saudi arabia

PR by Saudi Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice

Mar 6th, 2009

Saudi Arabia is infamous for it’s “religious police” who are actually not police but civil servants entrusted with policing society for moral wrongs. Affectionately called Hayya, infamously called Mutawwas, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice tends to have a love-hate relationship with the population.

The recent change of the Commission leadership by King Abdullah was noted by many. The new head has since then made several statements about the new role of the commission, and the need to tone down the tension.

A noteworthy attempt is the Commission PR booth at the Riyadh Book Fair (March 3-13, 2009 at the new Riyadh Exhibition Center). Amidst the religious books by Saudi publishers, the varied books by Lebanese and Egyptian publishers and the kids books by Syrian publishers is the Commission booth. Not to be confused with the Commission resting/tea area by the info counter, it features examples of items that they have confiscated, photos of items found in raids and also the reasons WHY they are banned. There were also several Commission members explaining things at this fairly popular booth!

If one did not know better, just by the items on display you would assume that they are the Saudi Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) equivalent with a special twist of having an Improper Use of Magic Office a la Harry Potter.

Judging by the number of people that thronged the booth, it was clearly a hit! Perhaps the Hayya need to further reach out through such toned down and educational means. It would certainly give them an opportunity to develop a friendlier relationship with the population.

Insulting Royalty- Saudi Arabia and Beyond

Mar 3rd, 2009

by khanserai.

6 comments

Many countries with royal families tend to be extremely protective about defending their honor. Thailand was recently in the news because of the jailing of an Australian writer for insulting the monarchy and his subsequent pardon. A few weeks later a British professor ran from Thailand with similar charges against him. Several years ago Spanish magazines were pulled off the shelves for depicting insulting images of the royalty.

Saudi Arabia is similar to many of these countries regarding the high regard for the royal family, with an additional aspect- the Saudi monarchy are the ACTUAL rulers of the country, not just figureheads! This seems to elevate them to an even higher standard where criticism is not allowed at all and makes people very sensitive about the topic. Blogs that criticize the Saudi royals are blocked in the country as are several human rights web-sites. Defacing the currency is a big no-no as it has images of the royalty on it. People discuss issues like corruption off the record in “safe” settings with trusted friends only.

These cultural sensitivities were highlighted last week when the coach of the Al-Hilal football (soccer) team was fired and told to leave the country because he threw down his shirt that had the picture of Crown Prince Sultan on it. This happened right after his team won at the Crown Prince Cup. The organizers of the match did not allow the whole team to come to the podium; in anger the coach did not go to the podium and threw his shirt. The next day he was fired. His apology was not accepted.

Images of Saudi Arabia: Monkey Crossing

Feb 27th, 2009

by khanserai.

4 comments

What’s that sign in the distance? Is that really what I think it is?

MONKEY CROSSING!!!

Monkey watching people watching monkey

Free Tours of Riyadh: Saudi Tourism

Feb 23rd, 2009

by khanserai.

No comments yet

SCTA offers free tours of Riyadh
Saeed Al-Khotani | Arab News

RIYADH: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) started operating free sightseeing tours on Saturday in Riyadh.

The newly appointed executive manager of Riyadh Tourism Development Bureau, Abdul Rahman Al-Jassas, told Arab News that these tours aim at introducing Riyadh’s landmarks to stimulate tourism in the city, increase the number of visitors and encourage tour operators to offer such tours regularly.

He said the tours are conducted in cooperation with the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO).

“According to the terms of cooperation, we pay for the costs of tour guides and advertising campaigns while SAPTCO provides transportation on modern, comfortable buses,” he said. “These tours, which operate twice a day, are free of charge for Riyadh visitors and residents and will continue until the end of the week. A tour guide will explain and answer any questions about the city’s landmarks.”

The trips start from Prince Salman Science Oasis on King Abdullah Road, north of Riyadh. The first tour starts at 4:30 p.m., and the second starts at 6:30 p.m. every day, Al-Jassas pointed out.

The tours cover most prominent landmarks in the city, such as Al-Aziziyah, Ghurnatha, the old Diriya town, the Kingdom and Al-Faisaliah towers, the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center, Al-Masmak Palace and the traditional rug market.

Punishment for Gang Rapists- Saudi Style

Feb 21st, 2009

by khanserai.

3 comments

Saudi Arabia is becoming harsher with punishments for sexual crimes. Last week a teenager was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 500 lashes for black-mailing for threatening to publish a woman’s photos if she did not go out with him.

Two traffic cops were recently beheaded for gang raping an expatriate woman. It is unclear if the sentencing is because the woman is an expatriate or if this is an indication of longer term changes coming to KSA.

Along with more focus on domestic violence cases as well as child rights, changes are slowly creeping in.

Change in Saudi Arabia- Short and Long Term

Feb 18th, 2009

by khanserai.

3 comments

As we have all read by now, Saudi Arabia has made some changes in its government and brought in more moderates. Some changes were expected, some were nominal while others are profound.

A lot of people focused on the first woman appointee as it heralds something new, however bringing in women is an inevitable change. No matter how much certain segments of society fight this change, it will happen – and within a generation. The reasons are obvious in a country where women will be majority business owners within a decade: demographics, telecommunications and education. By the way, a week or so before these changes, the first female Saudi cultural attache was announced for Canada.

Some are talking about the change of the Justice minister which is in line with the judicial reform that started a few weeks/months ago. Plans to overhaul the system were put into action several months ago.

Others are talking about the changes in education. This is aligned with the changes in curriculum that have already been started, as well as some of the “experimental” programs that have been tried out.

Changes in SAMA, Health and Info/Culture (along with all the other changes) were necessary for stability. The word is that several people maintained their positions/ranks however they have been reformed by internal pressure- better to reform yourself than be replaced!

The next big area is of course the change in the Hayy’a head (Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice). This is where it starts to get really interesting, not because of the change in person but because of the change in status quo in the ongoing tussle between the reform agenda of the administration and the religious right. There is a constant thrust-and-parry dance between society and the Hayy’a; the King has come down on the side of society.

The most profound and long term changes are the ones in the Shoura Council. Changing the head is of course newsworthy. However this is the first time that all four Sunni schools of thought are being represented in the Shoura Council, not just the Hanbali school. Avoiding a history lesson, Wahabbism/Salafism is an off-shoot of the Hanbali school.

Including the other schools of thought on the Shoura Council dilutes the impact of Hanbalism/Wahabbism/Salafism. This is a long term change that has the potential to change the country in unprecedented ways; it effectively weakens the alliance between the House of Saud and the idealogues of Ibn Abdul Wahab. There are different extreme end points that can come out of this (over the next few decades):

the door can be opened to move from a direct monarchy towards a constitutional monarchy
the religious right can feel threatened and destabilize the legitimacy of the monarchy
the country moves in the direction of becoming the next Dubai

Reality will probably lie somewhere between these extremes. The reign of King Abdullah has initiated the internal reform process. Crown Prince Sultan will have the choice of continuing on this path or reversing its course.

Several news story that cover the recent government changes are given below: