The great unwashed of the Omani Sabla - Blasphemer 'exposed'

A nice post on Omani Legal Eagle BlueChi's blog, highlighting the recent experience of Omani blogger Muawiyah Al Rawahi and his post suggesting Omanis who wanted to, should be able to buy alcohol in an off-licence or booze store, in addition to the (currently legal) practice of Omani's being able to go to a pub and drink there. (unfortunately Muawiyah blogs and comments almost entirely in Arabic, but he did try in English here).

As Blue Chi says (reproduced here without license)

...
The Arabic community was outraged by Muawiyah’s public discussion of a social and religious taboo: drinking alcohol. Though previously celebrated in forums and other blogs for his commentary and criticism of public figures and government practices, Muawiyah has been criticised and personally insulted on a number of online discussion boards for his “unislamic and immoral opinions”. A single thread dedicated to criticise and attack Muawiyah on Omania2.net had more than 12 pages of comments AFTER deleting all the ones which were regarded by the staff members as ones that violate the rules of the forum. An Omani member of over a 1000 posts who claims to be currently in Australia asked the administration to ban Muawiyah completely from the forum because of his suggestions to disobey religion.

The outrage in the Arabic community is bizarre to some extent, mainly because the sale of alcohol is legal in Oman. Yet it remains socially unacceptable for most people, and it is of course prohibited by religion. The majority of commentators in Arabic forums cannot seem digest the idea that alcohol has always been legal in Oman. This reminds me of how I always tried to explain to my classmates earlier this year about different social norms in Oman, and how things could be legal, yet socially and religiously unacceptable (e.g. drinking alcohol), or legal and religiously permitted, yet socially no longer acceptable (e.g. having four wives)....

LMAOFOFL - and well said Blue Chi.

The sabla in Oman are - it seems to me - dominated by the very young (essentially unemployed students), with little in the way of true adult life experiences, and almost all the Omani members are typical products of the 'brains off' religious brainwashing that has been successfully applied to them.

It's like being lectured about smoking by your 12 year old sister.

Poor Muawiyah as been threatened with banning from the Sabla ('oooohhh!'), and accused of being non-religious, a traitor, evil, that he should be punished, etc etc. As if the act of having a few drinks is, by definition, Un-Omani, unpatriotic, or even, dare I say it, an idea worth considering.

And what he says makes A LOT of sense. Afterall. Who is making the money from the vast sales of illegal alcohol to Omani? [Because don't try to tell me it ain't happening kiddies, you SQU Pollyannas!]

And it is basically legal in Oman anyhow, even for Omani!!! (Its not like he's suggesting being an atheist, ie an Apostate, or something else that carries the death penalty to those religious wackos that unpatriotically follow diktats from Iran or Saudi instead of the Law of the Land).

His point was essentially that either it should be totally illegal and banned for at minimum all muslims, or that the authorities should get real and loosen up a bit, and not just allow the wastafarians and the rich to get access.

Man, what an uptight bunch of preachers these commenters are! (And funnily enough, the root cause is something that wouldn't let most of the female members even study in the first place, and certainly not overseas!). You'd think we were in Sudan, or Somalia, Pakistan or Saudi perhaps, rather than tolerant Oman.

Fascists everywhere would approve of such anti-free speech stuff. And especially the tactic of immediate personalisation of the issue, rather than debating in on the actualité. 'Playing the man, not the ball'.. as it were. "You are accused of being Un-islamic, and we shall therefore banish you but we're totally incapable of holding a civilisaed discussion based on facts, rational arguments", etc.

Unfortunately, these nutters have a lot of company. Even in the UN. (and it takes a lot to make me agree with the infamous right-wing nutter Lou Dobbs - America's own Essa Al Zedjali!!! But Chris Hichens is a star):




George Orwell would laugh too - well, he would have laughed in an artistic, ironic, sort of bitter sweet, tuberculosis way.

Muawiyah. Keep it up. You are a star too. I don't agree with some things you say, but I support your right to say it, and the fact that you are brave enough to even ask some questions has been highlighted by this episode. Maybe you'll see the humour in this video ...




Cheers. I'm having a Ramadan G&T and toasting you.


