Slavery, Agriculture, and Malaria in the Arabian Peninsula.

this book review was an eye opener

talks about the prevalence of Arabian slavery for African Males...and the genetic footprint says that African DNA has now been included in the Arabian footprint...that will make them all upset, eh?

but interesting book review, will have to read it

Rehabilitating the Spirituality of Pre-Islamic Arabia:On the Importance of the Kahin, the Jinn , and theTribal Ancestral Cult

this was a fascinating article. I always thought that the pre-islamic Arabia was not worthy of interest, but then, thinking more about it, a religion which has been formalised has to arise from a previous body of work. Looking at it in another way, Judaism/Christianity/Islam are sects of the same religion, they worship the same god, the rituals follow through, the prophets are common, and so on and so forth. So why assume that the pre-Islamic Arabs were not spiritual? they were as much or as little spiritual as the Islamic Arabs, just that they believed in more gods.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9809.12383/epdf

This article brings into focus the misunderstood and oft-ignored pre-Islamicspirituality of, primarily, the Hejaz and their religious leaders, the kahins, oftenuncharitably translated as soothsayers. A combination of factors has limiteddiscussion of pre-Islamic religion, including the persistent rejection by Muslims ofpre-Islamic history as a time of ignorance (jahiliyyah) and a Judaeo-Christian biasin Western scholarship. From the perspectives of anthropology and comparativereligion, certain conclusions about pre-Islamic spirituality can be derived. Mostimportant among these is that the pre-Islamic Arabs engaged in clearly religiouspractices revolving around the importance of the tribe and its members, living anddead. This article will hopefully spark a renewed interest in the study of thespirituality and religion of the pre-Islamic Arabs.

Young Saudis See Cushy Jobs Vanish Along With Nation’s Oil Wealth

I'm not impressed by Saudi Arabia son. Besides the absolutely rampant racism and religious fundamentalism, the terrorism problem is big here. Then again what do you expect? I have seen the university syllabus and have interviewed Saudis and worked with them. The syllabus of most of the Saudi universities is shit. Teachers are shite. Atrocious. For a rich country to have such shitty university is a travesty. 

With some honourable exceptions, they are spectacularly unsuited for modern life. Professional middle class jobs or vocational jobs are simply out of the question. Entrepreneurship is minuscule. So what can you do with quarter of a million Saudis who enter the job market? Some wrenching changes are in train. And unfortunately you and I will see a large proportion of these young Saudis swelling the ranks of the jehadis. 
This will cause us problems. And the steps the Saudis are taking by embarking on two wars is very bad. A giant country like USA finds it difficult to wage war properly. Saudi Arabia will pay very heavily for its Yemeni and Syrian mistakes. And us as well.

Not good

Love

Baba



Young Saudis See Cushy Jobs Vanish Along With Nation's Oil Wealth
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/world/middleeast/young-saudis-see-cushy-jobs-vanish-along-with-nations-oil-wealth.html
(via Instapaper)

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Saudi men leaving a mosque in Riyadh last year. For decades, the royal family has used the kingdom's immense oil wealth to lavish benefits on its people, including free education and medical care, generous energy subsidies and well-paid government jobs. Tomas Munita for The New York Times

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In pressed white robes and clutching crisp résumés, young Saudi men packed a massive hall at a university in the capital city this month to wait in long lines to pitch themselves to employers.
It was one of three job fairs in Riyadh in two weeks, and the high attendance was fueled in part by fear among the younger generation of what a future of cheap oil will mean in a country where oil is everything.
For decades, the royal family has used the kingdom's immense oil wealth to lavish benefits on its people, including free education and medical care, generous energy subsidies and well-paid (and often undemanding) government jobs. No one paid taxes, and if political rights were not part of the equation, that was fine with most people.
But the drop in oil prices to below $30 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 means that the old math no longer works. Low oil prices have knocked a chunk out of the government budget and now pose a threat to the unwritten social contract that has long underpinned life in the kingdom, the Arab world's largest economy and a key American ally.

Package tour to Mecca? How the Hajj became an essential part of the British calendar

This is one of my biggest regrets kids. That I wasn't able to go check out Mecca. Or even Medina whilst I was in Saudi Arabia in the 90's. 

And now, the Wahhabis and Saudis have torn down all the history and have made a sodding shopping mall over the bloody haram e sharif. So not really sure if it's worth going there any more but hey ho. 

