Lunar eclipse

The Kingdom witnessed the darkest and the longest lunar eclipse in 40 years on Wednesday evening. The Lunar eclipse began at 9:23 p.m. and ended after 1 a.m. (AN Photo by Salman Marzouki)

The Art of Pouring, and Receiving, Coffee in Saudi

Written by American Bedu
http://mideastposts.com/2011/02/16/the-art-of-pouring-and-receiving-coffee-in-saudi-arabia/

Six women arrested for driving in Riyadh

(Reuters, AFP)


Saudi authorities detained six women on Thursday for driving cars in the capital in defiance of laws allowing only male motorists on the kingdom’s roads.

Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving. But as citizens must use only Saudi-issued licences in the country, and as these are issued only to men, women drivers are anathema.

Outcry at the segregation has been fuelled by social media interest in two would-be female motorists arrested last month.

Rasha Al Duwaisi, one of those detained on Thursday, put the ages of the group at between 21 and 30 and said they had met in Hettein district of Riyadh late in the afternoon to teach each other how to drive using three cars.

They were quickly taken to a police station in Sahafa street and instructed to summon “male guardians” to collect them from custody. “It’s not the first time we have done this,” Duwaisi said by telephone from the station.

“It’s my right to drive and my right to know how to drive. I suffer because I can’t drive because I have to rely on a driver that I share with four others.”

Many families in Saudi Arabia have at least one driver with an average salary of around 2,000 Saudi rials ($533) per month. Those who cannot afford this assign a male member of family to drive its women, which often amounts to a time-consuming burden.

Two of the other detainees were Duwaisi’s sisters, she said, adding that she met the other three on Facebook and Twitter. — AFP

Saudi authorities last month arrested Manal Alsharif, who posted a YouTube video of herself driving in the Eastern Province and calling on other women to do the same. Alsharif has been released but faces charges of “besmirching the kingdom’s reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion”.

Another woman, Shaima Osama, was also arrested for driving last month in Jeddah. She too was later released

Germans pull out of fair over abaya

 A German tour operator pulled out of a Riyadh travel fair in protest at dress restrictions imposed on one of its female representatives, newspapers reported Thursday. Religious police demanded the German visitor change her abaya because it was decorated with red embroidery, Al-Riyadh reported. It was the first time the German, herself a Muslim, visited Saudi Arabia. Religious police, who escorted her to a taxi so that she would go and get changed, warned her not to speak of the incident but she burst out of the car “in tears”, newspapers said. The German operator protested by withdrawing from the fair. — AFP __

Manal to be held for 10 more days

– Okaz/Saudi Gazette __
 http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20110527101673

Shoura to discuss law for Saudis marrying expats

 The Shoura Council’s General Commission Saturday decided a committee will discuss a draft law regulating the marriages of Saudis to foreigners. The committee assigned to study the draft law comprises a number of council members. The council’s meeting Saturday was chaired by Dr. Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh.
The commission’s committees of Economic Affairs and Energy and Financial Affairs are also expected to discuss the 2009/2010 financial reports of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and the Saudi Credit and Savings Bank.
There will also be discussion of the two annual reports of the General Auditing Bureau and the bureau’s report on financial reviews and performance monitoring for the 2007/2008 financial years. Proposed legislation on healthcare and environment will also be discussed
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/

Woman arrested in Saudi Arabia after defying driving ban

Saudi authorities have arrested a female activist who launched a campaign to challenge a ban on women driving in the conservative kingdom and posted a video on the internet of her driving.

Manal al-Sharif Photo: YOU TUBE

Manal al-Sharif, who learnt to drive in the US, was arrested one day after she posted footage on the video-sharing website YouTube showing her driving in the Eastern Province city of Al-Khobar.

She was released after a few hours, but later she was taken back into custody, an activist said.

"She was detained for hours at a police station until her brother came to secure her release," said the activist, who added that the notorious religious police were called by traffic police to help in arresting Ms Sharif.