For info, Here's a typical rant from the sabla: apologies for the autotranslate... Basically, I understand the argument is that by suggesting such a thing, he's polluting peoples' minds with ideas that are un-islamic and therefore must be banned.

وجدت أنه من الأنسب التعقيب في موضوع منفصل -تسهيلا للقاريئ- على ما جاء من المدعو معاوية أدناه في موضوعه الاخير والذي نقله وأعاد تسويقة في سبلة عمان المدعو ليت لي جناح ، ومما لا شك فيه أن أي مادة تنشر هنا هي قابلة للنقد والرد والأخذ فأرجو ان الجميع يتقبل الأمر بصدر رحب . Found it appropriate to comment on the subject of a separate - convenience to the reader - it came from a certain Maaouya below last theme which was quoted and re-marketed in Oman called Ubuntu Refer me, there is no doubt that any material published here is subject to criticism and rejection and the introduction, I hope that everyone accepts it with an open mind.

أركز على الفقرة أدناه بعدما تجاوزت عدة فقرات لي أيضا تحفظ كبير عليها بيد أني تجاوزتها لضيق الوقت ولأن هناك إخوة آخرين قاموا مشكورين بالرد عليها . Focus on the paragraph below, after more than a few paragraphs I also significant reservations, however, I am overtaken by the time constraints and because there are other siblings have thankfully responded.






