So, das iranische Regime hat also von der IAEA eine Watsch’n bekommen. Der Karikaturist leidet offensichtlich unter schweren Wahrnehmungsstörungen. Aber andererseits auch wieder verständlich: Als Saudi halluziniert er sunnitische Wunschvorstellungen.

Iran Receives a Slap in the Face from the IAEA

Cartoonist: Jihad ‘Awartani

Source (Via MEMRI): Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), 29. November 2009

Am 31. Oktober hatte die saudische Tageszeitung Al-Watan einen Artikel über die Krise in den Beziehungen zwischen Jemen und dem Iran veröffentlicht. Hintergrund: Die jemenitische Regierung führt seit längerer Zeit einen Krieg gegen die Houthi-Rebellen in der Sa’da-Region im Nordjemen, die nach Ansicht der Regierung vom Iran unterstützt werden. Der Artikel weist darauf hin, dass saudische Befürchtungen wegen zunehmender Aktivitäten des Iran im Jemen und im Roten Meer zunehmen.

Im Folgenden mehrere Details aus dem Artikel:

“Tehran Aims to Turn Yemen into a Regional Arena for Conflict, as Part of Its Ongoing Dispute with Several Countries in the Region”

According to the article, the Yemen government’s announcement that it had captured an Iranian ship smuggling arms to the Houthis [1] meant that Yemen-Iran relations were at a turning point: “Although Tehran denied reports that an Iranian vessel carrying armor-piercing weapons to the Houthi rebels was captured off the Yemen coast, the incident added a new element to the many that are contributing to the deterioration in Yemen-Iran relations and have led them to [this critical point]. It would seem that San’a’s anger over Iran’s interferences is growing along with the senior Yemen officials’ conviction that Iran is finding more and more way of supporting the Houthis – whether through funds, weapons, or media support.

“Tension reached its peak two weeks ago, when San’a cancelled the Yemen visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was coming to discuss relations between the two countries – which have been in a very sensitive condition indeed since the outbreak, 10 weeks ago, of the sixth war between the Yemen military and the Houthis.”

According to Al-Watan, the Yemen government fears that Iran’s support for the Houthis is aimed at undermining stability in Yemen, and at turning the country into an arena for wars – and thus threatening Saudi Arabia. It wrote: “San’a is still using diplomatic [language] regarding Iran’s support for the Houthis, by saying that it is [certain] elements in the Iranian religious establishment that are behind it, and not the Iranian leadership. But elements who follow Yemen-Iran relations confirm that San’a’s patience has been worn thin by Iran’s interference in its domestic affairs, and that it is not ruling out the possibility that the Houthis have direct contacts with high-ranking Iranian officials.

“These same elements think that by stepping up its interference [in Yemen], Tehran is aiming to turn Yemen into a regional arena for conflict, as part of its ongoing dispute with several countries in the region – thus ratcheting up the tension in this region, which is sensitive in terms of the [Saudi] kingdom’s security.”

Eritrean Oppositionist: The IRGC Is Training Houthi Rebels in Eritrea

The paper said that Yemen’s concern was increasing because of extensive Iranian activity in the Red Sea, which is aimed, among other goals, at equipping and training the Houthis: “San’a fears that there is a great regional plan aimed at turning the Red Sea region, and particularly the area near the Eritrea coast, into an Iranian sphere of influence. Recently there have been frequent reports regarding Eritrea’s role in the region to secure the supply route for Iranian weapons to the rebels – weapons that arrive in boats that move between the Eritrean coast and the Maydi port in Yemen. This is in light of the [recent] capture of several boats carrying weapons to the Houthis.”

The newspaper quotes Bashir Ishaq, an Eritrean oppositionist in charge of foreign relations for the Eritrean Democratic Alliance [2] ; he claimed that “there is a training camp for Houthi-supporting forces, with Iranian support and oversight, in the Dengolo region east of the city of Ginda’ [some 30 km northeast of Asmara, the Eritrean capital].” Ishaq went on to warn against “the dangerous dimensions of the recent Iran-Eritrea cooperation, which constitutes a threat to the general security of the region and its countries.” He added, “Iran has goals and interests that it is striving to achieve, as part of a strategy to expand its influence in the Red Sea region.”

Al-Watan reported that the Yemen government has information that “there are Houthi training camps in Eritrea, and in them there are units of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC); it is assessed that they are training the rebels and equipping them with weapons via the Eritrean port of ‘Asab. [These units] are facilitating rebel movements from ‘Asab port to Maydi port in Yemen – a distance of only a few kilometers.”

It should be noted that following the publication of the report in Al-Watan, Eritrea denied the existence of Iranian-run training camps for the Houthis on its soil, in a statement released by its embassy in Riyadh. It also declared that it had no intention of destabilizing Yemen or the region, and that it maintains strong ties with the other countries on the Red Sea, namely Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan. [3]

Iran is Trying to Gain Control of a Yemen Port

The report further stated that Iran was trying to gain control of a port in Yemen itself, and that it approached the Yemen government with “a request regarding Iranian investments in Maydi port, but the [Yemen] government rejected this request. Likewise, the Yemen media reported that persons close to the [Iranian] regime with links to the Houthis had purchased extensive lands in Maydi on behalf of the Houthi rebels. Moreover, following the capture of an Iranian boat near Maydi, sources in [Yemen's] Hajjah province reported that the local security authorities had apprehended several of those involved in the smuggling, transfer, and supply of arms to the rebel movement.

“This reinforces the hypothesis concerning Tehran’s involvement in supporting the rebel movement by means of this [port], [located in an area] that has not received much interest on the part of the Yemen [government]. This has motivated the Yemen authorities to step up their security presence in this region, and to reinforce it so as to block any opportunity of support for the Houthis.”

Al-Watan added that sources in Yemen’s Hajjah province “expressed fear that the regions where military forces are not deployed will be used for smuggling arms and funds to the Houthis, particularly after increased traffic had been observed in these regions during the last war – in contrast to the current situation, during a ceasefire…

“One Houthi commander, Sheikh Abdallah Al-Mahdoun, who [had turned himself in], revealed [in October 2009] Iran’s role in fanning the flames of the conflict in Sa’da, acknowledging in a newspaper interview that ‘the Houthis had received unlimited help in arms and supplies, under the oversight of the IRGC and also of experts from Hizbullah.’ [4] He added that ‘rebel leader ‘Abd Al-Malik Al-Houthi had told him that things are going their way,’ and that ‘this is how they will restore the culture of Persia [to its glory], and will not stop at any border.’”

[2] The Eritrean Democratic Alliance is an umbrella organization of 13 Eritrean opposition movements.

[3] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), November 1, 2009.

[4] See “Former Houthi Leader: Iran Funding, Training Houthi Rebels,” October 15, 2009,

http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/20943.htm.

Dazu auch passend: Houthis, Saudi Forces Clash

——————–
Quelle: MEMRI

By Ghaith al-Faqih
December 30, 2005

When the European Union (EU) initiated accession talks with Turkey in October, some Western commentators  suggested that a major underlying issue is the relationship between the West and the Muslim world. How is this issue viewed in the Arab press, and what significance is seen for the relationship between Europe and Arab nations? The following is a collection of statements about Turkey’s EU accession from the Arab press.

Turkey Belongs in Europe

Erfan Nezam-adden, “Turkey and Europe, the Conflict of Civilizations,” al-Hayat (London), November 14: “Will we witness the fall of the theories of [clashing] civilizations after moving the barriers from the way of Turkey joining the EU? . . . Also, there are some people who consider Turkey as not a Muslim country; if it joins the EU that would be a normal thing, because Turkey is not a part of the Islamic world.”

Walid M. Sadi, “Revisiting Turkey’s EU Membership,” The Jordan Times (Amman), October 16: “As for remaking the Turkish people into something other than what they are, Turkey can and should be adamant and unyielding. Europe is already a multicultural world, with millions of its citizens belonging to various religions, cultures, and ways of life. These people were invited into Europe and allowed to settle within its borders. It is now projected that by the year 2050, Muslim Europeans may constitute about one-fourth of the entire European population, if not more. The kind of Europe that Turkey may enter by 2014 would no longer be an exclusive club of nations belonging to a homogenous culture or way of life. Europe stands to benefit from Turkey’s membership for this reason as well.”

“Turkey’s European Membership” Gulf News (Dubai), October 8: “No one expects this to happen for at least ten years, but there is no denying that this is a significant moment in European history. No country that has started the process of EU accession has ever failed to be granted membership. While the EU’s twenty-five heads of government have the final word on when talks will start in earnest at their December summit, an unstoppable momentum is now gathering.”

Editorial, “Crushing Turkey’s Hopes for EU Entry Is a Death Sentence for Its Reform Drive,” The Daily Star (Beirut), September 29: “Although the European Parliament’s resolution to add new conditions to Turkey’s accession to the European Union will not affect the start of negotiations toward this end, the move was yet another example of Europe’s deep reluctance to welcome Turkey into the union. . . . We have already seen the benefits of Europe’s engagement with Turkey. To get this far in the process, Turkey has made great strides in implementing a number of wide-ranging political reforms. . . . But keeping the process of negotiations alive will ensure that there is continued progress on these and other fronts. Breaking away from this process prematurely, however, would be a recipe for disaster. Without the goal of membership in view, there is little motivation for Turkey to continue on its current path.”

Turkey Is Too Different from Europe

Ghassan Charbel, al-Hayat (London), October 7: “Many of the continent’s states, as well as the architects of its dream of union, have doubts about Turkey’s European belonging. Some have said that even if a part of Turkey is in Europe, this does not change the reality that Turkey lacks European roots in its culture and traditions. . . . With the European Commission’s approval to begin negotiations regarding Turkey’s accession to the EU, a new phase begins. . . . It is obvious that Turkey must change in order to join the European club. It is also clear that its accession would change the club’s mood.”

Tarik Hammo, “Turkey and Europe: Self-Deception for More Years,” Elaph (London), October 4: “Turkish accession to the EU will not be achieved as some analysts hope. Because of the religious values of Turkey’s rural Muslim society, it will be hard to merge Turks into European society.”

Amer Taheri, “The Turks Are Coming! Maybe . . .” al-Sharq al-Awsat (London), August 10: “The argument for Turkey becoming a member of the EU is full of holes. To start with, most Turks hate seeing their nation described as a mere bridge, meaning it either has no personality of its own or suffers from cultural schizophrenia. . . . At the same time, Turkey plays only a marginal role in current Islamic culture and literature, not to mention theology and philosophy. This is not only due to the fact that Turkey has been a radically secular republic for more eighty years. The real reason is that Turkish writers, poets, and other producers of culture are more interested in Europe than in Islam. Over the past half a century, Turkey has produced at least half a dozen poets and writers of world stature. Not one can be described as Islamic.”

How Will Turkey’s EU Membership Affect the Middle East?

Walid M. Sadi “Revisiting Turkey’s EU Membership,” The Jordan Times (Amman), October 16: “Turkey can be the bridge between the Middle East and . . . Brussels, where decisions with far-reaching consequences are taken. Considering this, . . . Middle Eastern countries should rally in support of Turkey’s membership, because they stand to gain politically, economically, and culturally. But as important as all these considerations and implications are for Turkey and the Middle East region, Turkey’s membership must not come at any price. It would be only fair that Turkey were not only imposed conditions but set its own [conditions] as well.”

Editorial, “A European Turkey Stands to Be a Guiding Light for the Muslim World,” The Daily Star (Beirut) October 8: “A decade may sound a long time, but the ball is finally rolling on Turkey’s EU membership after forty years of wavering talks. . . . Turkey will now be undergoing major changes, which will eventually, inevitably, affect the region, Syria and Iraq in particular. Besides help from Europe, Turkey will also need help from the region, and the best way the Arab and Islamic worlds can help — and benefit themselves — is to participate in Turkey’s economic, social, and political transformation. How Turkey develops as an incubator of Islam in the modern Western world will be one of the most fascinating aspects of the ten-year transition period to full EU membership — presuming the accession process is carried through to a successful conclusion.”

Amer Taheri, “The Turks Are Coming! Maybe . . .” al-Sharq al-Awsat (London), August 10: “In fact, there is no evidence that Turkey is such a bridge, if only because its relations with the Muslim world, including its immediate neighbors Iran, Iraq, and Syria, remain minimal.”

Al-Akhbar Daily (Cairo), May 4: “Turkey’s weight in the region qualifies it to play an active role in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict in return for Israel’s assistance to bring Turkey into the European Union.”

Why Does Turkey Want to Join the EU?

Tarik Hammo, “Turkey and Europe: Self-Deception for More Years,” Elaph (London), October 4: “The talk on Europe and joining the Christian club has many frames. First, Turkey’s current government is seeking to weaken the military . . . as the power . . . in the country. Second, Ankara seeks more economic aid to rescue the Turkish economy from stagnation and push the country toward greater prosperity. Third, the Turkish government seeks to infiltrate the European industrial heart through participation in political decisionmaking.”

Abdullah Hamoudeh, al-Watan (Oman), November 15: “If we look to Turkey from the historical side, we will see that Turkey has been through many conflicts with Christian Europe, and the remnants of those conflicts are stuck in the European mind. Many Europeans believe that if Turkey succeeds in joining the EU, it would strengthen its power in Europe without using military means.”

This selection of quotations was prepared by Ghaith al-Faqih, a research assistant at The Washington Institute.

Schon ulkig, dass jemand mit dem Vornamen „Jihad“ sich zu einer kritischen Karikatur hinreißen lässt. Aber als Saudi hat er natürlich auch seine ganz spezifische Sichtweise auf die iranische Bombe. Ginge es nur um die Bedrohung Israels, wäre es ihm wohl egal.

Cartoon in Saudi Paper: Iran Presents Its Peaceful Nuclear Project

Cartoonist: Jihad ‘Awartani

Source (via MEMRI): Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, 28. September 2009

Les islamistes du parti politico-religieux En-Nahda se disent outré après que soit évoqué l’ouverture des écoles le vendredi matin. Ces enturbannés du cerveau, préviennent les autorités, sur un temps qui ressemble à celui de la menace, qu’elles doivent assumer la responsabilité d’une telle décision, et que l’erreur devrait être réparée avant qu’il ne soit trop tard.

Si le judaïsme prescrit le repos total pour le samedi (shabat), il en est totalement différent chez nous musulman. Le musulman est tenu d’arrêter le travail le temps de faire la prière hebdomadaire du vendredi. Il n’est question nulle part de repos total pour cette journée. Sauf chez une catégorie de personne faignante, si faignantes qu’elles trouvent trop laborieux l’utilisation des rasoirs. Et il faut rappeler à ces personnes là, que le prophète était beau, et que s’il avait une barbe c’est parce que Gilette et Wilkinson n’existaient par de son temps.

Il faut leur rappeler aussi que le travail et les études sont une forme de dévotion. العمل عبادة. Donc, est-il proscrit de pratiquer sa religion le vendredi ?

A méditer.

Die Saudis haben’s verständlicherweise nicht mehr so dicke mit den Mullahs.

Cartoon in Saudi Daily:

The Iranian worm in the Middle East apple says: “We warn [you] against interfering in our affairs!”

Cartoonist: Jihad ‘Awartani

Quelle (via MEMRI): Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), 23. August 2009

Cartoon In Kuwaiti Paper: Ahmadinejad Electrocutes Iran In ‘Electric Chair’ Fueled By Iranian Nuclear Program.

Karikatur: ‘Ali Farazat

Quelle (via MEMRI): Al-Watan, Kuwait, 18. August 2009

Karikaturist Jihad ‘Awartani assoziert mit dem grünen Streifen Moussawi.

Na ja, wenn er meint….

Quelle (via MEMRI): Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, June 26, 2009

It’s an interactive living room environment reachable via internet where it simulates that you are in living room and all Al-Watan media types are available for you.

What can you do? You can read Al-Watan newspaper (Arabic), Al-Watan daily (English newspaper), and Newsweek magazine (Arabic). What I like about it they used flash (technology) to simulate how humans read those media types (flipping pages in landscape style). Also, they have what I would call airplane reading technique (portrait style)

Not only that, you can also watch Al-Watan TV live streaming. But what I would personally preferred that to display the live streaming via their living room LCD … just to give it the whole living room experience. Right now, once you click on the TV channel a windows media player screen will pop up.

Other features:

Page flipping sound

Zooming

Slide show pages display

Next/back buttons

Laptop to link you newspapers websites

Calendar

Clock

With that being said, it is really creative idea from Al-Watan team to be up to date with the available technologies … Keep up the good work

I’m not entirely sure how real all of this is*(Update below), but it is being reported that the Saudi’s found out about a plot to kill the U.S. President, and with the help of Turkish security, arrested the man and his three accomplices they believe to be  responsible for the plot. 

____________________________________________________________

From CBS World Watch

From CBS World Watch:

Posted by

Khaled Wassef

The Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Watan reported today (google translation of al-Watan is a bit rough) that Turkish security services have arrested a man of Syrian origins Friday in connection with a plot to assassinate President Barack Obama during his current visit to Turkey.

The man, who was carrying an Al-Jazeera TV ID card in the name of M.G., confessed after his arrest that he was planning on stabbing the U.S. president with a knife during the Alliance of Civilizations summit held in Istanbul, adding that he had three other accomplices to help him execute his plan.

___________________________________________________________

Good news that they stopped this, but perhaps a database for those reporters wishing to gain close access to the President is in order if the only thing in the way of an assassination plot is a well forged press I.D.

—————————————————-

Update: The entire incident is being downplayed, and called a hoax. 

From NY Daily News:

Turkish police arrested a suspect Friday after receiving an e-mail tip claiming that the man, a Turkish national, was plotting to kill Obama during his visit. The tip was later ruled a hoax and the man was released.

“There was no threat to Obama’s life,” a Turkish official told the Associated Press. “But the police naturally took such a tip seriously.”

___________________________________

Well now I just don’t believe anybody anymore, after reading the al-Watan report and comparing it to what Turkish authorities are now saying, it just seems like everyone if full of it.

Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Watan is reporting that Turkish security services have arrested a man of Syrian origins in connection with a plot to assassinate President Barack Obama during his visit to Turkey.

From CBS News:

The man, who was carrying an Al-Jazeera TV ID card in the name of M.G., confessed after his arrest that he was planning on stabbing the U.S. president with a knife during the Alliance of Civilizations summit held in Istanbul, adding that he had three other accomplices to help him execute his plan.

“We learned that he (the suspect) claimed to be working for our bureau … if that has been the case then he most certainly forged our ID card,” al-Sharif told al-Watan in a phone call from Ankara.

The internet is abuzz with talk of Khamisa Sawadi, a 75-year-old Syrian widow living in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 40 lashes and 4 months in jail for the crime of khalwa, being alone with a man who is not her relative. The verdict, issued on March 3rd, also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her sentence. Sawadi’s husband was Saudi Arabian.

According to Arab News:

The elderly woman met the men [...] after she asked one of them to bring her five loaves of bread. [...] The men — [her late husband's] nephew, Fahd Al-Anzi, and his friend and business partner, Hadiyan bin Zein [both aged 24] — went to Sawadi’s home in the town of Al-Shamli.

Suleiman Al-Radhiman, director of the Hail office of the commission, told Al-Watan that his officials detained the woman after receiving a written message that two men had entered her house.

He pointed out that police had arrested the woman on two previous occasions.

Bin Zein said the commission officials arrested them about 200 meters from the woman’s house. “There were six commission members who all had their faces covered.”

The widely read CNN article (which made the top 10 most dugg stories yesterday) says the men were caught inside the house by one policeman, which doesn’t really make sense. Why would a member of the virtue police suddenly enter an old woman’s house? The answer: they didn’t. A little more research would be helpful CNN. And who exactly wrote the message? And Sawadi was arrested twice before? Why?

What makes the situation worse is the fact that Sawadi insists that Al-Anzi is her son, since she breastfed him as a child and in Islam breastfeeding gives a degree of maternal relation. But since she has no ‘proof,’ she cannot claim he is a relative. (Interestingly, the court can’t have evidence that she didn’t). So-called “Islamic” law was enough to charge her, but not to clear her name?

According to Yahoo! News, the court based it’s verdict on “citizen information” and testimony from Al-Anzi’s father, her late husband’s brother (!), who accused her of “corruption.”

Maybe he just didn’t realize his son would also get sentenced to 40 lashes and 4 months in jail? (The business partner got 60 lashes and 6 months). Sawadi’s verdict read:

Because she said she doesn’t have a husband and because she is not a Saudi*, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed.

So if she was married and a Saudi Arabian it would have been okay? Her birth place and marital status make her guilty?

I can’t help but wonder at Saudi Arabia’s continued attempts at shooting itself in the foot. The Saudi Arabian judiciary and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) have once again come under fire.

Al-Watan, the Saudi paper which first covered the issue, actually interviewed Sawadi back in June 2008, who has not spoken to the press since her verdict was handed down. They quote her as saying the CPVPV entered her house under false pretences to investigate her:

They used deceit and explotation of my old age and poverty by saying they were from a charity organization. One was short and one was tall. They said they were there to see if I needed any financial or in-kind donations. I had called my son Fahd to get me bread and he did. I am a poor woman without air conditioning in my house and I only have my son from breastfeeding. When they left they were arrested for helping out an old woman.