The Twitter page for Women2Drive, managed by women calling for a driving protest in June, said police arrested Ms Sharif at her home, and that she had been taken to a correctional prison, usually used for women, after a brief detention at Al-Khobar police station.

It was not clear if she was charged with any offence.

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that does not tolerate any form of dissent and applies an austere version of Sunni Islam in which religious police patrol the streets to ensure public segregation between men and women.
Women in the country are not allowed to drive and must have written approval from a designated guardian - a father, husband, brother or son - to leave the country, work or travel abroad.
The campaign Ms Sharif launched is aimed at teaching women to drive and encouraging them to start driving from June 17, using foreign-issued licences.
Ms Sharif's act of defiance came a few days after another Saudi woman, Najla al-Hariri, drove around the Western region city of Jeddah over a few days, insisting on her right to sit behind the wheel.
A group of women also defied the driving ban in November 1990, stunning Saudi men by getting in 15 cars and circling around the capital Riyadh before being arrested.
The 47 women who took part in the protest suffered severe punishment by authorities which suspended many of them from their public sector jobs and reprimanded their male guardians.
In 2008, activist Wajiha Huwaidar posted a video on YouTube showing her driving in the Eastern Province. She escaped arrest as she was lucky not to bump into police patrols.
/www.telegraph.co.uk

Saudi woman says she was detained for driving

From  CNN

 

Manal al Sharif, 32, said traffic and religious police held her for six hours Saturday after they spotted her driving.

(CNN) -- A 32-year-old Arabian who has crusaded for women to drive in her country said she was stopped Saturday for driving a car, even though there is no law against it.

Manal al Sharif, a mother of a 5-month-old boy, told CNN that authorities released her and then tried to detain her again early Sunday.
Al Sharif supports Women2Drive, an initiative endorsing the right of women to drive and travel freely in Saudi Arabia. She said traffic and religious police detained her for six hours Saturday after they spotted her driving in Khobar. She said she was forced to sign a form promising not to drive again, and then was allowed to go home.
She told CNN that lawyers are trying to stop police from detaining her for a second time. A Women2Drive tweet later said that al Sharif and her brother had been taken from their Khobar residence to a police station.
CNN was trying to reach Saudi authorities for comment.
While no traffic laws make it illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, religious edicts are often interpreted as a ban on female drivers.
Hundreds of women have joined the campaign on Facebook and Twitter to begin driving June 17. Some women with international licenses, such as al Sharif, began driving earlier.
Al Sharif recently told CNN, "We are not doing anything that is breaking the law."
Strict segregation by sex means women in Saudi Arabia can't travel without a male relative. They can't take public transport. To get around, they hire expensive drivers or taxis.
Al Sharif became frustrated after she had difficulty going home one evening.
"I had to walk on the street for half an hour looking for a cab. I was harassed by every single car because it was late at night and I was walking alone," she told CNN. "I kept calling my brother to pick me up, but his phone wasn't answering. I was crying in the street. A 32-year-old grown woman, a mother, crying like a kid because I couldn't find anyone to bring me home."
Al Sharif, who has taught other women how to drive, is resolute about Saudi women being more outspoken.

"We have a saying," she told CNN. "The rain starts with a single drop. This is a symbolic thing."

Woman driver surprised by society's reaction

When Najla's driver unexpectedly turned in the keys and resigned, the 45-year-old Saudi housewife was left with a dilemma: He son had to get to school, there were errands to be done, and there was nobody around to drive her. So she got behind the wheel of the family car and took her son to school.