This article was a good reminder of how we had to take care of so many things when we ran the empire (utterly shambolic if you ask me) but there you go. We were the biggest Muslim power early in the last century and this mess was something for us to manage. Go figure. 

Another reason why a government shouldn't get entangled with religion. You want to do stupid things in the name of religion, go do it as long as you don't muck up others. I am now hearing that some Muslim MPs want to introduce sharia law in the uk. Can you imagine trying to run an English society based upon that crappy medieval laws of jurisprudence? But hey ho. They should allow it. Like that they have done with the Jewish courts. But with one overriding rule. It cannot violate the universal declaration of human rights and there cannot be two laws. The common secular laws must rule supreme. 

It was lovely speaking to you son. Missing you. 

Love

Baba

Package tour to Mecca? How the Hajj became an essential part of the British calendar
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/package-tour-to-mecca-how-the-hajj-became-an-essential-part-of-the-british-calendar
(via Instapaper)

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This week, millions of Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj. A new study reveals how, in the age of Empire, the spiritual journey became a major feature of British imperial culture, attracting the interest of Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill and others – and resulting in one of the earliest Thomas Cook package tours.

Britain ended up facilitating the pilgrimage in an ultimately futile attempt to gain legitimacy among its Muslim subjects. Inadvertently, it ended up acting like a Muslim power.

Modern customers are more likely to book 

The high environmental cost of our oasis fix

Here's an interesting take on something that you already know son. Water scarcity is a fact of life across so many countries and England included. Two years back, there was a hose pipe ban in the uk. Despite it raining so much. There are tons of reasons but mainly it's because we don't manage water properly and the stresses are huge. Despite a slowly reducing population, many countries are severely water stressed. There was a nasa hydrological map which showed how much ground water aquifers have been depleted in Asia Middle East and Africa. This will blow up the economics terribly. 

But oases are truly beautiful son. I've seen them in india and Saudi Arabia. To see them emerge out of the dusty desert is extraordinary. The feeling of happiness and joy. The feeling of being alive. It's fecund. It's fertile. The water. The brilliant green. Truly amazing sights. 

I'm running a small project in Nicaragua with the university of Bedfordshire where we will be trying to help a village become water sustainable. By using water harvesting techniques, improved irrigation methods, aquifer replenishment, and so on and so forth. This 5 year plan will be fascinating. I've never worked with water before. Hsbc is also sponsoring water charities and I'm getting involved there as well. This is going to be a big strategic issue for us. 

Look forward to speaking to you tonight son. 

Love you

Baba

The high environmental cost of our oasis fix – Rebecca Lawton – Aeon
http://aeon.co/magazine/science/the-high-environmental-cost-of-our-oasis-fix/
(via Instapaper)

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Seen from the air, the single verdant parcel of land with its straight borders and sharp edges resembles a green postage stamp pasted on a great expanse of manila envelope. Inside the boundary, a screen of trees hides a palatial estate, acres of emerald turf, a paved circular driveway, and an extensive array of tumbling, marble fountains. Outside the rectangle, a hot, rock-strewn fan of tan alluvium extends unvegetated and unwatered for half a kilometre to another such parcel, then another, then another. Toward the city centre eight kilometres away, residences cluster closer together but emulate the lush feel of the outlying estates with their surfeit of palm trees, water features and improbably green turf.

Opening the coffin of King Charles I

Diya

Here's a bit of horrible histories for you. Remember we went to Windsor and saw these vaults? Imagine poking around there eh?

Fascinating.

Reminds me of an old poem which was sung after Charles 1 was beheaded. Or was it when Marie Antoinette was guillotined.

My neck on the guillotine

And the blade comes down

My head goes this side

And my body that side

Which side am I on?

Did I tell you that I saw a beheading in Jeddah when I went to Saudi Arabia? Pretty gruesome I tell you

Love

Baba

Opening the coffin of King Charles I - Untold lives blog
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2015/01/opening-the-coffin-of-king-charles-i.html
(via Instapaper)

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King Charles I was beheaded on 30 January 1649 outside Banqueting House in Whitehall. His embalmed body was put into a coffin and taken to St James’s. Parliament then gave permission for the King to be buried in the Chapel of St George at Windsor. Mr Herbert who had been a groom of the royal bedchamber was entrusted with overseeing the interment.

Lord Clarendon later stated that the King’s body could not be found at Windsor some years later. There was a suggestion that King Charles II had re-interred his father at Westminster Abbey.

Defending Wasta–a fools errand

Now before I tear into this chap’s argument, first read it.

Let's take "wasta", for example.

It has become like a curse word. It has become a system that the expatriate community talks of like they talk about crimes. Everyone seems to connect 'wasta' with bribery and corruption. Please don't ever base your perception on assumption and opinion, but on facts. Wasta is NOT a crime nor is it necessarily corruption. It is our system of filtration and reference which we have practiced for centuries. It is part of our consideration for people we respect. Wasta, in fact, is practiced everywhere on earth. In other places, it is called 'recommendation'. Why does it carry such a negative connotation?

Every Monday, countless people line up to meet the king -- the head of state -- personally, so that they can tell him their problems, greet him or simply request something. He stands tirelessly to host them, listens to them AND takes action to help them. Now if one of the persons going to the palace is referred to the king by a prominent member of the government or an eminent citizen, the king will give him special consideration and so will his staff. This is to honor the person that referred this citizen or expatriate. This is called 'respect'. Naturally, a government official or eminent personality will not recommend a person he does not know or respect. This is how it works both ways, a system based on mutual respect and consideration.

Now, at a lower level, in government offices and corporations, wasta works for a variety of things. People get jobs because they were referred to someone within the institution for consideration. The one referring and the one hiring would know how right or wrong they are. Don't tell me this does not happen in every corporation of world! I personally know the chief of jawazat in Riyadh. I also know the chief of Police. So do many of my friends. In fact, I know these gentlemen because a friend of mine referred me to them regarding some cases and over time I got to know them personally myself. If I call them up and tell them to please consider the case of a person I know, they will go out of their way to help. Just to honor me. But, it is my respect for them that controls who I refer to them. I do not want to abuse a friend for sure!

The same thing happens all over the Gulf, Pakistan and India and this is not corruption -- as is widely misunderstood. This is consideration for people we know and it does not mean in anyway violating the right of a person we don't know. You would behave differently with a person you respect and have known for a long time than a person you just met. This is simply human nature……..It is the inability of the expatriate to communicate and the many assumptions fed to the mind that cause this perception that people with wasta can do anything here. No one is above the law -- no matter their important connections or friends. I have known people who were personal friends of some of important government officials. I know of a man who broke the law and then requested help from one such friend. He was flatly refused and the judge was asked to proceed as per law. This, I have known personally. So, what wasta?

I write about faults in the systems. I write about mistakes in perceptions. And, I encourage people to point out faults and give solutions. But, when it comes to cultural habits, way of life, hierarchy, tribal systems and etiquette -- no one has the right to interfere or try unsuccessfully to change people. To educate is very different from humiliating and degrading. Wasta is part of tradition and method of filtration in our societies, which can work in positive ways.

As it is, right in front of my eyes, the Saudi, Pakistani and Indian societies have degenerated, become corrupt and the warmth and hospitality, the respect and honor, the simplicity and sincerity are slowly disappearing. Why? The negative impression we have of our own traditions and the false 'educated, democratic' life we want to adopt from the West. Both locals and expatriates should understand and know this before seeking blind 'changes'.

Do you know why states are successful? States are successful because they make strong and durable institutions. Institutions such as the judiciary, the licencing offices, the educational system and so on and so forth. The crucial thing is that the state should be blind to any kind of citizen demographic and treat all of them in the same manner. Its when this stupid moronic tradition of wasta comes into play that the state starts to discriminate against the citizens. Do you know why most of the world hates Arabs at worst and laughs at them at best? Because you guys are institutionally racist. And yes, that does exist in India and Pakistan, but that’s not the point. I am Indian and look at the institutions that we have built. The legal system ensures that all people are treated as equal.

But if you know the chief of police or what have you, then you get an advantage than the poor expatriate does not have. Which is why all the expatriates think of you Arabs as buffoons and basically idiotic. You guys think of yourself as smart and deserving respect. No you dont. You are seen as fatted pigs, to be fed off. Do the expatriates spend their money in arab countries? Do they want to hire you chaps? no. Do you seriously think that the expatriates want to become like you? Illiterate, racist and corrupt? Nope, they stick to themselves. Why? because you guys use wasta and the expatriates clearly see that the state’s institutions will listen to somebody who is connected rather than treat everybody independently. That’s not respect, that is discrimination. And pointing to India and Pakistan as a place which is corrupt and saying that’s fine in Saudi has such huge ironic connotations. You Saudi’s look down at the desi’s and now you are reduced to comparing your culture and behaviour to them?

You give equal consideration to everybody, and then why would wasta play a part? Why cannot you extend the courtsey of your work to everybody? Now that’s wasta. Why do you need wasta, eh?

Having worked in and visited several Arab countries, I can safely say that you need to think things through, but justifying wasta as respect is not one of the ways. Stand up to say that we shouldnt need wasta, people should their jobs without needing connections to do it.

The mind boggles

First you create a society that strictly segregates women from men. The idea that women can interface with men is so shocking that they have men selling undies to women. Then finally somebody with one working brain cell figures out that this isn't working. So what do they do? They forbid any man from selling to women. And given that this blithering society forces women into nursing, teaching or stuck within the 4 walls of their home, 28,000 women line up to take up sales jobs.

Then the ministry hires hundreds of inspectors. The stores have to hire male security guards to ensure that only women go into the store. heh. So now we have male inspectors and male security guards checking lingerie shops. Talk about stupidity piling on top of stupidity. I love these guys, its like a whole country fit for a Darwin award. And the best part is that their ideology and philosophy is spreading. More More, we need more of this.

Read this story for the background details.

While in another part of this wonderful world, the government has run a series of campaigns targeting fortune tellers, mannequins and cigarette vendors. I quote:

Police sources told …142 fortune tellers were forced to sign an agreement at the Ministry of Interior pledging that they would not practice their craft. As well as predicting the future, fortune tellers sell amulets for protection and are sometimes called on to solve personal or family problems.

Heh, I betcha they didnt predict that, eh?

And strangely enough,

owners of taxi firms have been warned not to allow any former security officers to work as drivers, police officers said.

Eh? why? what?

I just love reading these kinds of news item. WTF or Facepalm doesnt do justice, its just sitting back and watching this parade of idiocy pass you by while you crack peanuts and throw at these muppets.

Maybe the Saudi’s need to know why salafism is so hated

So there is going to be a symposium on Salafism, a Shariah approach and a national demand. Maybe they should start with trying to understand why their extreme ideology, pandering to royalty which is unislamic in the extreme and how the entire world hates their ruling ideology called as Salafism. Bah. These Al Saud’s have much to answer for, descended from thieves and robbers and perpetrating a hypocritical system, what else can you expect?

RIYADH: Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and interior minister, will attend a symposium on "Salafism, a Shariah approach and a national demand" which will be organized by the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University on Tuesday.

The symposium will cover seven themes. The first will address Salafism, an approach pursued by the state since its foundation and its connection to Islam.

The second highlights Salafism as an approach, the third focuses on misconceptions about the Salafi approach, the fourth addresses the Salafi approach and its connection with the modern religious discourse; the fifth tackles the relationship between the Saudi state and the Salafi approach in terms of originality and application, the sixth covers the link between the Salafi approach and school curricula in the Kingdom, and the seventh sheds light on doubts on the application of the Salafi approach and the response to these doubts.

The scientific committee of the conference has received more than 120 papers. There will be 62 lectures and 22 papers will be presented by postgraduate students.

Rector of the University Suleiman bin Abdullah Aba Al-Khail said the seminar aims to achieve several goals such as shedding light on the doctrinal teachings of the Salafist movement, clear misconceptions of Salafism, clarify the roots of Saudi government regulations and its rightful principles and lastly provide a clear image about the attitude of Islam toward non-Muslims.

The seminar aims to exhibit the role played by the Kingdom in fighting terrorism and maintaining international peace and security. The rector revealed the crown prince would also lay the cornerstone of a number of projects (constructions and technical) costing SR2.3bn.

Ahmed Al-Darwish, vice president for scientific institutes, called on members of scientific institutes and specialists in Shariah sciences to actively participate in the deliberations of the seminar. Al-Darwish said the country’s righteous ancestors adopted a moderate approach.