الكاتب أعلاه يعاني من تخبط في طرح أفكاره التي يدعو إليها ..فهو يرى أن كل فرد في المجتمع ..سيئ أم حسن طالح أم صالح فاسد أم مصلح ملتزم أم فاسق عاقل أم مجنون لص أم مؤتمن صادق أم كاذب شاذ أم معتدل مدمن أم صحيح قليل أدب أم مؤدب وضيع أو رفيع ..يجب أن يعبروا جميعاً عن أفكارهم وسلوكهم وأن يفتح المجال للجميع أن كل يغني على ليلاه ، إنها نظرة قاصرة ونظرة فعلا تنبئ بالخلط في فهم أن الخير والشر لا يلتقيان أبداً والخبيث والطيب لا يختلطان إطلاقاً ....معاوية هنا يشير بصورة غير مباشرة ويحتج الى الاخ العزيز موسى الفرعي عن رفع موضوعه الاخير والذي استقبل به رمضان وهو يطالب بتخفيض سعر الخمر !!! Author above suffers from confusion in putting his ideas advocated by .. he felt that everyone in the community .. good or bad or wicked or favor corrupt or committed to a reformed punk sane or insane thief or honest or trustworthy false anomaly or moderate true addict or a few literature or polite and wasted or thin .. must express all their thoughts and behavior and open space for all that each sing own fancies, they look inadequate and look really predict confusing to understand that good and evil can never meet and the good and bad do not mix at all .... Maaouya here refers indirectly to protest and dear brother of Moses to lift the sub-theme of the latter, which was greeted by calls for Ramadan, a rate cut wine!!! وحينما رصع موضوعة بصور آنية الخمر وحدد أماكن تناولها وأشاد بالخمر العُماني الأصيل أسقط دموع التماسيح على المساكين الخمارين والسكارين في البلد من فئة الفقراء والغلابا ...وصورها كأزمة يعاني المجتمع في اطار معالجته لمشاكل المجتمع في فلسفته الموسومة (الجدد) فكل شيئ عنده جدد (الشواذ الجدد ، المطاوعة الجدد ، الكتاب الجدد ، الوطنيون الجدد ، الخمارين الجدد ....الخ من قائمة الله العالم متى تنتهي ) لذا وجب القول ، أن موسى ليس هو المسؤول ...إنما هذا المجتمع العماني الاصيل الذي أسلم طوعا وحبا لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم منذ أكثر من 1400 عام ونيف يلفظ شواذ الفكر وشطحات النفس الخبيثة ...يلفظها لأنه مجتمع متحضر متجذر لا تصادر معتقداته وعاداته وتقاليده وغيرته بجرة قلم ...سيظل هذا المجتمع حائطاً منيعاً بإذن الله لكل من يحيد عن الطريق ...صحيح أن المجتمع ليس معصوما من الخطأ ..وصحيح أن هناك من يسرق ويفسد ووو...لكن الأصح أن المجتمع يبقى أصيل بعقيدته الاسلامية السمحة ...يحب الله ورسوله ...يغار على أبناءه ...والأهم يغار على عرضة ..لا يشرع الافساد أبدا ويسعى للصلاح والاصلاح دوماً ..فأبناء سبلة عمان هم ليس كلهم مطاوعة -إن صحت التسمية-...لكن هم كلهم يرنون الى طاعة الله عزوجل وقادرون على طرد الخبيث الذي يتغابى عليهم يكتبون ويتناقشون ...جميعهم ينتمون لهذا المجتمع فخورن به راغبون في تطويره وتحديثه ولكن في الاخير هناك حدود وهناك لقاء مشترك على مسؤولية الكلمة وأمانة الحروف لا عليهم إن قيل عنهم صبية فقد قيل أيضا عن صحابة رسول الله-صلوات الله عليه- صغار وصبية ..المهم يعكسون الشخصية العُمانية ..بكل ما تحملة من قيم ...وكل ما تحملة من إرث وبكل ما يؤرقها اليوم وتتطلع إليه في المستقبل ...أبناء سبلة عُمان سيظلوا أبدا ودائما ما يميزهم في الواقعية التي تنبض من مجتمعهم وليس ممن يريد تغير المجتمع وإحلال الفوضى مكانه ويصارع في ذلك طواحين الهواء ....بحثاً عن بطولة مزعومة وحرب موهومة ... When placed pictures of real-studded wine and select the locations covered and praised the wine, authentic Omani dropped crocodile tears for the poor and Alchmarin Alscaren in the country and category of the poor ... and pictures Algba society suffers a crisis within the framework of its treatment of society's problems in the philosophy of tagged (new), everything has a new (gay neo-neo-plasticity, new writers, new national, Alchmarin new .... etc. from the list of God, when will the world), therefore, must say, that Moses is not responsible ... but this authentic Omani society in which Aslam voluntarily and love for Allah upon him for more than 1400 year and a bit of thought and utter gay exaggerations Malignant Self ... uttered, because civilized society is rooted not confiscate his beliefs, customs and traditions and jealousy stroke of a pen ... This community will remain an impregnable wall, God willing, both deviate from the road ... It is true that society is not infallible .. It is true that there are those who steal and spoil Wu ... but rather that his faith community remains a genuine Islamic tolerant ... love God and His Messenger ... jealous of the children ... and most importantly for his jealous .. not prescribed corruption never seek for righteousness, reform always .. sons Ubuntu Forums are not all compliant - if correct name -... but they are all eager to obey God the Almighty and able to expel pernicious Itagaby write and discuss them ... all of which belong to this community are proud of the willing development and modernization, but ultimately there are limits and there is a joint meeting on the responsibility of the floor and the Secretariat of characters are not they told that their boys it was also on the companions of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - and young boys is important to reflect the personal .. Oman .. in every sense of the values .. . and everything carries the legacy and all haunted by the day and looked forward to in the future ... people will continue to be Ubuntu Forums never always distinguish them in realistic pulse of society and not for those who want to change society and establish a place of chaos and fighting the windmills in search of .... Championship alleged illusionary and the war ...


فأي منتدى أو صحيفة أو أي ناشر إعلامي لا بد أن يتحلى بخط أخلاقي بما يمكن نشره ، هذا الخط يعتمد على القوانيين والاعراف وعادات وتقاليد وعقيدة البلد أو المجتمع (وفي حالتنا المجتمع مسلم والتشريع الاساس دين الاسلام ) ولا يمكن جعل هذا الخط فاقد البوصلة بلا حد أو حدود ، إن نشر أي مادة في منتدى ما لا بد أن يحقق عناصر النشر من حيث الهدف والمضمون والفائدة ، ان مادة النشر يمكن أن تتحول الى مادة غير صالحة للنشر إن هي خالفت ما أشرت اليه من قوانيين وعقيدة وذوق وأخلاق الشارع العام ولم تحمل لا هدفا ولا مضمونا يفضي الى شئ كما وهي غير موجودة في نظام أو إطار ما لحوار أو مناظرة أو نقاش ما ينتج علاجا أو حلا أو يوحد خلافاً ويتقيد به جميع الاطراف فيه بالحجة والبرهان ، إذا تأتي هذه المادة لتشكل فقط أداة هدم وهي بالتالي بذرة فساد وإفساد What kind of forum or any publisher of a newspaper or media must possess a moral line as it can be published, this line depends on the laws, norms, customs and traditions and the doctrine of the country or community (in our Muslim community and the legislation basically the religion of Islam) can not make this line lost without a compass or extent limits, the publication of any article in the forum do not have to bring elements of the deployment of where the aim, content and interest, a substance that publishing can be transformed into a substance not fit for publication if it is contrary to what I have referred and the doctrine of Guanyin and taste and morals of the street did not take an objective and content lead to something as it does not exist in the system or framework for a dialogue or a debate or discussion or the resulting treatment solution or otherwise unite and abide by all the parties to the argument and proof, if you come this article is only a tool and therefore the demolition of seed of corruption and corrupt