Did the world come to an end? Did society erupt in disapproval? Was she wrenched from the vehicle by a religious cop and sent back to her guardian for a lecture on morals?
No. In fact, with the exception of some looks of surprise, and a few thumb's up of approval, Najla managed to get her son to school and pick up groceries on the way home, just as countless women do the world over. It was, in the end, a banal experience.
"It is an unwanted feeling to be restrained and helpless," she told Arab News by phone. "I have three driver's licenses: two from Arab countries and an international one."
Some accused her of being an activist, trying to draw public attention to the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. She said the reality was she simply wanted to get her son to school, which she did two days in a row. Najla added that, contrary to what some might think, nobody paid any notice to her driving.
"Our society is civilized," she said. "Many men here respect women despite the fact that there are some men who harass women on the street, even with their drivers or with their fathers or brothers present."
She says she would like to see the day she could get a fourth driver's license: one from her own country. She points out that the ban on women driving isn't a law on the books. Indeed, government officials in the past have said this is a matter for society to decide, that there is no law that explicitly states women cannot drive.
Women who are reluctantly forced to use drivers make two points: first, the driver is an unrelated male and, secondly, it's a financial cost; drivers demand up to SR3,000 a month, not including accommodation.
"Relying on drivers has proven not to be a solution, as many women face the situation of drivers leaving their jobs, or simply the negative social impact of a driver living in the same house," she said.
Local blogs lit up with debate about Najla's action, but the expression of approval and support was clearly and strongly represented.
Recently a group announced its intention to elevate the issue with a campaign called "I Will Drive Starting June 17" which comes after a group recently sent a petition to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah requesting his support for their action. The group, which currently professes to have 2,000 committed participants, echoes the government's past statements that there is no law against women driving.
For her part, Najla rejects the notion that this issue has to be elevated to an act of social upheaval, that if people thought about the issue they would easily deduce that this is simply a matter of practicality and need: “The goal is not driving itself but rather to be able to attend to our needs and not feel handicapped (by the opposition to women driving)."
arabnews

World's largest university for women opened

A hi-tech railway system inside the campus. (SPA)

 

4 of 4

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah inaugurated Sunday the SR20-billion Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), 25 km east of the Saudi capital, amid cheers of over 2,000 students and faculty members. With a capacity to enroll about 50,000 students, the PNU is the largest women-only university in the world and part of an ambitious education plan of the Saudi government.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406075.ece

Nora varsity gives women hope

Saudi women educators and professionals were upbeat about the opening on Sunday of Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh and took it as a sign women may start to assume a more active role in the Kingdom’s development.

“I hope it will lead to a massive turnaround in the fortunes of Saudi women,” said Dr. Aisha Almana, founder of Alkhobar’s Mohammed Almana College of Health Sciences. “However, universities of the world are not known by their physical structure — they attain status and credibility by what they produce. I mean a university is known by the quality of its graduates. I hope the new university will be a trendsetter. We all know that women constitute 50 percent of the Saudi population. Recent statistics, at least those from University of Dammam, indicate that there are more women graduates than men, meaning women are more aware of the need for education. They are equal partners in the development and progress of this great nation.”
Almana said Saudi Arabia should concentrate on making its people productive.
Jeddah broadcaster and newspaper columnist Samar Fatany said the new university should be a source of pride for the Kingdom. “It has bright prospects,” Fatany told Arab News. “It will inspire the young generation of Saudi women. Hopefully it will bring in a new trend of positive thinking and produce a new group of educated women who will eventually assume leadership positions in their respective fields. We need such universities to help us excel. The new university will help our women to compete with the best women in the world and create healthy competition within the various universities in the Kingdom. It will raise the benchmark of education.”
Writer and physician Dr. Samia Amoudi said: “For such a large, prestigious project to be named after a woman is an honor for all of us. It will have a great impact on society and how it perceives us women. I am very happy that our leadership is aware of our needs. They have placed their trust in us.”
“Now it’s the turn and the responsibility of the women of our Kingdom to ensure that this university attains a high rank in the world and the Middle East in particular,” said Jubail teacher Huda Al-Shehri.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406052.ece

Saudi Arabia: This is who we are

Stability of monarchies is in sharp contrast to the failure of Arab republics

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that monarchy was the most sensible and effective form of government.
In any history or course on political theory in the West, it is taken for granted that a monarchy is bound to evolve eventually into a republic and then into a more appropriate fully democratic republic. While this may have indeed occurred in most European countries, it has little bearing on which system is most successful and appropriate in various non-Western contexts. What we have seen over the past months in the Arab world is that monarchies have proved far more stable and successful at meeting the needs of their people than imperfect republics that were set up to replace overthrown monarchies and have now in turn been overthrown.
Arab states took their modern forms only in the 20th century, with some reaching independence only after World War II. Initially there were many monarchies and very few republics. As nationalism swept the region, Arab republics were created, and they are the countries that mostly lie in chaos today. From Iraq and Syria to Egypt and Libya, the results achieved by those republics lie far below the expectations of their people. Tellingly, they also lie far below the results registered by the region's rather stable and successful monarchies.
The point here is not to elevate Arab monarchies as superior political systems, but to illustrate that the dream of a republic has more often than not ended in a painful awakening, while Arab monarchies in comparison have provided greater stability and prosperity for their people. In North Africa, Morocco has recently shown the most stability and purposeful direction, although it does not enjoy the same resources that countries such as Algeria or Libya do.
ONE could argue that Tunisia, Libya and Egypt all took the worst aspects of one-person rule, leaving their countries and people traumatized and in deep economic distress. In the days of the monarchy though, Egypt experienced significant economic prosperity, similar to that of Europe at the time. The University of Cairo graduated close to one million Arab students under scholarships funded by the monarchy, while Egypt also paved the road between Makkah and Jeddah.
Cited as politically the most “democratic” country in the region, Lebanon's history has been marked by perpetual crises and unimaginable destruction. Were it not for the tenacity of Lebanese to survive, and for rich Lebanese outside keeping the country afloat, Lebanon could well be nearing a failed-state situation. Lebanon’s problems are compounded by meddling by outside forces that only deepens any crisis.
An interesting comparison can be made between Iraq and Jordan, both of which emerged as linked monarchies from World War I. The monarchy in Jordan has continued until this day with some stability and prosperity, while Iraq has undergone several coups, economic collapses and costly wars over that time. Not all can be ascribed to the single factor of form of government of course but it is hard to escape the conclusion that monarchies have served Arab countries better when looking at the Arab world as a whole.
Attempted cooperation between an Egyptian and a Syrian republic ended in complete failure, while Egypt's role in Yemen also ended in disaster, only to be replaced by a solution brokered by Saudi Arabia. Only Arab monarchies like Saudi Arabia have ever played a positive and redeeming role in other Arab crises. Never has an Arab republic successfully come to the aid of another.
FOR a very telling example to illustrate the failure of Arab republics and the comparative success of Arab sheikhdoms and monarchies in providing for their people, one need only look at the difference between the United Arab Emirates and Libya. Both countries have similar population numbers, even if Libya is far larger in (largely empty and unused) territory. Although Libya has vast riches in the form of oil reserves, the per capita income of the United Arab Emirates is almost three times higher than that of Libya. The main factor one can narrow this down to is a style of leadership, a wise and consensual federation of emirs in the Emirates, and a mad buffoon ruling a self-styled Jamahiriyya in Libya.
The best example of all is, of course, Saudi Arabia. A monarchy since its modern creation in 1932, it survived for some time without the great resources we now enjoy and has weathered every storm since. In Libya and Algeria, the presence of oil riches never provided the stability and welfare that citizens of Saudi Arabia enjoy. Saudi Arabia has come under criticism from all sides, but our country is doing better than any Arab republic, and we are a firm anchor in the region, helping countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen or Lebanon when under threat.
Whatever criticisms might be brought against us, we as a country have maintained consistency, an effective form of government that has been more successful than Arab republics in addressing the needs of our people, and a steady and progressive vision of the future. We have been able to ease changes along more successfully, build consensus, and think of the good of our people rather than the ego or bank account of one leader as in many Arab republics. All the monarchies and sheikhdoms of the Gulf area have exhibited similar successes. This is a fact.
I may be accused of being too supportive of a monarchical system over others. If so, I take such criticism with tremendous pride, because we know who we are and we possess a proven system to provide stability and prosperity to our people. Saudi Arabia does not intend to sell or impose its system on others. But we take great pride in what we have achieved for our own people and the support we have provided fellow Arabs. It will, of course, continue to be Saudi Arabia and the Gulf who support Egypt and other countries emerging from current chaos.
Saudi Arabia has taken notice of the great changes taking place in the Arab world. We are serious about meeting our own challenges and the wishes our people have for their future. We shall do it confidently and in our own way, not by eliminating a regime or killing people, but by showing wisdom, respect and unity in defining our shared future. Saudi Arabia is a country that applies itself seriously to enhancing the lives of its people, of fellow Arabs, of friends and neighbors.
Our monarchy has served us very well in that regard. King Abdullah must be greatly credited for this.
— by Hassan Bin Youssef Yassin is a political analyst based in Jeddah.

