Blogging the democratic revolution
As the Bush administration moves towards disengagement in the Middle East from those regarded as extremist — including Syria, Iran, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in Iraq, Hamas in Palestine, and Hezbollah in Lebanon — the result has been a vacuum of power left from the absence of traditional diplomatic channels. In the post Cold War era, this meant typically working with, and in the least, involving the United States. But in recent months as American policy becomes more rigid and inflexible, Middle Eastern diplomatic channels have rerouted outside of Washington and back into the Middle East proper. In this…
As Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz es-Saud meets with Turkish leaders this week, the Sunni Arab world’s desperation should be kept in mind. Though economic concerns have been paramount in Turko-Arab relations for many years, and have grown since the election of the Turkish PM Erdogan, the Saudi King made a few remarks indicative of the Sunni Arab world’s fearful position. At a meeting with the Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer, Abdullah called for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, obviously aimed bolstering Turkish support for the Arab position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He then stated that ???????Like you…
There may be an Arabo-Iranian Cold War brewing, if the Arabs make themselves relevant again As the Arabs furiously try to guilt Syria into curbing Hezb Allah????????s activities and ???????rejoining??????? the Arab world, one cannot help but see an almost laughable, but certainly pathetic, last ditch attempt at salvaging what influence the Sunni Arab states have in the Middle East. Ever since the American invasion of Iraq, the strong men of the Sunni Arab world have become less and less relevant in a region that has become increasingly polarized on various fronts. On the one hand, with the liberation of…
Outside of following the politics of developing countries, I also like to follow the markets. Especially the markets in countries that are up-and-coming or not even on the radar. Markets where a lot of people don’t even know markets exist. Others they would. Places like Mexico have been booming. But so have many places in the Middle East; for example, Saudi Arabia, which introduced the Tadawul stock index in 2001, began at 8000 points and topped 20,000 in mid-February this year. Kuwait and Egypt have also been riding uphill at lightning speed, a lot of this due to rising oil…
A Saudi national studying at Arizona State University, a party school by all counts and from my own recollection, thinks that the school should sanction the possibility of expelling students for wearing any clothing with the ASU logo when posing for dirty, dirty magazines. The ASU Web Devil reports! If one student leader has his way, ASU students will no longer be able to grace the covers of Playboy and other sexually explicit magazines without consequences. Undergraduate Student Government President Yaser Alamoodi is hoping to pass a rule that would prohibit males and females from posing in magazines he believes…
It doesn’t get much better than this. I’m translating an excerpt from an article in the Iraqi newspaper Al Bawaba, “Parliament Reviews the Constitution Issue and Jabar Renews His Attacks on Saudi Arabia“: The Iraqi interior minister renewed his attacks on Saudi Arabia during an interview broadcast on Tuesday focusing on how Saudi Arabia treats women and Shia Muslims two days after he described a member of the Saudi royal family as “one of those Bedouin riding a camal.” Interior Minister Bayyan Jabar told the satellite channel Al-Jazeera that it is upon the Saudis first to establish a democratic system……
In the interest of continuing the elevation of debate, I think it’s about time to once again tackle the issue of swim suits in Saudi Arabia. You will want to read the first post if you haven’t, which deals with what exactly these swim suits look like, and then the second post, which deals with the discussion that erupted because of it. Stefania dropped an image off that explains everything perfectly. Just click here. That’s right, folks, another reaffirmation that Publius is not a blog to be showing your kids before bed time.
It seems that my post on sexy Saudi swimwear has turned into something of a blogospheric debate. Our good friend Stefania over at the Free Thoughts blog posted on the swimwear as well, and it triggered some disagreement with Egyptian blogger Miss Mabrouk, who says that we were being culturally insensitive and the real issue is modesty. My post got linked under the word “disrespect.” Ouch. In any case, Stefania wrote another post responding to Miss Mabrouk in which she lays out how it isn’t really about modesty, but how women should have the choice of whether they want to…
Perhaps another confirmation of what we may see in the future of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah promised Condoleezza Rice that the kingdom would be sufficiently liberalized to hold national elections within 15 years. Saudi King Abdullah promised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a series of reforms that could give the desert kingdom an elected government within 10 to 15 years, says a senior U.S. official who was present when the two met in June. “He professed to transform his country and talked about having a representative government within a decade or a decade and a half,” said the official, who…
Looking for beautiful women in bikinis? Try Monterrey. Definitely don’t look in Saudi Arabia. Check out the latest summertime fashion in Riyadh. Hat tip to Light Seeking Light. Click here for the rest of this tantalizing assortment of swimsuits. UPDATE: Now here we go. The Religious Policeman does a mock interview with the Saudi Minister of tourism: RP: So men and women will be able to go swimming up there? M: Certainly RP: Together? M: I didn’t say that. Swimming together, as you know, is un-Islamic. Most hotels only allow the men to go swimming. However there are one or…
There has been much debate over whether Abdullah’s formal succession to the throne will allow reform to begin its progression in Saudi Arabia; a task that no doubt has odds generated by entrenched totalitarianism stacked against it. A move that looks promising, and is hopefully an indication of things to come, is that Abdullah just pardoned high-profile reformists who were jailed simply for their dissent. JEDDAH, 9 August 2005 ???????? In a day of dramatic developments and in a show of magnanimity, King Abdullah just seven days into his reign, pardoned three jailed high-profile reformists and a group of Libyans…