Laila Ahmed al-Ahdab, a columnist in the paper, wrote:

How can a verdict be issued based on suspicion? A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.

Media reports covering Sawadi’s case are varied.

One article comments:

It is not known if the religious police really believed the men were behaving improperly with a woman old enough to be their grandmother or if the prosecutions were just a matter of principle.

Some articles blur the line between Saudi Arabia’s interpretation of Islam with Islam, calling Sawadi’s punishment “Shari’a law,” and not a country’s interpretation of what Shari’a law would look like. Almost all the articles make sure to mention that in Saudi Arabia women can’t drive, need a male relative’s permission to travel, etc.

Others make sure to mention some or all of the most recent (negative) stories in Saudi Arabia featuring women, including the Qatif girl rape case who was sentenced for gang rape, the case of two novelists last week who were questioned for wanting to get a female writer’s autograph, the 8-year-old married to a 58-year-old man who was denied divorce until she reaches puberty etc.

Others still mention several unrelated stories about Saudi Arabia, such as Saudi Sheik Saleh Lihedan who condoned killing TV channel owners that broadcast “immoral” content, just to plug in how “crazy” the country is.

An interesting thing I’ve noticed when reading blog posts about the issue is the degree to which Sawadi’s age affects people’s impressions of the charge. A story published today in the Al-Watan newspaper reports that a Saudi woman and man were arrested yesterday for being alone together in a car (car chase and accident ensued), and many of the commentators accepted this, saying the man and woman deserved to be punished because they were being ’sinful.’

But Sawadi’s age makes a huge difference, say some bloggers. If it was a young woman alone with two men in an apartment, the situation might be different. If the men had spent a long time in the apartment, it would be different, and so on. I haven’t come across one post that heavily critiques the punishment for khalwa, especially when nothing was going on!

The only article I read about the Sawadi case which was somewhat balanced, trying to show that it’s all not doom and gloom in Saudi Arabia was in the LA Times, by Raed Rafei, specifically stating that:

A handful of changes in the past two months suggests an increase of freedoms for women, activists say.

It linked to an interesting article in the Middle East Online talking about Saudi women activists in Saudi Arabia. Rafei goes on to mention the fact that:

King Abdullah appointed last month the first woman to a ministerial post. [...] He recently dismissed a leading fundamentalist cleric and the head of the kingdom’s religious police, Sheik Ibrahim Ghaith. The monarch also removed Sheik Saleh Lihedan as chief of the country’s highest religious tribunal. The man issued a fatwa in September saying it was permissible to kill TV executives for broadcasting “evil” and immoral programs.

The latter fact being one other articles opted to ignore when they mentioned Sheik Saleh Lihedan.

It’s still not enough, as Sabria Jawhar, the once Jeddah bureau chief of the Saudi Gazette and leading Saudi Arabian columnist, writes:

For every [one success story] there are 100 Khamisa Sawadis. For every female Saudi graduate student studying abroad, there are 100 other Saudi women denied their right to divorce abusive husbands or to gain custody of their children. A Saudi delegation can stand before the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and provide a laundry list of all the good things the Saudi government has done for their women. But closer scrutiny of Khamisa Sawadi, the Qatif Girl, forced divorces and the countless 13-year-old brides married off to men four times their age tarnishes the appointments of Saudi women to high places.

While we have seen remarkable changes recently in the general presidency of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and a new chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Council, it’s the judges in court that seem to have lost sight of their religious and social obligations and revert to tribal customs.*

There is no religious prohibition preventing women from driving yet we are forced to mingle with unrelated men who are employed as our drivers. If Sawadi is guilty of mingling with men who are not her close relatives, then 95 percent of the Saudi women are guilty of the same thing. Imagine if the laws, as interpreted by the Saudi courts, were administered in an equitable manner. [Some]  judges [parse] every word of a Hadith to reach a verdict [they] had already decided on or [are those] who will succumb to tribal pressures.

But they’re still steps on the road to reform. Let’s hope King Abdullah steps in and overrules Sawadi’s sentence, and that of the men who were only running her an errand.

* emphasis mine.