‘Young Saudi Lenses’ captures photography boom

ACOLLECTION of 315 photographs with commentary and text in both Arabic and English, is entitled “Young Saudi Lenses”. The book was officially launched by Prince Sultan, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, at Jeddah’s Virgin Bookstore last Wednesday.

Saudi officials deny Makkah holy water is polluted

 

ZamZam water from the holy city of Makkah.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have refuted a BBC report claiming that water from the Zamzam well in Makkah is polluted with high levels of arsenic.
The water has a special significance for many of those who go on pilgrimages to the holy city each year.
Zuhair Nawab, president of Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), said in comments published by Saudi daily Arab News that his organisation had taken measures to ensure the safety of Zamzam well and its water.
“Our experts monitor the condition of Zamzam on a daily basis. Every day we take three samples from the water to carry out tests and studies, which showed that it was not contaminated,” he told the paper.Earlier this month, the BBC reported that holy drinking water contaminated with arsenic was being sold illegally to Muslims by UK shops.

It said that while pilgrims can bring back small amounts from Saudi Arabia, it cannot be exported for commercial use but an undercover researcher found large quantities of bottles being sold in east and south London, and in Luton.
"The water is poisonous, particularly because of the high levels of arsenic, which is a carcinogen," said Dr Duncan Campbell, president of the Association of Public Analysts in comments on the BBC news website.
But Nawaz told Arab News that the newly established King Abdullah Zamzam Water Distribution Centre in Makkah followed international standards when bottling takes place.
“We apply modern methods for filling bottles after sterilisation,” Nawab said.
He said the contamination of the water could have caused while redistributing the water in small bottles by individuals.
Fahd Turkistani, adviser to the Presidency for Meteorology and Environment, told the paper the BBC report focused on bottled water supplied by individuals and not directly from the distribution centre.
According to the World Health Organisation, the permitted arsenic rate in natural water is up to 10 microgram per litre. The amount of arsenic in Zamzam water is much less than the amount permitted by the WHO, he said.
The Saudi Embassy in London issued a statement affirming the purity of Zamzam in Makkah.
“Scientific tests conducted on samples taken from the original source have proved the Zamzam water is good for drinking,” it said, referring to tests conducted on the water at a French laboratory.
By Andy Sambidge

What do women really want?

Sayidaty Magazine is about to feature different views of Arabian women from different places in the Arab world. These women will talk about the demands, views, troubles and obstacles they face in their everyday life.