Earlier today a firefight broke out in Mecca between gunmen loyal to Osama bin Laden and Saudi security forces. This coincided with the third and final round of local elections in that country which have been reported with significant fanfare in the West. This is the latest sign that the on again, off again fight between the Saudis and their Islamist opponents is alive, and raises the issue of the stability of the kingdom. While the overthrow of the House of Saud is still viewed as very unlikely, a degree of instability far short of that would could still be…
The third and last round of the Saudi municipal elections are over. The votes still need to be counted and winners announced, but in any case, they will probably turn out relatively similar to the previous two rounds. Riyadh, 21 April (AKI) – Saudis went to the polls on Thursday for the third and final phase of the Kingdom’s historic municipal elections after twelve days of intense campaigning, which officially ended on Wednesday. Some 140,000 Saudis were expected to vote in the poll, but they are only electing half the members of their municipal councils. The other half will be…
Work, work, work. In the meantime, though, the third round of municipals are starting up in Saudi Arabia. JEDDAH, 21 April 2005 ???????? The business city of Jeddah will go to the polls today with the rest of the Western Region to elect new municipal councils in Saudi Arabia????????s historic democratic exercise. As many as 548 candidates are contesting for seven Jeddah seats, pinning their hopes on some 80,000 registered voters. Saudis in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well as Taif, Qasim, Hail, Tabuk, Al-Jouf and the Northern Border Region also go to polls today in the…
John Burgess over at Crossroads Arabia notes an article in Arab News that says 87% of Saudis favor female participation in elections. JEDDAH, 16 March 2005 ???????? A survey conducted by an independent agency in Jeddah showed 87 percent Saudis backing women????????s participation in elections. It also reflected the greater role of media in educating the public on the polls. ???????Eighty-seven percent of 240 Saudis who took part in the survey called for women????????s participation in the next round of elections,??????? said Dr. Muhammad Fashetan, chairman of the SAS Center for Opinion Survey and Consultancy in Jeddah. He said the…
Larry Kudlow on Real Clear Politics has an important analysis on just how out out of whack oil prices are and why skyrocketing prices at the pump won’t last. If he is right, there will be political consequences for oil giants like Iran, Venezuela and others whose dictators have sealed their claims to power on a foundation of soaring oil. The market gets these bastards every time.
Nobody is more on top of the municipal election than John Burgess. Check out his post on voting in the east, and the more recent in Najran.
John Burgess has another article by a woman writing in support of suffrage., as well as letters to the editor regarding a previous article. Very cool stuff. Women’s suffrage shouldn’t even need evidence to back itself up, however, these womens’ ability to write logically and eloquently on the subject lends a great deal of additional weight to their cause in the minds of detractors.
John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia posts an article from Arab News written by a woman that counters arguments against women’s suffrage. Last week, Raid Qusti wrote yet another article about women and elections. This was not the first time he tackled the issue, making it clear to all of us, again, that he agrees with the government????????s decision to exclude women from participating in the first municipal elections ever to be held in Saudi Arabia. Despite the many letters I had received from female (and even some male) readers countering his arguments in several articles, I have thus far declined…
John Burgess posts what first seems like a pretty insignifcant story: JEDDAH, 18 February 2005 ???????? The Labor Ministry????????s recent decision to postpone for another three years the Saudization of taxi business infuriated Saudis working in the sector who have now sought the intervention of higher authorities. The drivers complained of the losses they said they continued to incur as a result of the unfair competition from expatriate drivers. As many as 1,200 drivers and owners of taxis assembled outside the palace of Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh calling for his intervention. They said the decision by the ministry shows…
John at Crossroads Arabia has been posting quite frequently, so I think it is only fitting to let you know about some some of them. First, he has an editorial on the lack of female participation in the Riyadh elections, then one how how Saudis view their country post-election. Also, here is one regarding who will wield the power in the municipal seats. Lastly, there are two posts regarding the recent counter-terrorism conference and change in Saudi Arabia.
This post is a supplement to my last post on the municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, intended to provide a summary overview of the situation in that country. First I suggest that you read Daniel Drezner’s article on the Saudi elections. It covers most of the territory, but make sure you read the comments, as a couple of them (one by myself) point out inadequacies. Second, if you have not already, read my post below, An Islamist Perspective on Saudi Elections. Drezner’s article mainly deals with the moderate reformists and the politically dominant Saudi-Wahhabi bloc, but my post deals with…
Below is a translation from the pro-Islamist London-based newspaper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, on the municipal elections in Saudi Arabia. I was thinking about translating some articles from Saudi papers and their reports on the political success of the process, but what I read sounded too much like something from Pravda on the economic rejuvenation of the Ukraine in the 1920s. I have a few comments below. Keep in mind that the interviewee is considered an ally of Osama bin Laden; see links at bottom in this regard (and keep in mind that the writing style was clumsy in the original, the…
John Burgess posted a roundup of news from the Arab press on the munipal elections, along with his own commentary about the articles. And the press seems very excited.
Looks like everything went fine: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – (KRT) – Saudi men went to the polls Thursday for the first nationwide election in the Arab world’s most conservative monarchy, though the royal family barred women from the experiment. The election passed in peace, despite fears that rebels might seek to disrupt the vote and embarrass the government on the day that the world was watching. At war with a homegrown insurgency, the ruling House of Saud is betting that a flicker of democracy – limited to local elections – might win support for the regime and ease public frustration…