Riot on Stage

When the lights dimmed signaling the beginning of the play “Centrist without a Center” at Al Yamammah’s college theater in Riyadh, something unexpected happened.

Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, a number of the audience started shouting.

Confusion.

The lights are back. 

Audiences were surprised to find bearded men storming the stage, smashing the theatrical equipment and quarreling with organizers and security forces.

To put an end to the seemingly uncontrollable situation, the organizer came on stage and announced: The play is canceled!

The bearded men started shouting outcries of religious fervor, this time though, announcing victory.

The play’s main actor, Habib Al-Habib, refused to concede, went on stage and announced: The show must go on!

This, after all, is a play about the repercussions of extremism among our midst.

Not accepting defeat, the extremists became violent, started beating the actors and whoever stood between them and between achieving their goal of destroying the night, including audiences and students.

Gun shots in the air, the security officer decided to put an end to this mess and bring back order.

The extremists got scared, started running out.

50 police members surrounded the college and 17 culprits were captured.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and took 9 injured students to the hospital. 

The audiences started clapping: we win, the spirit of freedom wins.

 

This incident, dear readers, took place in Riyadh yesterday. It was the second in a matter of days at Al Yamammah’s college which is organizing a week long cultural activities. First, extremists interrupted the lecture of a well known Saudi intellectual, Abdullah Algazami and security forces had to intervene to stop the assaults on him.

The radical Islamists tactics are well known in Saudi Arabia.When they get informed about any cultural or entertainment event taking place somewhere in the kingdom, they decide to take action which, as they believe, is a religious duty (propagation of virtue and prevention of vice). What happens next is preparation for the battle: exchanging text messages with information about the event and the speakers and distributing online messages boards- basically enlisting as much support as they could. Then, they start showing up early at the designated location, occupying the front seats of the conference room or theater and when the event is about to start, they immediately begin shouting and attacking the speakers and and the audiences.  However, in yesterday’s incident, they resorted to physical violance. Indicating, most probably, their frustration with what they consider an advancement of their enemies agenda. And we all know who the enemies are: Any moderate or liberal person who doesn’t follow their extremist views.

Although this is a really sad and disturbing incident which resulted in the cancellation of the first showing of this play, I say to these extremists: Bravo! Your performance has succeeded in alienating more people and pushing them away from your radical views. Now, dear Saudi authorities, are you going to make an example of these extremists or, as usual, try to cover it up and let them get away with it yet again?   

 

Update: Someone took a video of the incident (Now called:  غزوة اليمامة Al Yamammah Battle) here. Is there any one with tech knowledge who can upload this on Youtube?

Update 2: You can watch the videos on Youtube here and here.
Thanks Safadila.

Sources:

السعودية لملاحقة مثيري الشغب في اليمامة

إعتداء بالضرب و الشتائم على فريق و جمهور مسرحية "وسطي بلا وسطية" 

الآن : إطلاق نار و تكسير الكاميرات و مهاجمة الممثلين في كلية اليمامة 

إسلاميون سعوديون يحاصرون مفكراً ليبراليا وينتخبون أحدهم لمناظرت

Comments

[Yazeed]

god help us :s

[Doug]

Is Islamic culture doomed or is there a chance to bring it back from the brink?

[Fedo]

-holds forehead-
Here we go again.

[Aya]

Doug, I would like to believe that as long as there are people who are willing to change and act, then there must be hope. Without hope no society or culture would have ever progressed or developed. Let's not give up.

[K from Oslo]

Am I the only one who sees this story as a positive sign? People stood up and refused to give in to the extremists tactics.

[Abu Sinan]

This is what must be done, Muslims must stand up to these people, however it must be done.

If we dont do it, others will try. When one looks at places like Iraq and Afghanistan it is clear they will make a hash out of it if they do.

We, Muslims, must do it ourselves.

[Northern shewolf]

Like K from Oslo, I see the silver lining in this cloudburst, for once people stood their grounds instead of meekly walking away.
On a more flippant note wouldn't it be nice if the very same tactics were to be used on extremists gatherings: what is good for trge goose..... {;-)

[Abu Sinan]

I am afraid Shewolf is right. I dont think these extremists will be beaten with some loud words.

Notice the extremists only fled when a firearm was discharged. The day will come when the moderates will have to stand up. But that is the vexing thing, the very nature of moderates means that they will be slow in taking all measures needed to remove the threat from the extremists.

[Freedom for Egyptians]

There is a Saudi movie with Saudi actors and actresses participating in this year's Cairo International Film Festival. It is not so dim! Just keep trying, you will get there...

http://freedomforegyptians.blogspot.com/2006/11/cairo-international-film-festival.html

[Sunrunner]

Perhaps this will be Saudi Arabia's Rosa Parks moment, a time which will be remembered when ordinairy people finally got so sick of being bullied that they refused to be cowed by small-minded bullies.

