer the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. It’s the lesser of evils. It’s the old cliché of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It seems to me that some Afghans and Pakistanis believe that it’s better to side with an odious regime like the Taliban than with an army that is killing their neighbors and destroying their homes.

Obama next step in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a delicate one. He is better equipped to handle the war there than Bush, but Muslims are straddling the fence in that region deciding which way to go. His speech next month will help them make that decision.

Originaly published in Saudi Gazette.

Why Saudi women deserve a good beating

Whenever I read about Saudi men beating up their wives or daughters because they think they deserve physical justice for some perceived wrongdoing I’m always reminded of the expression “pick on someone your own size.”

I thought of this the other day when Saudi Judge Hamad Al-Razine told a panel at the National Family Safety Program seminar in Abha that it is perfectly acceptable to slap one’s wife around if she spends too much money.

According to a newspaper report, he said, “If a person gives SR1,200 to his wife and she spends SR900 to purchase an abaya from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.”

Ah, our forward-thinking Saudi judges are always on the lookout to protect the weak and helpless. If I recall correctly the last time I complained about spending SR900 on an abaya I was pilloried from Madinah to Dammam and told that I should be thankful to spend that much money on a garment to ensure my modesty as a good Muslim girl. Now Saudi men want it both ways. They want me in my abaya and they want to slap me around for buying it.

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Demands to allow Christian proselytizing in Saudi Arabia only further religious divisions

Whenever I write about Islam and urge Muslims and non-Muslims set aside their difference and promote their similarities I inevitably receive e-mails accusing me of being a hypocrite alleging that Saudi Arabia has no religious freedoms and bans proselytizing by Christians and people of other faiths.

When I attempt to explain the unique position of Saudi Arabia as a Muslim country I am usually met with a snort and a huff, demonstrating the profound disconnect between Western non-Muslims and Asian Muslims. The debate over religious freedom can’t be made in the context of Christianity in secular societies.

While I am all for compromise between various religious leaders to reach common ground, I can’t help but think that I am constantly being goaded into bending to the will of one religion based on how it is practiced in the West.

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KSA ministries can't keep up with health needs of Saudi women

News item: Saudi women could see their private sports clubs and gyms closed down because the government seems likely to agree licensing of the clubs for men only.

To paraphrase a cliché: These are times that try women’s souls.

Believe me, Wallhi!

Apparently there is no agency that is responsible for licensing women’s sports club and the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs is shutting down unlicensed clubs unless they operated by medical organizations.

It makes me wonder that if there is indeed no agency responsible for licensing women’s club then why does the Rural Affairs ministry think it has the authority to shut them down.

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Saudi Govt needs to ease restrictions for foreign companies to do business

There are plenty of people in the construction business that are excited about Saudi Arabia’s new railway plans. Big money is being spent to create an extensive railway service that will connect Jeddah with Makkah, Madinah and eventually Riyadh.

Al Arrab Contracting recently won a SR 6.79 billion contract for a 450-kilometer high-speed rail line that links Jeddah to Makkah and Madinah. This project promises to ease traffic congestion, especially during Haj season, between Jeddah and Makkah.

Ridership is expected to be about 14 million people a year by 2030 with an estimated 5.5 million in 2005. Its initial run when it is completed in 2012 will be about 3 million riders a year.

Another ambitious project is to develop a railway linking Saudi Arabia with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. It looks like finally there will be a way to visit Bahrain without enduring the causeway, and we won’t have to book outrageously expensive flights to Kuwait.

When we think of the ongoing construction of the six economic cities and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, it’s exciting to see how a railway system falls neatly into King Abdullah’s plans to modernize our society, not to mention creating jobs in the construction industry.

The railway projects furthers our push for economic diversification. The North-South Railway, for example, will link Jubail with Riyadh and eventually connect our neighbors, including Syria and Jordan. Freight trains will begin operation next year and passenger service the year after.

The benefits of moving freight via rail instead of around the Arabian Peninsula from the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf is obvious. But equally important is the creation of jobs.

Further, the North-South line streamlines the transportation of phosphates in large quantities and put Saudi Arabia second internationally in the exports to fertilizer manufacturers.

But serious obstacles remain. It’s commendable that the Saudi government has moved to wean us from oil revenue. Our reliance on oil as virtually our only export has done some damage, primarily our failure to employ the country’s youth with meaningful non-government jobs. The lack of jobs in the private sector and the over-abundance of what I see as empty jobs – jobs in which the employee is required to do little, if anything, during the workday – has created a generation of Saudis who have no work ethnic or who fail to appreciate the rewards of full-time employment in a meaningful profession.

It may be too late for my generation to enjoy the rewards of employment beyond a paycheck, so we must set our sights on the teenagers and young adults preparing now to enter the workforce. The obstacles I’m referring to is that our move to implement economic diversification comes at the worst possible time with the collapse of the global banking community and the massive layoffs that followed.

Construction companies in the United Arab Emirates have dramatically contracted their workforce, shut down projects and are passing on bids for projects.

Saudi Arabia has seen a slowdown of construction as well, but has moved ahead aggressively with infrastructure projects such as the railways. It’s standard operating procedure for most governments to focus on infrastructure projects during a recession, and this is what Dubai and Abu Dhabi are doing at the moment.

American, British and Asian construction companies hoping to survive and continue doing business in the Middle East have turned their attention to Saudi Arabia. But despite the current economic mood Saudi Arabia doesn’t make it easy for foreign companies to do business here.

According to a London-based construction magazine, a Saudi contractor said recently at a recent construction summit that, “The government sector will be challenging for many non-Saudi companies.”

Another Saudi contractor at the same meeting said Saudi Arabia poses serious logistical issues.

“It is not as easy as you might think for somebody from the UAE or Qatar moving into Saudi Arabia,” he said. “There are a lot of constraints. The restrictions are greater than in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to bring the labor force in. Logistically, moving into Saudi Arabia, including getting the people in and out, is a big issue facing companies.

In times of emergency, and the region is facing an economic emergency, some rules and regulations should be suspended to speed up the process of accomplishing our goals. We have a window of opportunity to accomplish much, but if we obstruct people who want to do business here they will go elsewhere. And if the obstacles are serious enough, they may not return.

Emergency regulations allowing workers and equipment to move more freely between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC will keep the country on schedule, foster stronger ties with foreign companies and create those vital jobs that young Saudis need now.

We don’t need another generation of idle work-age people.

Originally published in the Saudi Gazette.

Obama has his hands full with Iran

President Obama certainly has his hands full following his first 100 days in office.

He gets a load of grief for cozying up to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He’s ridiculed for bowing to King Abdullah. He’s criticized by the Republicans for releasing the torture memos and then by his own party for not prosecuting torturers, although it looks like he is buckling on the last point and won’t stand in the way.

He wants to be friends with Iran but is greeted by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with snarling barking.

It’s this last bit of drama that could very well define Obama’s presidency. Just how is the president going to deal with a man who has about as much subtly as a Fox News political pundit.

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Saudi courts face reconciling Shariah over child marriages with the pressure of international standards

The Saudi judicial system is in crisis and the more attention is paid to protecting a young girl's rights in child marriage cases the more the courts seem to fall into chaos.

It’s an understatement that the system needs an overhaul. When intelligent men leave their common sense at the door before entering a courtroom and bow to the wishes of a tiny minority some serious self-examination is in order.

But two recent events have given hope to Saudis that the judicial system is capable of reform.

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