فهناك إذا من يعاني من خلل ما وخلط واضح وتناقض في تحرير المادة المنشورة ويتعامل معنا وكأننا نعيش في مجتمع ملحد أو علماني أو مادي أو بلا قيم ولا غيرة ولا قانون ولا دين ...وأن كل سفيه (المخاطب ليس معاوية لكن التسمية موجودة في أدبيات القرآن والسنة ) مجبرون على تقبل سفاهته وتطاوله على الاسلام والمسلمين بدعوى الفكر تلكم الشماعة التي يُرفع رايتها لتكون بردا وسلاما على نشر هؤلاء بضاعتهم الفاسدة التي تفيئ قيحاً وصديداً من نفوسهم المريضة التي هي أحوج للعلاج من التنظير لها على أنها فكر ..إننا بهذا نغتال الفكر ونحدده بسخف القول وبذائة المنطق وانعدام الذوق ...الفكر أسمى من ذلك والفكر يقبل الاختلاف ..لكن لكي شئ آدابة وأخلاقة وحدوده بما يشمل الفكر نفسه ..وإلا الفوضى هي المنتج الحاصل إن نحن شرعنا وقبلنا بمبدأ كل يغنى على ليلاه ، واعتبرنا ما نشره سلمان رشدي أو نشرته تسليمة نسرين أو رسام الرسوم الكاركاتورية عن الرسول فكراً واعتبرنا المواقع الاباحية وما تنشره فكراً ، واعتبرنا تفسير المصحف على أيدي الصهيونية فكرا ويجب الافساح له بين أوساط مجتماعاتنا وأبنائنا وإلا نكون منغلقين متطرفين متحجرين ، والاسلام دين السماحة والقبول بكل شئ !!! If there is to suffer from the disorder and confusion and clear contradiction in the liberation of the published material and treats us as if we live in a society or a secular or an atheist or non-material values or any other law and not a religion ... and that all impertinent (Interlocutor Maaouya but the name is not found in the literature of the Qur'an and year) are forced to accept Svahth and profaning Islam and Muslims under the pretext of thought that telecom Chandler championed to be coolness and peace for the deployment of these wares corrupt complies with pus and pus from the sick souls that are most in need of treatment from theory to them .. they thought we assassinate this thought, we identify Wackily obscenity of speech and the lack of logic and thought of my taste ... and thought it accepts the difference .. but nothing to etiquette, ethics, and its borders, including the same thought .. and chaos is the only product we started winning and if we accept the principle of all sing own fancies, and we consider the publication of Salman Rushdie or published by Taslima Nasreen or artist fees Rkaturip thought about the Prophet, and considered pornographic sites and published in thought, and we consider the interpretation of the Koran at the hands of the Zionist ideology and to clear him to be among our children and Mojtmaatna otherwise be locked Tjerin extremists, Islam a religion of forgiveness and acceptance of everything!!! هذا التنظير الخطير الذي يحاول البعض هنا التأسيس له على الرغم من أنه لا يقوم الا على هزيمة نفسية داخلية سيؤدي الى أخطار كارثية حتما إن تم التساهل معه ، إن سياج الايمان مهدد الآن ليس من الاعداء فحسب ..بل ممن يفترض أن يكونوا في الصفوف الأولى لحمايته في وقت فعلا أشبه ما نكون بالقصعة التي ينهشها الجميع . This dangerous theory that some are trying here Establishment him, although it is not based only on the internal psychological defeat would lead to catastrophic risks that inevitably been lenient with him, a fence is not of faith is threatened by enemies .. but only those who are supposed to be in the first row to protect him at a time really like what we Bakassap stricken everyone.