“Aside from fashion, beauty and women’s achievements, Sayidaty Magazine has taken a fresh turn by shedding light on a new issue: Young women’s dreams and demands. Those young women are the leaders of tomorrow and the new faces of our world, and the magazine is going to publish the most important issues and subjects about them,” said Mona Siraj, managing editor of women’s Sayidaty Magazine.
“Sayidaty Magazine has been receiving hundreds of emails and messages from Arab women all over the world. These have been sharing their stories and views in order to find solutions to their problems,” she added.
The most significant requests and claims received by the magazine were about unemployment, spinsterhood, harassment, family disintegration and price increase, while the biggest number of women claim that Arabian women are successful in the job market.
More than one thousand Arabian young women have contributed to the magazine’s survey, giving transparent details to their stories. The survey shows that most Saudis are looking for freedom and the ability to drive a car, among other things. Emirati women claim that old traditions are tying them down, not giving them enough space to give their opinion as women.
Women from Egypt are looking to get rid of spinsterhood, addiction and illiteracy among their people. Syrian women demand equality between men and women, stating that their problems are mostly emotional.
Sayidaty Magazine has looked at all these requests and shared it with specialists, who claim that Arab women are in an anxiety phase. This happens because their dreams are not fulfilled. Arab women are waiting for a move from men and their society to give them their rights.
arabnews.com

Pay women to work at home

THE real development challenge we are currently facing and which we will face more strongly in the future is ensuring women have access to employment opportunities.

The woman needs to work to make an income that will help her meet her own needs and those of her family. Most of the time, the woman is responsible for herself, her family, her parents, brothers and maybe even her husband.

Whoever has been following the work and occupational changes in the Kingdom during the past two decades will notice that growing numbers of Saudi women are entering the labor market.

The main reason that drives women to work is to make an income that will help them meet the living costs of their families.

However, there are many adverse social implications resulting from women going out to work. Among other things, the marriage relationship may weaken.

The husband and wife will be too busy to look after their home or children. The supervision over children will consequently be weakened. The weakness of the family will be reflected on society. Family problems will cause a lot of social, security and economic difficulties.

The Kingdom played an important role during the UN conferences held in the 1990s to formulate an agenda for our current century.

The Saudi delegation made the UN recognize women working from home as part of statistics for working women. They were subsequently removed from unemployment figures.

This was an achievement that would reduce the number of unemployed women. It considered any woman working from home to raise her children or take care of her husband or parents as a productive woman playing the same role as those who go out to work.

These women are the safety valve for the stability of the family, society and the country at large. The best example that can illustrate the significance of woman working from home is her ability to observe the behavior of her children when they come from school. She is capable of noticing any change in their behavior, such as drug abuse.

Some social studies indicate that a woman working outside her home usually has difficulty in giving her full attention to her children and husband.

They said the children of many such families went astray without the parents noticing until it was too late.

In contrast, the home-staying mother is more able to observe her children and detect any change in their behavior.

Marital relations may also be weakened as a result of the woman leaving her home every day to go to work.

In this face of these dangers, we should therefore consider giving educated women who opt to stay at home to look after their children and husbands monthly salaries or rewards. Such a step will be useful not only to the woman and society, but also to the country as a whole.

The decision to pay stay-at-home educated mothers is worthy of careful study and consideration. We should ensure them with economic rewards that would prompt them to stay at home.

The Spirit of Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The destination

The oil rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia is famous for its two cities of religious importance, Mecca and Medina. The kingdom has identified certain areas of tourism that holds potential for its future which are MICE tourism, culture and heritage tourism, sports tourism, eco tourism, recreational and festival tourism, shopping tourism, exploration and adventure tourism, health tourism, training and education tourism and agricultural and farm tourism. The country aims to increase tourism awareness among citizens for which the focus is on developing tourism education and training and discovering tourism components and capabilities.

Market strategy

Saudi Arabia has a defined Tourism Investment Strategy in place. It is looking to attract more tourists and is aware that the present scenario would pose as a critical challenge to promote tourism in the region. Saudi Arabia is looking to increase tourists arrivals into the country through creating synergies with different governmental entities in the country, marketing alliance for Saudi tourism products, opening of new tourism markets like India, promotion through media channels and development of competitive tourism products and services.