[al_miller]

My congratulations to the moderates who0 stood up and refused to be cowed. One step at a time but with courage you may able to change your system.

But it may be too late. We have Muslim extremists disrupting meetings on college campuses in the US. Apparently only Muslims can criticize muslims.

[Abu Sinan]

That is funny "al_Miller", the same could be said of certain other sections of our community who cry "anti" this or that when a subject is brought up.

The charge of "anti-semitism" is often used in the same fashion. It is used to shut people up. I guess you are also against this as well then right?

Me? I am for free and open debate as long as it doesnt descend into mudslinging and insults.

[Northern Shewolf]

Abu Sinan,
Too right you are about moderates having to put their foot down, so to speak!
I do think this can be done without resorting to violence, remember Gandhi and his pacific resistance? This successful experience can certainly be updated and used in KSA. All hinges on the decisive factor of organizing both women and men in small groups with one simple identical goal: civic rights for all! If they manage to get off their collective butts and put aside such nonsense as tribal & class distinctions and other personal taboos, as was done in India, they will succeed.
May God hear me!!!

[Abu Sinan]

Shewolf,

I am not as sure as you that it can be done without violence. The problem is that you have religious extremists, and those who are part of the system, who will not relinquish control without a fight.

India was different in the fact that you had a people(British) who were able to be influenced by world and public opinion. In Saudi, I do not think that the religious extremists are as readily influenced by world opinion. If they were, they would have changed a long time ago.

There are also members of the Saudi establishment who have their very way of life to loose if public and world opinion is taken into account.

These people, I dont not believe, will give up what they think is theirs without a fight. Oh, I dont think the establishment will fight as hard as the extremists, because for them it is not about paradise, for them it is about palaces, gold, and international bank accounts.

For these sort they will use the extremists as cannon fodder, as they always have, if and when(God willing) things go south for them, they will simply leave the country content to live on the billions they have stashed away in foreign bank accounts. And trust me, they have accounts and plans made for these very events. Most members of the Saudi establishment and their children's children will live large internationally should such a day come.

Dealing with those seaking death, with those who do not care about public opinion or the lives of innocent men, women and children, those who do not care for millions in a Swiss bank account, will not be as easy.

If people refuse to change of their own will, change must be brought to them in an alternative way.

For moderate Islam to win the day, I am afraid we will have to be willing to fight and make sacrifices. The Reformation in Europe was a bloody affair, and I think the Islamic reformation will be as well.

The biggest question remains, when will the mass of "moderates" arise and say no more? What will it take? Muslims must get as mad about terror attacks outside of their countries as they do in their own. Jordanians got mad at the attacks in their country, but really didnt give sweet F/A about attacks elsewhere.

They need to realise that these Islamists are trying to deal with the "far enemy" first but next on the list is the "near enemy" and that means you, your mother, sister, brother.

[Sunrunner]

Speaking of Islamic moderates, one of the largest populations used to live in Iraq. I say "used to" because one of the most underreported stories in the western media is the millions of moderate-to-secular professional and middle class Iraqis who have fled Iraq in the last year, and are living marginal existences mainly in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon (I wonder why none are in KSA?!?--a place the could afford them and could use their skills). The moderates and the educated who are leaving because they are the ones with the means to do so. It seems quite probable (and understandable) that a fair number of these people will be radicalized by the trauma they have experienced....this is a larger group of displaced Arabs than even the Palestinians...and like the Palestinians have begun their exile as (with the exception of the Lebanese) the "most" educated and liberal Arabs in the middle east.

It is a huge crisis, and has the potential to shake up the balance of power in a number of countries, particularly in Jordan, another "moderate" state.

[Abu Sinan]

Iraq was one of the major "moderate" states in the Middle East. At least its population was. They had a relatively educated population.

Now Bush and his lot have made the country a new Afghanistan. His policies have destroyed the area and actually gone against all of his state goals.

The US is weaker in the area, reformers have been set back. US aggression will always play into the hands of the extremists. It happened in Palestinian, Iraq, and it is happening in Iran where US policies are making the relgious leadership untouchable.

Saudi is not as open to foreign workers, especially other Arabs. If you are a Pakistani who wants to clean houses or drive a car, you are good to go, but professional Arabs? Nah, they like Western workers for their technical fields.

Besides, there is NO way the Saudis would let in any amount of Shi'ites. Fear of the whole situation is what is causing them to talk of building a wall hundreds of miles long just to keep them out.