إنه لمن الخلط الواضح أن ندمج النقاش والحوار والفكر مع فحش القول وبذائة الكلام وسوء الخلق تجاه ما يعتقده المجتمع وما يحمله من إرث وحضارة طوال قرون خلت ومضت ليأتي من يأتي مثلاً من به لوثة عقلية وانفصام أخلاقي وعقائدي لا ليطرح قضية ما وإنما ليطلق الاحكام بالتخلف والرجعية ويعمد عن السخرية والتطاول على الله عزوجل والرسول والقرآن والسنة والمذهب وعلماء المسلمين . It is clear that combine to confuse the debate, dialogue and thought with the obscenity of speech and obscenity and bad manners to speak about what society thinks, which encompasses the heritage and culture for centuries and proceeded to come from, for example, comes by the psychic mental and moral and ideological dichotomy is not to present the case, but called for sentences backward and reactionary, and the packers the ridicule and insulting the Almighty Allah and the Prophet and the Qur'an and Sunnah and doctrine and Muslim scholars. وهو بهذا لا يتجاوز أسس وقواعد الحوار فحسب بل ويستغل هذا الخلل لتعميم هذا الشذوذ والمرض مستخدما ملكة الكتابة والتعبير في محاولة لاستقطاب من يعاني من ضعف الايمان وغياب الوازع الديني ، إذن هو لا يبحث عن جدال أو نقاش أو حوار أصلا ..لأنه يعلم خواء الافكار التي يعمل على طرحها وضعف منطقه فيعمد على المراواغة ويلطش هنا وهناك ، ليواصل هكذا سبره وغيه دائما ليلقى بضاعته الفاسدة وينشرها لا أكثر ..وبالتالي من يقبل هذا على أي منتدى سيتحول المنتدى بالتالي إلى وعاء حافظ وناشر لهذا النوع الذي يطلق عليه اجحافا فكر وسيجري على تصوير الامر على أنه تيار ايضا اجحافا للمجتمع المسلم الذي نحيا ونتربى فيه ، فيزيد الامر سوء على المجتمع أصلا الذي بحاجة الى التقويم والاصلاح ..فضلا عن توطئة أقدام المفسدين والمخربين بدعاوي الفكر والحوار ، لهذا حينما نقول على أن إدارة أي منتدى يجب عليها تفرق ولا تخلط الامور ولا تعمل على تطويب هؤلاء المرضي المفسدين ولا تحاول أن تفرغ المجتمع من خط دفاعه الداخلي ليتقبلهم كأفراد عاديين ، لأنها بهذا تعتبر شريك في جرم الإفساد ولا يمكن بحال أن يتساوى الفرد الصالح مع المفسد والا لما اختلف الخير عن الشر ، نعود فنقول أن الفكر موجود إن وجدت الاليات التي ترعاه وتنظم أطره ومساحاته ليكون نقاش يفضي الى نتيجة يستفيد منها المجتمع وليس دجل بيزنطي لا يعمل الا على تهيئة بذور الفتنة والشقة والعداوة أو نشر الفساد والافساد ومحاولة خلخلة المجتمع من قيمه والباسه لبس غير لبسه فقط لرسم نرجسية حالمة تعاني من ارهاصات نفسية أكثر منها فكرية وشطحات أكثر منها رؤى موضوعية تحاور وتناقش وتنقد ذاتها ولا تخجل أو تأخذها العزة بالاثم من الاعتراف بالحق وتصويب الخطأ This is not to exceed the principles and rules of dialogue, but also exploit this flaw to have this abnormality and disease using the talent of writing and expression in an attempt to attract to suffer from weakness of faith and the absence of religious faith, then, is not looking for debate or discussion or dialogue at all .. he knows the emptiness of ideas that working to put forward and the weakness of logic and scale up to Alemrawagp Iltc here and there, to continue so Sabrah and relapse is always to deliver his goods corrupt and published no more .. and therefore accept this on any forum Forum will turn to the pot thus maintained, and publisher of this type, known as the thought and would be unfair to portray it that the stream is also unfair to the Muslim community in which we live and where Nterpy, increasing it's already bad community who need to calendar reform .. feet in anticipation as well as spoilers and saboteurs claims of thought and dialogue, and for this when we say that the management of any forum must not confuse the separate issues and does not working on the beatification of these patients is not trying to corrupt society to complete the line of defense for internal accepts them as ordinary, because it is a partner in this offense can not in any corruption that even the individual with good spoiler and it would not have differed good from evil, we return, we say that thought is, if any, mechanisms which is sponsored and organized frameworks and Messahath to be a discussion lead to the result of the benefit of society, not hanky-BE does not work, but to create the seeds of discord and hostility or apartment and the proliferation of corruption and corruption and trying to undermine the community values and wear clothes that is worn only to draw a dreamy narcissism suffering from the beginnings of a psychological rather than intellectual and the vagaries visions rather than substantive dialogue and discuss and criticize itself and not be ashamed or guilt, take pride of recognition of the right and correct the error