Future focus

The country aims to promote eco-tourism by matching tourism demand and supply, encouraging tourism investment in the kingdom, encouraging small tourism enterprises, developing the culture of attraction elements of tourism in developing tourism education and attracting a part of outbound tourism to be internal. The strategy would be to focus on local tourism markets, and some foreign markets that would enjoy the Kingdom's culture and heritage. Based on the geographical factor, and in addition to the domestic market, the strategy also aims to attract tourists from GCC countries, Arab and Islamic countries.

http://www.expresstravelworld.com

Saudi Arabia: Rights Activist, Bloggers Arrested

 

 

Women call for release of prisoners in a silent candlelit march in Qatif on April 14, 2011.

 

(Munich) - The Saudi interior minister should immediately release Fadhil Makki al-Manasif, a human rights activist arrested on May 1, 2011, in ‘Awwamiyya in the Eastern Province for taking part in peaceful demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today. Al-Manasif's arrest follows amendments to the Press and Publications Law on April 29 that further restrict the right to free speech in Saudi Arabia, and days after the authorities arrested at least 20 peaceful protesters, including two bloggers.

"The latest arrests of peaceful dissidents brings the climate for reform in Saudi Arabia to the freezing point," said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Saudi ruling family has shown no signs that it might ease its iron grip on the right to express political opinions."
Al-Manasif, 27, has documented and written about human rights violations, in particular against Shi'a Saudis, for the past two years. He has documented arrests since February of participants in peaceful demonstrations in towns across the Eastern Province, such as a peaceful candlelit march by women in Qatif on April 14.
A colleague of al-Manasif told Human Rights Watch that on April 30, officers of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Investigation Department came to his family's house to arrest al-Manasif and confiscated his father's national identity card when they did not find him there. The next day al-Manasif presented himself at the police station and was immediately taken into custody for "participating in the demonstrations."
Saudi authorities arrested more than 20 participants in peaceful demonstrations in the Eastern Province over the previous week, including two bloggers, Reuters reported. The bloggers, Mustafa al-Badr Al Mubarak and Husain Kazhim al-Hashim, had participated in and written about the protests, local sources reported. Since February, peaceful demonstrations of between dozens and hundreds of Saudis have occurred regularly to call for the release of political prisoners, predominantly in the Eastern Province. Small protests for the release of political prisoners led by women have also taken place in Riyadh, the capital, in March. The latest arrests bring the number detained since February 2011 for peaceful expression or assembly to at least 145, a Saudi human rights activist told Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch has confirmed at least 120 arrests before the recent arrests of more than 20 people.
The Sa‘ud family rules Saudi Arabia as an absolute monarchy. There are no elections to national institutions and no effective means of popular participation in decision making. In early March, the Interior Ministry headed by Prince Nayef bin Abd al-‘Aziz and the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, the highest law-interpreting body, reiterated a ban on all demonstrations.
On April 29, King Abdullah bin Abd al-‘Aziz issued a decree amending the 2000 Press and Publications Law, further restricting the right to free expression. The decree prohibits publishing anything that "contradicts rulings of the Islamic Sharia [law] or regulations in force," anything that "calls for disturbing the country's security, or its public order, or services foreign interests that contradict national interests," anything that "causes sectarianism or that spreads divisions between citizens," and that "damages public affairs in the country." New restrictions also include a prohibition on violating the "reputation, dignity, or the slander or libel" of the chief mufti, members of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, or any other government official or government institution, and publishing without official consent proceedings from any investigations or court trials. A January 2011 decree extended provisions of the Press and Publications Law to online expression. Two days before his arrest, al-Manasif sent Human Rights Watch a copy of these new regulations, which the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan also published.