[Northern shewolf]

Abu Sinan,
You do have a point doubting that this can be accomplished without violence. However I still do believe that should Saudis women & men organize themselves with a peaceful one-goal-oriented (FOCUS!) and relentless campaign, then all violence perpetrated against them would definetely bring such oppobrium upon the leadership, that it cannot but succeed in the end. As they say:"You cannot make omelets without craking eggs."
Since quite a good number of Saudi young men have had the gumption to go and be Jihadists in both Afghanistan and Iraq, therefore willing to shed blood or loose their lives in the process, why wouldn't Saudi Liberals be capable of the very same dedication to a much better and greater cause: their own rights & freedom!
The thing is that most Saudis seem to have been mollycoddled by financial incentives, or simply put, totally bought-off by the Al Saud and indoctrinated (you might say brainwashed)by the Wahhabi clergy, that they all seem to suffer from moral indolence and ethical blindness.
There is enormous frustration and dislocation especially amongst the young, and I do believe that critical mass may be acheived sooner than we anticipate.
Again, may God hear me!

[Abu Sinan]

I think Saudi liberals(although hardly liberal in the Western sense of the world) could be just as dedicated as the jihadis. The problem is that the Saudi establishment would sway little in the face of any such actions.

You mention the jihadis, and I think the moderates will be have to be willing to make such a stand in their own country. I do not belive the Saudi establishment and the religious powers will be talked into leaving power, nor will they be shamed into.

Had Ghandi tried his tactics against the Saudi establishment, the MoI, and the Saudi religious authorities, he simply would have died and been tossed into a pit.

If the people in places of power in Saudi cared about international opinion, they would have changed a long time ago. But they know they got the West where they want them. We need Saudi, we need their oil.

That is why that the Saudis, although one of the most oppressive governments in the world, is also one of the closest friends to the USA.

Did you forget about the retirement party they threw for Colin Powell here when he left? One person who attended said there was enough caviar on every table to buy a new car.

There is Saudi money in every bastion of power here in the USA. There is little, short of complete genocide, that would cause the US to act against Saudi, and dont think they dont know it.

[Sunrunner]

"There is Saudi money in every bastion of power here in the USA. There is little, short of complete genocide, that would cause the US to act against Saudi, and dont think they dont know it."

And ain't that the truth...from my observation, the entire US gov beauracracy (and esp the State Dept) walks around on eggshells where the Saudis are concerned. They have never forgotten the '73 Arab Oil embargo, and what is more, the Saudis know this.

[Safadila]

The video's are already on Youtube.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8N9fXNhn58

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-UW0UkTNYE

[Lipstick W.]

just when you smile gazingly at the glossy posters announcing plays and assorted cultural events in riyadh and just when you start to think "hey, we FINALLY may be on the right track"... you read stuff like this at 2 am and that's it... it's inducive enough of a complete barfathon the rest of the night. UGH!
BTW-- i agree with the posters above who say it's a good sign. because in the end, Aya said it, WE WIN.
great post, Aya, thanks for keeping us in the know!

on a slightly irrelevent note, sunrunner asks: "I wonder why none are in KSA?"
actually there are many here, i believe. i'm not so sure these days though as my main connection to them fled the kingdom 3 years ago (and then baghdad a mere year later to england). what is interesting is they were mostly political refugees and were granted full rights -- just like saudis + more. by that i mean education (including UNI), healthcare, accomodation, the whole nine yards, free of charge plus a salary. i'd assume that although they were many, they were the creme de la creme because another one of my close friends (she went to school and part of uni with me here in rio) is in baghdad again, her father is now the minister of defense "al dulaimi". we were all kinda blown away! it's cute how nourah was just another kid to us with a normal banker baba at home.... little did we know.
other than the political refugees (some of which decided to stay even though the threat is gone) many of my and my friends' professors at uni are iraqi and they truly ARE the smartest most educated and eloquent arabs i'll ever come to meet.
i have no idea why i'm sharing this with you at 2 am but, there you have it :-)

[MSK]

Dear all,

Re: Iraqis in KSA - there are 2 categories:

1 - Professionals: Iraqis work in KSA, mainly in the education sector, like other Arab professionals, too. That has nothing to do with the 2003 Iraq War. It would be interesting to find out if the Iraqis working in KSA are Sunni and Shiites, or if KSA only let Sunni Iraqis in the country. Needless to say, there are no Kurds.

