SaudiSphere

Kareem Amer, how dare you insult the president and Islam?

Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman (pseudo name: Kareem Amer) was sentenced yesterday for four years in prison for the crime of insulting the president and inciting hatred of Islam.

After such a sentence, Arabs still wonder why they are at the bottom on the humanity list? I am telling you people, we are nothing more than a property of the state and the religious institutions, put your head down, walk straight and stay silent or you will face the consequences. And for people such as Kareem, he will remain a symbol of courage in the face of intimidation and despotism. This is not the end of the story for him for sure.

Abdellah Derkaoui

My favoriate new word

Kleptocracy (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by theives) is a government that is primarily designed to sustain the personal wealth and political power of government officials and their cronies.

 

Do Saudis have the right to request reforms?

Other than being hand picked by the government for some official posts and the powerless shura council, Saudis have no venues for political participation. However, since the beginning of the 1990s Saudi citizens started petitioning the government for reforms, transparency and the establishment of independent civil society institutions. A new petition circulating on the Internet is echoing the events of 2004 when signatories of an earlier petition were rounded up from their work places and houses and imprisoned for the sole purpose of asking for their legitimate rights. The February Petition, as it is called by some, was published few days after the government arrested 10 reformers, some of them signed the petition before they were sacked by the secret police.

This, I guess, answers the question proposed by this post, do Saudis have right to ask for rights and freedoms? well, the answer should be yes, any citizen must be allowed to activly participate in the development of her/his country, but in the grim reality of Saudi Arabian authoritarianism the answer is: No

+ The text of Constitutional Reform Petition معالم في طريق الملكية الدستورية (Arabic)
(I don't think that any English version exists yet, if so please let me know and I will post it here)

History of Conquest

Also check History of Religion [Via Sandmonkey]

Better than Cherry Garcia?

Ben & Jerry introduced a new ice cream flavor full of truthiness:

The flavor, Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream is a decadent melting pot of vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. It’s the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth.

I don't care if this sounds shallow but this, so far, is the best news of 2007!

A-y-r-a-q-i-s herding goats?!

I just want to know how did somebody as ignorant as this guy got elected?  I am going to excuse him though since he was exhibiting culture sensitivity and didn't mention milking chicken, riding giant desert lizards, drinking cactus juice, and living in shacks made of camel skin and goat gut. Genius, I must say!  (P.S. I knew that nothing good was going to come out of his mouth when he started saying: A---y---r---a---q)

Australian Muslims say No to Saudi Money

I don’t know when, and if, Saudi wahhabis will realize that most of the Muslims beyond the borders of the holy kingdom (and even many within) look down upon their teachings and consider them to be radicals who don’t represent their religion. I have heard many stories here in the US about Saudi funded Imams who preach the very much despised version of Islam and the revolt against them from other Muslims. Here is a story from Australia about breaking the hegemony of wahhabi teaching's in some mosques:

CANBERRA'S peak Islamic body has appointed a new imam for the capital amid claims the Saudi Arabian Government is dividing the local Muslim community through controversial payments to religious leaders… more. [Via Saudi Liberal Network-Arabic]

Human Rights Watch Picks Up the Case of Arrested Activists

هيومان رايتس ووتش
على السعودية الإفراج عن دعاة الإصلاح المُحتجزين

المباحث السعودية تعتقل سبعة إصلاحيين بارزين في تكرارً لأحداث 2004 

What Saudi Arabia and Iran Have in Common

We do share important values after all: Both Saudi and Iran are notorious for locking up reform and human rights activists within the vicinities of their respective countries. It is a simple strategy that works well for both: If you are a reformist then you better be willing to give up your right to leave the country. Come on now, this is a big sign from God almighty that both Saudi and Iranian governments should be friends instead. Don't you agree?