"The king's new media decree eviscerates any gains in freedom of expression under his reign," said Wilcke. "The ongoing crackdown and the media decree effectively throw the kingdom back to a time when dissent of any sort resulted in arrest."

Saudi Arabia: Rights Activist, Bloggers Arrested

Saudi Arabia rejects Osama bin Laden’s body… as US buries him at sea

Osama bin Laden, the long-time figurehead of the al Qaeda terrorist network, has been buried at sea after being killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan.
According to U.S. officials  bin Laden’s body would be handled in accordance with Muslim traditions, which include strict rules on burial taking place within 24 hours after death.
Bin Laden was a Saudi national, but officials say that the Kingdom was unwilling to have his remains repatriated.
He was killed in a U.S. raid launched early Monday in the relatively-well-heeled town of Abbottabad, near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
CBS/AFP

http://www.vanguardngr.com/

How Saudi Arabia views the Mid East

During the past 70 years, Saudi Arabia has been our most vital and faithful friend in the Mid East. With the recent "Arab Spring" in the region, it is important for us to understand how they assessed the events of the past and present.
This is second of a three-part series where we will attempt to present the Saudi perspective during 70 years of uncertainty and turmoil. In so doing, it will be necessary to review some historical context of the region.

Saudi Arabia and the Big Three

After World War II, Saddam Hussein slowly worked his way up the power ladder to become Iraq's president.
Born in 1937, his brutal stepfather made a bully of him at age 10. As a high school student, his uncle talked him into assassinating the head of the Iraqi communist party. He was taken under the wing of his uncle, who introduced him to leading Baath party officials. He became a member at age 20.
He became the party's strong man, assassinating political enemies, often going into exile to avoid prosecution. With the 1968 Baath revolution, he became vice president and in 1979, with the president's retirement, Saddam became Iraq's president. He then promptly assassinated the 20 most powerful members of his Baath party, eliminating any possible challengers to power.
At the time, what mattered most to Saudi King Farouk and Egypt's President Mubarek was stability in the region. Saddam provided that. What was the second order of priority was that Saddam also was a Sunni (even though Iraq was a Shiite-majority country).
In effect, these countries became the Mideast's Big Three. Saudi Arabia with all the oil, Egypt with solid connections and big money grants from the U.S. and Iraq as the area's strong man peacekeeper.
Everyone was happy -- but troubles were fomenting.

The emergence of Iran's theocracy

With the official title of the Shah of Persia, he was commonly called the Shah of Iran, as was his father, dating back to 1936. After WWII, Iran experienced extreme income divisiveness -- the elite and the very poor.
A Shiia cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, had taken up the cause of the poor, instigating demonstrations which were well-received by the masses and resulted in violence and brutal killings from the government. The Shah started to lose his grip on power at the same time Khomeini was gaining traction.
A 1954 attempt at social reform was bitterly opposed by Khomeini, resulting in large anti-government demonstrations and mass killings. The Shah declared martial law, which only escalated the violence.
The Shah arrested Khomeini and banished him to exile in southern Iraq, arousing demonstrations in which the government killed nearly 10,000.
The Shah's health was failing, and during a medical trip to the U.S., Khomeini returned from exile to a jubilant population on Feb. 1, 1979. Khomeini quickly transformed Iran into an Islamic Republic.
The Iranian governmental structure was a theocracy, with the top position being held by a cleric, roughly equivalent to the business title of chief executive officer. A president was elected through a highly structured political process and his position was the equivalent to chief operating officer.
Because of the support the U.S. had given to the Shah -- particularly by President Carter -- Khomeini called the U.S. the "Great Satan." Relationships were severed.
Many thousands of middle-class Iranians fled the country as Islamic sharia law was initiated.
Iran had been totally transformed, much to the consternation of the Big Three. The Shiite country would be at odds with Saudi Arabia and the other two of the Sunni Big Three. Clouds on the horizon had turned dark.
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/