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British prime minister David Cameron receiving his decoration from King Abdullah in 2012. The award, The Order of King Abdul Aziz, is given to foreigners for "meritorious service" to the kingdom.
The death of King Abdullah prompted an outburst of anger yesterday over Britain's sycophantic… Read more
Former British ambassador Sir Alan Munro: decorated by King Fahd for "meritorious service" to Saudi Arabia
The price of snuggling up to Saudi Arabia
Following his meeting with President Obama last week, British prime minister David Cameron announced:
"We face a poisonous and fanatical… Read more
In Britain last Tuesday, the House of Lords spent almost eight hours debating the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill. Opening the debate on behalf of the government, Lord Bates said the bill "will enhance our ability to monitor and control the actions of those in the UK who pose a threat, and… Read more
In what appears to be yet another blow against religious tolerance, an Iranian member of the Bah'ai faith is to go on trial in Yemen – charged with spying for Israel.
The Yemeni government news agency, Saba, reports that 51-year-old Hamid Mirza Kamali Srostani, was arrested last year in… Read more
In a video posted on Twitter yesterday, British prime minister David Cameron described the Charlie Hebdo march in Paris as inspirational and went on to talk about "tackling the poisonous ideology" behind the murders:
"We have to confront it in our own country, keeping our security strong… Read more
Last Wednesday, an official statement from Saudi Arabia condemned the shootings at Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris. "This cowardly terrorist attack," it said, "is incompatible with Islam".
The Saudi statement, like others from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the … Read more
"Muslims do not believe in the concept of freedom of expression," according to an article on the USA Today website.
This is the kind of sweeping generalisation that would normally give rise to complaints of Islamophobia, and countless Muslims who have been imprisoned or otherwise punished in… Read more
Protecting religion from insults is a slippery slope
In the view of the European Court of Human Rights, the demands of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness are so great – at least, in democratic societies – that freedom of expression should be protected even when it causes offence. In a… Read more
The strange thing about laws against apostasy and blasphemy is that most of the people who fall foul of them are neither apostates nor intentional blasphemers. In practice these laws have very little to do with theology and are mostly used as a pretext for settling political scores or pursuing… Read more
The Islamic University of Madina has established a "Certainty Centre" to counter "atheistic and non-religious tendencies" in Saudi Arabia, Elaph website reports (in Arabic).
The Certainty Centre will monitor, analyse and refute atheistic thought, according to Elaph. It will develop "a variety of… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
