Ironies, Contradictions and Stagnant Societies Director’s Comment: The Arab family-ruled and owned Gulf fiefdoms (fiefdom: territory or a sphere of activity, that is controlled or dominated by a particular person or group) led by Saudi Arabia, are among the richest in the world. This is due to large deposits of oil under the most inhospitable Arabian terrains. Despite this labor free bounty, the Gulf States remain among the least politically, socially, economically and educationally developed in the world. ...Continue Reading

Mickey Mouse must die Director’s Comment: While the world is going through a challenging economic, social, political and religious transformative period, the Saudi self-appointed “religious” men work hard to avoid any change. Innovation is Bedah (novelty), therefore contradictory to the pure Saudi culture and an antithesis to the teachings of Islam, which these men interpret and apply to maintain control over people’s lives. According to these men, whatever the situation may be, the West is to blame for ...Continue Reading

Gross Violation of Basic Human Rights Director’s Comment: Abdurrahman Al-Lahem is a law abiding Saudi lawyer who defends his fellow citizens in Saudi courts. Mr. Al-Lahem is known for his courage to challenge the Saudi courts’ arbitrary deliberations and the heavy handedness of the ferocious Saudi Arabian religious police. He defends democratic reformers, rape victims, and religious minorities. Mr. Al-Lahem does his uphill work according to the Saudi religious law. Due to the severity of the cases he und ...Continue Reading

Severe Exclusion of Saudi Women Continues Director’s Comment: The Saudi government, its rigid religious establishment and its apologists, including some Saudi women, fault tradition and religion for denying the overwhelming majority of Saudi women full citizenship at home and prevent them from competing in domestic, regional and global activities such as the Olympics. Yes, religions, traditions and chauvinism play roles in discrimination against women every where, but in many countries all citizens are protected b ...Continue Reading

CDHR Conference is a Success The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia held a timely Congressional sponsored conference "U.S.-Saudi Dilemma: A Challenge for the next Administration" on June 18, 2008. The conference was designed to discuss the current social, religious, political, and economic conditions in Saudi Arabia and to explore alternative polices to be considered by the next administration, especially at a time when the U.S. and global economies are unstable due to unpreceden ...Continue Reading

An accident of history put vast oil wealth under an inhospitable desert kingdom ruled by a feudal nomadic family. That family’s domestic and foreign policies are based on one family interest -- security and control of national wealth. In the last century, oil demand and wealth have increased the global engagement and power of the Saudi Kingdom. The rulers of the Saudi society have coexisted and can coexist with the West in commercial terms, but their rule rests on coercive means of governance and uses of religion prof ...Continue Reading

An accident of history put vast oil wealth under an inhospitable desert kingdom ruled by a feudal nomadic family. That family’s domestic and foreign polices are based on one family interest -- security and control of national wealth. In the last century, oil demand and wealth have increased the global engagement and power of the Saudi Kingdom. The rulers of the Saudi society have coexisted and can coexist with the West in commercial terms. But their rule rests on coercive means of governance and uses of religion pro ...Continue Reading

Release of a Courageous Saudi Blogger Director’s Comment: Fouad Al-Farhan was arbitrarily arrested by Prince Naif’s infamous Ministry of Interior on December 10, 2007, for reasons undeclared. His incarceration brought national and international protests, especially from bloggers, but also human rights activists, free press advocates and democratic reformers. Al-Farhan was released on April 26, after almost five months of being held in prison without charge. Arresting people in Saudi Arabia does not require ...Continue Reading

Why not Spend on Poverty Stricken Saudis? Director’s Comment: After praising his family for its service to Islam and its rejection of all non-Islamic governing values, including non-sectarian constitution and rule of law, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naïf announced that his government had donated one billion dollars to the Organization Of Islamic States, OIC, to help poor Muslims. The poor Muslims, who receive funds from Saudi royals, are the most vulnerable to Wahhabi indoctrination and brainwashing. Iro ...Continue Reading

Improved Situation for Saudi Women? Director’s Comment: UN Human Right’s Rapporteur, Dr. Yakin Erturk, was recently invited by the Saudi government to witness the “progress” made by Saudi women in recent years. Like all visitors invited by the Saudi government, Dr. Erturk met with many government officials, who are either afraid to speak out or have financial and other interests in maintaining the statuesque as is. Like other government invitees, she was treated royally, praised for her efforts, and told that the p ...Continue Reading