'The land that time forgot' - Saudi Arabia - bans innocent US Expat Blogger

I've always liked that joke about the pilot landing a commercial flight in Saudi who says "Welcome to Saudi Arabia folks, please set your watches back 500 years"...

Last week the Saudis blocked the blog of an expat American lady married to a Saudi, Susie, who has been writing about her observations, thoughts and experiences, and her take on daily life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Of course, as this is the same country who still behead and crucify people, ban women from driving or going to a gym to "protect their morality", and sentence victims of rape to lashings, etc etc... its not like this is a real shocker.


Ripped this image from Susie's site, I really like it...

That she recently changed her slant, and started writing a little more truthfully about some of the issues facing women in the 'Kingdom of the Dark Ages' is probably why she was blocked.

For example why the islamonutters think women must be protected from driving [of course, Susie doesn't use a phrase like islamonutter. She is quite respectful and polite, unlike me!], or
how the Saudi economy is deprived of a significant resource: i.e. women, by making it very hard for them to work or be a business women.


Yeah, Saudi politics.


So, please tell all your friends, and hopefully we can show the authorities that by blocking Susie, they have only served to highlight to the world how afraid of facts and opinions the KSA are. Susie's posts can be mirrored elsewhere, and presto, block circumvented. I've ripped her post on the driving at the end. (hope that's OK Susie)

What the censorship report also indirectly points out is the impact of this East Berlin/North Korean approach to the public by the KSA authorities are phrases in the article about Susie below, eg:

"...Susie, like most of the expatriates blogging from Saudi Arabia, tries hard to avoid religion and politics -- though she admits that is difficult when writing about women...."

Of course, there are other countries that also block such things as innocent websites... well, ... like the UAE. Tolerance of criticism seems in short supply in the GCC, (which doesn't seem to stop them handing it out in large quantities to the USA and Europe I notice...)

That's the thing. This is about politics and a culture that has still to learn how to balance respect, responsibility, rights and critique.

USA, you are close to the House of Saud - how about boosting your demonstrable commitment to freedom of speech in the region, and the right to freedom of association for ideas at least? Get everyone to loosen up on the net thing. Its better for security too, by lowering the need to hack/buy a VPN. I know GW lost you a huge amount of moral high ground. But start climbing back up.

U.S. expat's blog on Saudi life blocked
May 27, 2009 at 08:17

By Paul Handley
Susie's Big Adventure in Saudi Arabia has turned a little dark: the U.S. expat's chirpy blog on life in the kingdom with a Saudi husband has been blocked by the country's censors.

The 57 year-old grandmother, who prefers not to give her full name, said on Wednesday she has no idea why the Saudi authorities have put a block on her blog (susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com), which recounts her experiences of moving to Saudi Arabia two years ago with her Saudi husband of 30 years.

"One night I went to bed and I could see it, and when I woke up I could not access my blog," she told news agency AFP from her home in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

Since Monday, trying to read her blog from inside Saudi Arabia brings up an announcement from the Communications and Internet Technology Commission reading "Sorry, the requested page is unavailable".

CITC, which could not be reached for comment, mostly uses the block for pornographic and stridently anti-government political sites.

But Susie's Big Adventure is mostly about life as an expat woman in a new culture -- new foods to eat, places to visit and places to shop, and odd cultural experiences.