2 - "Relatives": Many of the tribes in Iraq are, in fact, spread out over territory that spans the Iraq/KSA (and in some cases also Jordan and Syria) border. The Dulaym tribe is one of them and happens to be quite a powerful one. There are cordial relations between the leading families of those powerful Sunni tribes in Iraq and the Saudi leadership (itself tribal). In post-war Iraq, Sa'duun al-Dulaymi (a.k.a. "Baba Nura", having fled from Iraq to KSA) was Minister of Defense in the Ja'fari gov't, and another, Adnan al-Dulaymi, is the leader of the Iraqi Accord Front and became Head of the Sunni Waqf. Sa'duun al-Dulaymi was a political refugee who, like others of his status, were hosted by KSA because of their anti-Saddam position AND because of their tribal affiliation.

--MSK

www.aqoul.com
www.niqash.org

[Lipstick W.]

MSK,

nah, my own best friend and her family were shiite (albeit quite closeted) and were also granted political asylum for over 13 years-- with connections to members of the saudi royal family to boot too. one of her sisters even married a qahtani (I KNOW, i didn't know they exist either) something was always iffy about her, that girl, though. she used to randomly quote "wa7id ameer ams ja 3ind baba" (a prince baba had over last night) and we'd just all be like "umm, ohhhk?" but we never EVER asked.
we may be super close to this day but i can never dig too deep.. that's just wrong.
im sure there were more, they all lived in this compound down in "izdihar" --sigh, one i spent MANY nights in and miss DEARLY-- and i remember when she finally came out to me and the girls (about her being a shiite) she listed a couple of other families we all met and told us "them too". so.. yeah.

OH, re: kurds. I'm fairly certain that one of my friends' neighbors were kurds. not that i actually knew what that was at 13, but i distinctly remember because we were discussing how gorgeous the girls next door were and my friend excitedly explained that kurdi women are ALWAYS gorgeous but "stupid" and i kinda remember the various times we'd all be together and she'd tell jokes about airheaded kurds to them, teasingly of course, going "ako kurdiah hablah.."and then the girls (they were around EIGHT sisters, mashallah) all collectively go "SHHHH!!! ENCHABBY ya 7maraaaah"
so, again, yeah..

ps: how are you? lik wa7shah :P

[John Burgess]

Sunrunner: The '73 embargo isn't driving US policy, nor State Dept. That's because there can never again be an embargo like that. Saudi Arabia is now--as it was not in '73--fully involved in a globalized economy. An embargo cannot be targeted to solely 'punish' one part of that globe. If Saudi Arabia stops exporting oil, the entire global economy suffers, including the Saudi economy, not just in lost sales, but in all the businesses worldwide in which they are invested.

The people who would be most hurt by an embargo would be those parts of the world least able to pay higher prices for the oil that was on the market, China, India, and the rest of the developing world. The developed world has the money available to pay for oil at practically any price. The less wealthy nations will find their industries grinding to a halt long before that happens. The Saudi gov't knows this as well.

This isn't just opinion, it's economic reality.

[Abu Sinan]

Personally, I think the whole "Shi'ite" thing in Saudi is done to please the extreme Salafee clerics. The Saudis, to one extent or another, have had many contacts with Shi'a. I dont think the royal family themselves have too much of an issue with them, except of course when it comes to power games and the like with countries like Iran.

Here in the metro DC area there is a huge Yemeni community and my wife and I know a lot of them. Many of them are members of various factions, "royal families" and the like that fled Yemen during one or another of the many wars they had.

One of my wife's friends comes from such a very well known "royal" Yemeni family. When they were forced to flee to Saudi they were all given Saudi nationality and government pensions. They are all Shi'a. Zaidi Shi'a, "Shi'a light" as my wife's friend once said, but Shi'a none the less.

They all have Saudi passports now, live here on a Saudi government pension, many of them going to school using Saudi pensions, which are really generous compared to American scholarships(but rather poor compared to the scholarships the UAE and Kuwaitis offer).

Thus, I think the anti-Shi'a nature of the establishment is a pretty thin one, done mostly to appeal to the hardcore extremists, which most of the Saudi royal family wouldnt like on a personal basis anyways.

See, they get in the way of your prostitue filled, drunking binges here in the West.

Aya, are you aware that the Kuwaiti students get about $3,000 a month for their scholarship(doesnt count the free tuition, of course)? Beats the Saudi amount eh? And I dont think the women are forced to have a "mehrem" to get a larger amount like is the case with the Saudi scholarship.

With a Mehrem in the USA, I think the Saudi females get an extra $700 or something, I dont know what it is. Without it, tough luck.

I hope the Cultural Mission has their stuff in gear, a couple of years ago they had to hold back their monthly scholarship payments for about three months because of their mess with the BB&T Bank, and then the scandel of the health payments, where workers were paying out fake bills. I felt sorry for the workers at the Mission who didnt get paid for that period of time.

That must have been why the Saudis were sometimes 6-12 months behind on paying for medical services for people here on scholarship.