From the home of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques: Saudi Arabia has deported 13 Afghan children between the ages of 5 and 11, forcing them to leave their parents behind.
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A Lebanese man has been jailed for “claiming prophethood” in Saudi Arabia.
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thabet
A court in Saudi Arabia is “reported to be preparing to hear a plea for divorce from an eight-year-old girl who has been married off to a man in his 50s”.
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aziz
Another apostasy killing in Saudi Arabia. The girl was murdered by her father for converting to Christianity. The father worked for the Orwellian-named Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
via John Burgess, who notes that the case is provoking debate within Saudi society. Though the death is a total tragedy, maybe the girl will be a martyr after all. -
aziz
good question: where are the laws for Mercy?
(via John)
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thabet
The Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia says it has logged 102 reported sexual assaults of Indonesian maids in the first half of 2008.
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thabet
The House of Lords has ruled that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted lawfully in dropping an inquiry into bribery allegations during an arms deal between Saudi Arabia and BAE Systems.
This ruling overturns a High Court decision that Tony Blair’s government and the SFO had caved in too readily to threats by Saudi Arabia over sharing intelligence related to terrorism.
Septic Isle offers some commentary on this ruling.
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Fatemeh
A Saudi vice squad member has been arrested for having too many wives.
It’s not as hilarious as the bust several months ago on the Iranian police chief caught in a brothel, but I’ll take it.
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thabet
The Economist thinks in the long run ‘al-Qa’ida’ will only be defeated by Muslims.
Jason Burke questions whether this war is winnable given “al-Qaida’s unorthodox structure”.
Meanwhile, over at Jihadica, William McCants takes a look at Michael Scheuer’s article on Saudi Arabia and terrorism.
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aziz
Saudi women aren’t allowed to drive - but horses are ok. The story of how Sumaya learned to ride is fascinating, and inspiring - especially when you see how she solved the problem of what to wear.
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luckyfatima
Did any of you catch the episode of Tony in Saudi? As usual the show had sensational segments in which he ate the “weird stuff” that average Joes of whatever nation don’t usually eat—bugs in Cambodia and Mexico, pig anus in Colombia—this time it was lizard curry and roasted baby camel including the hump and none of the Saudis he was with had ever had either one. But they had more typical foods too, including a stop at Al Baik, the Saudi fried chicken joint. The show was surprisingly sensitive. I am wary of all the racist and Islamophobic barbs that spike any mainstream show that touches on Islam and/or the Middle East…I must say that I was expecting the worst. Tony was understandably curious and unapologetic about things he didn’t fully understand, but at the same time respectful and not the least bit patronizing or insulting. A pleasant surprise, really. He admitted that he didn’t know what to expect and that he had been propogandized to think of Saudi in only a negative light. He refers to Saudi Arabia as a country about which Americans have little understanding and even less sympathy. But he actually liked his trip. Catch it in a re-run if you can.
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aziz
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is taking shape on the western shore of Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea. With co-ed classes and a western curriculum, it will be the yin to Saudi Arabian Islamic yang. Will it be another walled garden, or will it be allowed to “infect” the broader Saudi society proper?
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Mr Moo
ex-jihadis get ping-pong, pepsi and video games (though no wrestling pandas).
In return for the more relaxed environment, prisoners have to attend religious education classes where Islamic scholars challenge their views.
The thinking behind the new initiative is to fight al-Qaeda’s ideology by convincing militant Islamists they have a distorted view of Islam
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[T]he Saudi elites [...] saw the [Muslim Brotherhood] as useful because—to put it bluntly—they could read and write. While the Wahhabi ulama were ill at ease in dealing with the modern world, the Brothers were well traveled and relatively sophisticated. They knew foreign languages and, unlike the Wahhabi ulama, were aware that the earth was not flat.
(Via DeenPort.)
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thabet
Another example of Saudi and Israel falling on the same side in regional conflicts.
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Lawrence of Arabia
over at In the Making, Ayesha explores, in a personal way, the issue of employing foreign workers in her home country of Saudi. A fairly lengthy conversation continued in the comments.
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aasem
Saudi Anthropologist advocates removal of sword from Saudi Flag.
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aziz
Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan has been released from prison:
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thabet
Turkish barber living in Saudi faces execution for ’swearing at God’.
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Landmark high court ruling says decision to drop Saudi-BAE corruption investigation was unlawful.