When the Arizona native strays to more current issues - like a recent post she headlined "Saudi Arabia Wastes Biggest Untapped Natural Resource: Women" - she says nothing that is not in the local newspapers.

"I don't know why," she replied when asked why the blog was censored. "Everybody discusses things that I discuss."

Her story suggests the difficulties for bloggers in a country split between a deep Islamic conservatism which does not allow women to drive cars, and a large number in the population who are pushing for sweeping change.

In December 2007 Fouad al-Farhan was jailed for four and a half months for the pro-reform postings on his popular Arabic-language political blog.

Susie, like most of the expatriates blogging from Saudi Arabia, tries hard to avoid religion and politics -- though she admits that is difficult when writing about women.

"Too many people around the world just don't know what this mysterious place is really like and I have tried my best to give an accurate glimpse into real life here. Is this wrong?" she asked on her website.

Her most popular post was about buying Katy Perry's hit CD "One of the Boys" in Jeddah and finding that the cover art, a picture of Perry in shorts, was overdrawn to show her in long pants.

Noted by a U.S. Hollywood gossip website, the post drove up her website hits from 250 a week to 9,000 a day, for a few days in April.

Susie said she was surprised to receive emails of support from other bloggers, including al-Farhan.

"Other bloggers said I didn't overstep the boundaries," she said.

Susie's great post! Free speech, objective data and an intelligent observer. Love it.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Case Against Women Driving in KSA

For anyone who has ever lived in or visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you can attest to the fact that the drivers here - all men, of course - are more often than not, crazy, reckless, and not at all courteous, with few exceptions. Many drivers here seem to think that they are more important and in more of a hurry than everyone else. Traffic is always a nightmare. I can't help but think that if women were allowed to drive here, driving conditions would drastically improve and naturally become more civilized and the streets would become safer for everyone.


The arguments for why women should not and are not allowed to drive here in Saudi Arabia are weak, at best. I've talked at length with my husband about this subject and his basic vague reason is that women aren't allowed to drive here "for their own protection." This can have many different connotations, but I really believe that the main thinking behind this type of logic is expressed in a video of a Saudi cleric filmed in 2005, called "Why Women Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Drive (in Saudi Arabia)." You can view it for yourself by clicking HERE, or just read the complete translation below for this holy man of Islam's own words.

From the Memri TV Project – Saudi Cleric Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan: Al-Majd TV - KSA/UAE - June 17, 2005.
“In conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, this blessed kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which, Allah be praised, is the most conservative in the Muslim world, in which a woman maintains her honor, decency, and modesty, and she does not reveal anything – not her hands, her face, or anything – how can she drive a car? Those who call to allow women to drive – according to what has been written – can be divided into two groups. The first group includes Westernized people, who want to westernize the society, to tell the truth. They want to destroy society, corrupt it, and drag it down into the depths of decay and permissiveness, like in Western societies. These people have been blinded by what they saw there when they studied or visited there, and they want our society to be like other societies. They want it to be devoid of all values, morals, and modesty. They want women to go out on the streets all made up, like a harlot, with her face uncovered, like they see in the West. They think that the shortest and best way to reach this goal is to allow women to drive, because if a woman drives, she will reveal her face, drive without a male chaperone, will have an easy opportunity to meet all kinds of young men and women, and she will get all made up, will mix with men, and so on. I don’t think that any woman throughout human history has been as oppressed as the Western woman today – and they still claim they have given her freedom. They took her out of the home in order to exploit her - to exploit her honor and dignity. Furthermore, in many countries, her salary is lower than the man’s, but she works more than him. She does not get what she wants unless she sacrifices her honor, to her bosses or her co-workers. How strange! Even though they have permissiveness there, and any man can satisfy his desires outside of marriage, he’s not satisfied with ten or twenty. Any girl he sees, who has certain features, he wants. If she consents, fine. If not, he rapes her. “


This is the kind of twisted reasoning that the people here are fed by their highly respected religious leaders. This guy is actually insinuating that every Western man, when confronted with a woman he finds desirable, will either have sex with her willingly or unwillingly. Puhh-leeeazzze! And he makes it sound like there are no people in the West with morals or modesty or honor, that every single person in the West is corrupt, that all women are exploited and have to sleep around to get anywhere in the workplace. Not only are his remarks extremely exaggerated and inaccurate, but they are also highly offensive and insulting.


