A Family in Turmoil

Director’s Comment: Director Comments: The Saudi royal family is known for its size, greed and determination to exclude the people from decision-making processes and is also known to have total grip over the country, its people and wealth. The ruling princes are mired in family fights over whose sons and grandsons will inherit the throne and important governmental positions after the passing of the unhealthy and aging sons of the first King of the Country, Abdul Aziz. While King Abdullah is misleading the public and the international community by talking about reforms to give the people some say in the State’s affairs, he is busy forming commissions to ensure that the public remains disenfranchised for the foreseeable future. Given recent events, specifically Prince Talal’s call for limited power sharing and King Abdullah’s continuing work to appease the many competitive younger princes, it is obvious that there is a palace coup brewing over power. It looks like the stability of the country thro ugh political inclusion is secondary to the needs of the power-and money-hungry younger generation of princes. This may be the beginning of the end of totalitarianism in the Saudi Kingdom, especially if the public takes advantage of the widening conflict within the ruling family.
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Women Lead for Reform Movement

Director’s Comment: Despite severe restrictions, discriminatory policies and social condemnation, Saudi women are fighting to create a just and tolerant society. They work to transform the educational system, promote political inclusion and eradicate the root causes of extremism and terrorism. Their courage to fight for their rights is admirable in a society in which men, led by the government, its institutions and extremist religious establishment, use religion, tradition and physical coercive measures to deny women the right to full citizenship. Saudi women are resisting and making progress. The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, located in Washington, DC, calls on all equal rights advocate organizations and democratic promoters to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these courageous, visionary and enlightened Saudi women. Supporting Saudi women to overcome politica l, religious, economic, educational and gender oppression is in the interests of all Muslim and Arab women and the international community at large. You can lend your support by writing to female leadership in Saudi Arabia through their e-mail: yes2saudiwomendrivers@PROTECTED
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Another Face Left?

Director’s Comment: King Abdullah issued a royal decree earlier this month to modernize the Saudi judicial system and claimed that the judiciary is independent. This is not true. All judges are chosen from those who interpret, implement and support the state-sanctioned intolerant and austere religious dogma, Wahhabism. Judges have only religious training and are appointed based on their blind loyalty to the royal family. No one dares to challenge the appointments of judges who are installed by the royal family and their higher council of Ulama, the religious clerics. The king has the ability to strike any verdict issued by any judge with a hand signal or a phone call. The court system rarely criticizes or supports any criticism of a member of the royal family, despite its corruption and squandering of public wealth. Royal family members are never tried in Saudi public courts.
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Saudis Supporting Religious Tolerance?

Director’s Comment: The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, located in Washington DC, calls on all nations to protect the rights of all peoples and to implement and respect all International Declarations on religious and political freedoms. It is ironic that “Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC, a Saudi government agency) will urge its counterparts in the European Union to ask their governments not to link terrorism to Islam and also to issue regulations to protect Muslims from prejudice and discrimination because of their faith.” Given its dismal human rights record and religious intolerance, the Saudi government and its agencies are hardly in a position to call on democratic Europe to respect Muslims’ religious rights. Muslims’ rights in Europe and America are more respected under the rule of law than they are in any Arab or Muslim country. Muslims in Eur ope can build mosques, pray anywhere, read any religious books they would like, bury their dead freely and eat any food they want. This is not the case under the current Saudi-Wahhabi-Salafi political and religious institutions. Religious freedom does not exist in Saudi Arabia for anyone, including Saudi citizens.

Saudi Arabia is the only country on earth where worshipping for Muslims is compulsory through physical coercion and where non-Muslims cannot practice their faiths openly. If caught doing so privately, they can be arrested and deported. Non-Muslim passengers on Saudi airlines are forbidden from carrying their religious books, wearing their religious symbols or carrying any foods and beverages that the Saudis consider to be un-Islamic. Further, how does the Saudi government expect non-Muslims and non-sectarian Muslims to not associate Islam with terrorism when Saudi clerics issue fatwas, religious edicts, to encourage Muslims to kill non-Muslim infidels? If non-Muslims were tolerated in Muslim societies as Muslims are tolerated in non-Muslim societies, a large step towards moderation, harmony and respect for human rights would be achieved and it would ease many of the present religious wars and tensions.

The Saudi government, its extremist clerics and agents ought to take a look at themselves and see if they have the credentials or are in a position to advise anyone to tolerate religious, political, social and educational differences or respect other people’s faiths.
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Pray for Muslim Victory

Director’s Comment: The Muslim fasting month, Ramadan, is supposed to be a time to forgive and ask for mercy and forgiveness. This is not the case during all night prayers in crowded Saudi mosques during this month. The preachers spend their lengthy sermons exalting Islam and condemning non-Muslims and their faiths. These preachers are government employees and are the only ones who are permitted to assemble and speak freely against other peoples and their faiths. These men are the ones who encourage young Saudis to kill non-believers who are out to destroy Islam and its holy message. The article below reads, “The majority of Saudi imams are using Qunut prayers as an opportunity to pray for Muslim victory in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and other Muslim countries going through similar crises.” As Dr. Tawfiq al Sudairi, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, En dowments, Da’wa and Guidance told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The Qunut prayer has legal regulations to which all imams must abide.” He cautions that prayer should not be abusive or aggressive, and that it should “adhere to the form that was handed down from the honorable Prophet Mohammed.” Dr. Tawfiq al Sudairi also notes, “Qunut prayer must not be lengthened further than what is necessary.” It is unfortunate that during the Holy Month of Ramadan, some Imams abuse their positions of power to exalt Muslim followers to violence or other political ends.
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Email: cdhr@PROTECTED

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