Abdurrahman Al-Nami, a faculty member and head of the media committee of the seminar, told Arab News that the objectives of this seminar were to clarify the reality of the Salafi approach representing the correct form of Islam adopted by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), to sanitize the concept from allegations made by some deviant groups claiming to be Salafi, and to reveal the essence of the ruling in the Kingdom which is based on proper moderate Islam.

It will also show the scope of the harmonious relationship between the rulers of the Kingdom and preachers in implementing the proper Salafi approach, to rectify misconceptions (extremism and exclusion) about the Salafi approach, to show the real position of the approach toward non-Muslims and that relations with them is based on justice, equality and realizing common interests, and to show allegiance to the country is a matter of instinct, reason, and religion.

He said the concept is the antithesis of some concepts such as tribalism, pan-nationalism, kinship, and other concepts that may come at the expense of religion and proper doctrine.

It also aims to refute all suspicions about the Salafi approach in terms of its impact on curricula and its alleged cause of extremism. The Kingdom’s position on crisis and natural catastrophe is well documented, he added.

“Salafism has many attributes, chief among them are denouncing doctrinal extremism and closure,” said Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Najdan. He said Salafism is neither a new invention nor new label. On the contrary, it is an old concept.

In his paper, “The Salafi approach: origin, continuity, and attributes,” Abdulwahid Al-Darwish refers to the position of Salafism toward other Islamic groups. He said the position of the Salafi group regarding other Islamic groups is similar to the position of any Muslim toward another Muslim. Al-Darwish touches upon the Salafists’ position on politics and collective work.

Ahmed bin Yousif Al-Darwish told Arab News that the objective behind holding this symposium was to clarify the proper meaning of Salafism that is based on both the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah.

“This kind of Salafism is based on moderation, rejecting terrorism, fighting corruption, fighting deviant and destructive thought, rejecting extremism and exploitation or dehumanization of others.”

He stressed the seminar aims to clarify that the Salafi approach adopted by the Kingdom is totally different from the kind of extremist Salafism that is not Islamic and does not express the essence of Islam. Correct Salafism is the one that renounces terrorism and murder and is not based on extremism or takfir, he added.

Saudi moral committee threatens to cover “tempting” women’s eyes

First the story:

Women with sexy eyes in Saudi Arabia may be forced to cover them up, according to the spokesperson of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) in the conservative Gulf kingdom.

Spokesman of the Ha’eal district, Sheikh Motlab al-Nabet said the committee has the right to stop a women whose eyes seem “tempting” and order her to cover them immediately.

Saudi women are already forced to wear a loose black dress and to cover their hair and in some areas, their face, while in public or face fines or sometimes worse, including public lashings.

The announcement came days after the Saudi newspaper al-Watan reported that a Saudi man was admitted to a hospital after a fight with a member of the committee when he ordered his wife to cover her eyes. The husband was then stabbed twice in the hand.

/facepalm

While in Israel, this is what’s being pushed around.

That Orthodox Judaism forbids a man from hearing a woman sing. These soldiers adhere to the strict interpretation of the expression “Kol B’Isha Erva.” This might translate as, “the voice of a woman is like nakedness.” Or as, “the voice of a woman is like her vagina.”

And these are men? MEN? They are barbarians, molluscs would hesitate to associate with them, the morons. Truly frightening idiocy of the first order, that they read something in some medieval book, park their brains in the basement, and go forth to do this kind of Neanderthal crap.

No wonder all the prophets had to be born in the middle east, look what they had to work with, God has had to work overtime on these muppets.

Economic Incentives at play

Indonesia recently banned the recruitment of women from Indonesia to go to Saudi Arabia to work as maids. This was after an Indonesian maid killed her employer after he abused her thoroughly. Welcome to Saudi Justice. Anyway, so what happens after the ban? Read on MacDuff.

JEDDAH: Illegal housemaids in Jeddah have begun asking for huge salary increases following the decision to suspend recruitment of housemaids from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Many families are reporting that the maids have threatened to walk out if their demands are not met, especially that Ramadan is one month away when demand for extra domestic help spikes

Gosh, Saudi Society will collapse without maids, eh? So what do you do?

Following the decision to stop maids from Indonesia and the Philippines, recruitment from countries like Ethiopia or Kenya and other countries came as an alternative choice to fill the demand for domestic labor in Saudi Arabia. Spokesman of the Ministry of Labor Hattab Al-Anzi hinted that the Kingdom would start allowing recruitment for domestic workers, including maids, from different countries. Several recruitment offices have begun shifting their focus toward African countries. “However, I personally doubt whether one or two nations will be able to cover the gap in the domestic house labor market ruled by Indonesia for some time now,” he added.

