Archive: saudi arabia
29th December 2009
Saudi police have detained more than 40 people for questioning in connection with last months flooding disaster in Jeddah. They include current and former officials as well as contractors and engineers, and others in the property business.
According to the Saudi Gazette, eight people were taken… Read more
17th December 2009
Last week Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi, head of the religious police in Mecca, gave an extraordinary interview to the Saudi newspaper, Okaz. In fact, it was so extraordinary that I decided not to write about it at the time, imagining the sheikh’s remarks must have been misquoted or at least taken out of… Read more
12th December 2009
Arab News has a predictably deferential editorial today welcoming the return of Prince Sultan, heir to the Saudi throne, "after a full recovery from his illness".
"We share the general pleasure at his recovery and join with everyone in warmly welcoming him home," it says.
The prince, who is thought… Read more
7th December 2009
Reverberations continue in Saudi Arabia over the tragic floodsin Jeddah. Though some expect the inquiry ordered by King Abdullah to result in the usual whitewash, others detect a breakthrough in holding public officials accountable.
The Saudi Jeans blog notes the unusually strong language of the… Read more
5th December 2009
Reporting the start of the official inquiry into the Jeddah floods, Sebastian Usher of the BBC says: “Some in Saudi Arabia have described what is happening with the public mood as a turning point – with Saudis for once forcing the authorities to take responsibility for their mistakes.”
It is not… Read more
3rd December 2009
A couple of weeks ago I suggested on this blog that the uprooting of thousands of villagers in southern Saudi Arabia last month was not just for safety reasons following an attack by Houthi rebels from Yemen and that the "temporary evacuation" was likely to become permanent. I was right: the… Read more
2nd December 2009
Public anger continues in Saudi Arabia over the authorities' handling of the floods that killed more than 100 people last week.
In Arab News, Turki al-Dakheel attacks the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) for its upbeat coverage of the disaster. One news item said:
“The SPA reporter found the… Read more
30th November 2009
Recalling that a prominent Saudi cleric declared the tsunami of 2004 to be a punishment from God for fornication and homosexuality in south-east Asia, I had been wondering what religious folk would make of the castrophic floods that hit Saudi Arabia last week – during the annual pilgrimage, of… Read more
27th November 2009
One of the more impressive features of the hajj, I have always thought, is its egalitarianism. Pilgrims perform their rituals in a state that is as close as possible to what nature intended. Wrapped only in a single piece of unstitched cloth and with the simplest of footwear, they do not shave or… Read more
25th November 2009
Human Rights Watch has written to King Abdullah complainingabout the growing number of “sorcery” cases in Saudi Arabia.
"Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police," the organisation says. "The crime of ‘witchcraft' is being used against all sorts of behaviour, with… 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