It is hard to believe that in the 21st century there are laws that would punish a 75-year-old woman for associating with two young men who were not her close relatives. It is hard to believe but it is true. This is the fate that befell Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi. Her punishment – 40 lashes, 4 months in prison and possible deportation.

While I believe that imposing one’s culture, religion and value systems on someone else that does not share them, is wrong; there are certain basic human rights that should be universally acknowledged, respected and protected. The following is a story of how differently (and in my opinion – wrongly) the judicial system works in Saudi Arabia where the ultra-conservative religious police and judiciary work hand in hand to dispense their own brand of justice.

Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi’s story

Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi lives in al-Chamil, a city north of the capital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She is a 75-year-old widow who was born in Syria and married a Saudi man. She met with two 24-year-old men and asked them to bring 5 loaves of bread to her house. One of the men, Fahd al-Anzi, is the nephew of Sawadi’s late husband, and the other his friend and business partner Hadiyan bin Zein.

Both men were arrested by the religious police after leaving Sawadi house. Sawadi was accused of mingling with two young men who were not related to her. Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islam – called Wahhabism – prohibits men and women who are not immediate relatives from mingling.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, feared by many Saudis, is made up of several thousand religious policemen charged with duties such as enforcing dress codes, prayer times and segregation of the sexes. Under Saudi law, women face many restrictions, including a strict dress code and a ban on driving. Women also need to have a man’s permission to travel.

At her trial Sawadi tried to explain that she considered one of the men, Fahd al-Anzi, as her son because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she didn’t provide evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation, even if a woman nurses a child who is not biologically hers.

The court, basing its ruling on “citizen information” and testimony from al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption, said:

“Because she said she doesn’t have a husband and because she is not a Saudi, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed,” the court verdict read.

The court also doled out punishment to the two men. Fahd was sentenced to four months in prison and 40 lashes; Hadian was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes.

Abdul Rahman al-Lahem, a top Saudi human rights lawyer, said that he would appeal the verdict against Khamisa Sawadi and the two men. He said the verdict also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her sentence.

Complaints from Saudis have been growing that the religious police and courts are overstepping their broad mandate and interfering in people’s lives, and critics lambasted the handling of Sawadi’s case.

“It’s made everybody angry because this is like a grandmother,” Saudi women’s rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN. “Forty lashes — how can she handle that pain? You cannot justify it.”

“How can a verdict be issued based on suspicion?” Laila Ahmed al-Ahdab, a physician who also is a columnist for the Saudi newspaper, Al-Watan, wrote. “A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.“

Sawadi commonly asked her neighbors for help after her husband died, said journalist Bandar al-Ammar, who reported the story for Al-Watan. In a recent article, he wrote that he felt the need to report the case “so everybody knows to what degree we have reached.”

“This is the problem with the religious police,” added Al-Huwaider, “watching people and thinking they’re bad all the time. It has nothing to do with religion. It’s all about control. And the more you spread fear among people, the more you control them. It’s giving a bad reputation to the country.”

Saudi court sentences 75-year-old woman to lashes

A 75-year-old widow in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for mingling with two young men who are not close relatives, drawing new criticism for the kingdom’s ultraconservative religious police and judiciary.

The woman’s lawyer told The Associated Press on Monday that he would appeal the verdict against Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi. The attorney, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, said the verdict issued March 3 also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her sentence.

He said his client, who is not serving her sentence yet, was not speaking with the media, and he declined to provide more details about the case.

The newspaper Al-Watan said the woman met with the two 24-year-old men last April after she asked them to bring her five loaves of bread at her home in al-Chamil, a city north of the capital, Riyadh.

Al-Watan identified one man as Fahd al-Anzi, the nephew of Sawadi’s late husband, and the other as his friend and business partner Hadiyan bin Zein. It said they were arrested by the religious police after delivering the bread. The men also were convicted and sentenced to lashes and prison.

. . .

Sawadi told the court she considered al-Anzi as her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she didn’t provide evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation, even if a woman nurses a child who is not biologically hers.

Sawadi commonly asked her neighbors for help after her husband died, said journalist Bandar al-Ammar, who reported the story for Al-Watan. In a recent article, he wrote that he felt the need to report the case “so everybody knows to what degree we have reached.”

See also:
Mutaween
Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
Vice Squad
What are the Mutaween?

/Sharia law straight out of the 7th century, what’s not to like?