Most domestic workers are recruited from Indonesia, the Philippines (which was recently barred due to a dispute over minimum wage) and Sri Lanka. Egypt doesn’t allow women to travel to the Kingdom to work as maids. Pakistani and Indian maids in Saudi Arabia are uncommon.

“In light of these new regulations, recruitment from other nations, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, could work,,” said Ahmad, an employee at a recruitment office.

Change the sources of maids. That’s interesting, eh? But here’s the interesting thing. The basic problem of Saudi’s mistreating their maids has not gone away. So very soon there will be another incident and then these other countries will also not allow their women to go to Saudi Arabia to do maid jobs. Egypt is out, Philippines is out, Pakistani and Indians don't do maid jobs (why???). So pick up people from Ethiopia and Kenya? Given that racism is so heavy in Saudi, I wont be surprised that these girls from Ethiopia and Kenya get it worse. For some reason I cannot generate any sympathy towards these muppets. In the meantime, be prepared to pay through the nose matey.

Their views on women are like Neanderthal as well. See this story about how they blame rape victims. It was shocking. Divorce rates in Saudi Arabia are one of the highest in the world. 62% of marriages in the western region in Saudi end in divorce. Overall, its about 60%. Ok, i wont go off into tangents, but basically economic incentives are showing their predictable response. Mistreat your women and the women react by either divorcing you or raising their prices.

Washing the dead

Washing the dead is quite a common tradition in many parts of the world, one I have participated in twice within my own family. It is a strange bewildering feeling and I am struggling to put it into words and phrase it properly to give it justice. I am just going back to that period of time when I did participate in that ritual and have to admit that I cried like a baby.

The first feeling is once of utter regret. You are washing the body but every motion you are making reminds you of things you could have done. Clipping the nails and you think of the times those finger tips gently caressed your hair and held you in their arms, or how those cheeks would dimple with laughter when they would smile at you. But no more, the flesh is utterly cold and hard. There is no life in those limbs and they will never do the things that you remember them for. They will never listen to your words again. Your mind is full of the things you could have said to them but didn't.

The second feeling is helplessness in the face of death. I know facetiously that death and taxes comes to all men, but being actually faced with the evidence of death is pretty startling. All the medical science, the hopes and dreams, nothing can stand in the way of somebody dying. An old quote goes something along the lines of “a boy becomes a man when his father dies”. I do not remember where I read this, but I think this is a vital piece in the journey of growing up. Staring at a corpse forces you to recognise your own mortality. I was a young lion before that, invincible and indomitable. But the fact that I was seeing the corpses and washing them and dressing them and touching them and shedding tears over them helped me grow up a bit more.

The next feeling was puzzlement. Why are dead bodies heavier than live bodies? Strange how scientific thoughts crop into your head at the strangest of times. The way I figured it out was that living bodies fill their lungs with air, and when you try to lift them, they also can assist you. Also, the limbs move and its easier to lift. Dead bodies are pure mass, nothing else, thus they are heavier than living beings.

One time I was with a priest who was chanting Sanskrit shlokas over the dead body. And during the entire night that I was awake, I managed to have quite a long conversation about the religious significance and other aspects of death. I think that helped in putting some things in perspective, such as what one leaves behind? And what one looks forward to? What are one's actions during one's life time? How about one's name and children? All these aspects are quite interesting. Leave aside the actual religious bits, they differ depending on who you speak to and which religion you belong to. The particular shlokas that were being intoned related to Garuda Purana. I have to admit that my memory is a bit weak, but here’s a link for those who are interested to read about what one religious Hindu book – the Garuda Purana - says about death.

Finally, I am always concerned about why the Doms (the men who work in the cremation ghats and areas) are treated so disgustingly within Indian society. Do they not perform one's last rites? Look after one's bones and tell one's relatives how one is going to pass over into the next life? Surely they should be treated with respect? But no, they are really treated horribly, at par with scavengers. We sometimes are seriously screwed up in our minds, talking about ritual purity and bathing away to glory while spitting in the street and indulging in corruption. Bah!.