I was truly appalled when I viewed this video, because it made me realize that the big problem is that people here listen to and believe inaccuracies like this. I know that Muslims don't like or appreciate other people making ridiculous generalizations about them like - all Muslims are terrorists, that they all beat their wives, and that the women are oppressed. But then they should also understand that making their own ridiculous generalizations about Westerners like - all Western men are rapists, all Western women are harlots, all Westerners have no morals - are just as wrong and hurtful. These types of broad, derrogatory, and highly exaggerated portrayals of one another must stop if there is ever to be any real peace and understanding between the Middle East and the West.

Posted by Susie of Arabia at 2:40 AM 68 Messages in a Bottle Links to this post
Labels: culture, muslim, religion, Saudi Arabia, women's issues

The wacky world that is Saudi.

A couple of funny stories from the crazy wacky world of Saudi Arabia might amuse you.



First, young Saudi men are getting hooked on Viagra, to the extent that they can no longer get it up without it.

I love the way the default defense is that the problem is caused by the internet spam ads...Classic.

Young Saudi men go wild over notorious blue pill
By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
Published: April 30, 2009, 22:57

Riyadh: The kingdom has been gripped with a craze for erectile-dysfunction medications by young men - an occurrence which has many worried.

A large number of married Saudi youths are flocking to pharmacies to take hold of Viagra - "the little blue pill" - or any other stimulants that will give them more satisfaction. The catchy words and obscene images that appear on online advertisements of these medications are another factor luring youth into buying packets of these stimulants.

According to Saudi doctors, this phenomenon reflects the spread of a negative sexual culture among the younger generation in the Kingdom.

"[The] lack of an effective mechanism to monitor and curb these adverts was instrumental in spreading this mania among the youths," they said. However, agents of the pharmaceutical companies deny responsibility for this. The firms called for strict vigilance by authorities to stop the sale of counterfeit medications.

Several young men said that they started taking stimulants soon after marriage. Some of these youths dared to disclose their identity while others requested anonymity.

They agreed that the pills were instrumental in keeping them virile during love making. They also felt that their masculinity was directly linked to their potency.

Mohammad Nassir Al Qah'tani, said: "I started taking stimulant during the very first week after my marriage at the instance of one of my friends. This was an impressive experience for me and my wife."

He added that he stopped using the stimulants at the advice of a doctor but added that his sudden stoppage resulted in some mental disturbance.

Another young man, called M.A., said that he became addicted to the stimulant and could not make love to his wife without using the pill. He said he was now considering seeking psychiatric help.

Dr Duraid Yazji, a consultant urologist, said that the erectile-dysfunction medications were meant for aged men in their 50s and 60s with some degree of dysfunction due to reduced hormonal production.

Perhaps its because they are married to wives they have no attraction for? Because meanwhile, a Reuters report in the Gulf News that the Saudi authorities are closing woman-only gyms. Apparently there is no way for the businesses to get a license (unlike men-only gyms).

And, of course, everyone knows that such vigorous exercising might make girls loose their virginity. Nice point Shaikh Abdullah. Clearly you've been giving the idea of vigourously exercising young women a lot of thought.

Saudi women question government clampdown
Reuters
Published: May 01, 2009, 22:51
...
Unhappy at the growing number of unlicensed female gyms, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently closed two in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and one in the city of Dammam on the Gulf Arab coast for not having a licence.
...
While male gyms get licences from a government sports body, female gyms have no official authority overseeing them.
...
"Football and basketball are sports that require a lot of movement and jumping," Shaikh Abdullah Al Maneea, member of the official Supreme Council of Religious Scholars, said in a religious opinion published in Okaz newspaper on Thursday.

He said such excessive movement may harm girls who are still virgins, possibly causing them to lose their virginity.
...

You've gotta love the comedy that the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars manages to pump out. This classic one was reported after an 8 year old girl finally got her divorce from a 50 yr old letch who had bought her from her father for $13,000.

Saudi Arabia's conservative Muslim clergy have opposed the drive to end child marriages. In January, the kingdom's most senior cleric said it was permissible for 10-year-old girls to marry and those who believe they are too young are doing the girls an injustice.