Why am I talking about this? This is because I read about Saudi Arabian Women who wash dead bodies and the trials and tribulation that they have to go through. Read the article, it is quite interesting to find out about how these women are treated and how their own dead bodies are treated. Here is another very emotional story of another episode of washing the dead body.

When religiosity is compulsory, skiving will happen

Well, fairly typical. What did you expect? You treat human beings like children and then they will behave like it, or rebel. When you force people to pray, do you think they will be praying ? or as it seems in this story, outside smoking or running errands. Bah! I quote:

Some private company employees use the prayer time as an excuse to avoid work. Some companies allow 10 minutes for each prayer, while others allocate 15 minutes.

Employees use more than their allocated time to skive off work. In some government departments, employees simply leave work and go home when the call for Dhuhr prayer starts without bothering to come back after the prayer break to complete the remaining hours.

Employees are often accused of wasting too much time chatting outside their offices during prayer time. Others gather outdoors to smoke. Some employees try to use this time to go out and finish personal errands.

What if Arabs had recognized the State of Israel in 1948?

What is more interesting about this analysis is not the counter factual history itself but who writes it and where it was published. Gobsmacking.

I quote:

Since 1948, if an Arab politician wanted to be the hero and the leader of the Arab world, then he has a very easy way to do it. He just shouts as loud as he can about the intention to destroy Israel, without mobilizing one soldier (Talk is cheap).The Palestinian misery was also used to topple another stable monarchy, this time in Iraq and replacing it with a bloody dictatorship in one of the richest countries of the world. Iraq is rich in minerals, water reserves, fertile land and archaeological sites. The military led by Abdul Karim Qassim killed King Faisal II and his family. Bloodshed in Iraq continued and this Arab country has seen more violent revolutions and one of them was carried out in the 1960s by a brigade that was sent to help liberate Palestine. Instead it made a turn and went back and took over Baghdad. Even years later, Saddam Hussien said that he will liberate Jerusalem via Kuwait. He used Palestinians misery as an excuse to invade Kuwait.

There were other military coups in the Arab world such as Syria, Yemen and the Sudan. And each one of them used Palestine as their reason for such acts. The Egyptian regime of Jamal Abdul Nasser used to call the Arab Gulf states backward states and he tried to topple the governments of these Gulf states by using his media and his military forces. He even attacked southern borders of Saudi Arabia using his air force bases in Yemen.

Even a non-Arab country (Iran) used Palestine to divert the minds of their people from internal unrest. I remember Ayatollah Khomeini declaring that he would liberate Jerusalem via Baghdad and President Ahmadinejad making bellicose statements about Israel, though not even a single fire cracker was fired from Iran toward Israel.

Published in the Arab News by —Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, is Commodore (Retd.), Royal Saudi Navy. He is based in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia,

Conditions of nationality

This bewildered me. I quote:

They need to have iqamas (residence permits) and obtain exit-reentry visas every time they want to leave the country.

Under the citizenship rules and regulations, children born to Saudi women with foreign husbands are not automatically entitled to Saudi passports at birth.

Boys can, however, apply to obtain the nationality when they are 18, while girls can only get it if they marry Saudi men.

The boys should be born in the Kingdom and lived here until they are 16 years of age. Saudi men married to foreign women do not face such a problem. Their children are automatically entitled to citizenship at birth.

Children born to Saudi women and foreign fathers need sponsorship.

Al-Sharif said many Saudi mothers register their sons and daughters under their sponsorship as drivers and housemaids regardless of their education in order to save them from deportation.

“These particular job titles will prevent their sons and daughters from getting proper jobs and prevent the mother from recruiting a driver or a housemaid from outside,” he added.

“These children feel humiliated in their motherland, the very place they were born in.”

Al-Sharif said that if the mother was able to register her children as companions to her, they would not be granted work permits regardless of their financial needs.

Al-Sharif said the husband would not have declared in his iqama that he is married to a Saudi, while the wife will not have made the same declaration in her civil records. “They have to have their marriage contract with them always to prove that they are husband and wife,” he said.

He also noted that daughters from such marriages are given cards when they are 18 years old stating that they should be treated like Saudi citizens, but added this would not allow them to work.

He also noted that foreign husbands would not be given any preferential treatment when they apply for Saudi nationality, no matter how long he remains married.

Al-Sharif said Saudi men who marry foreign women without permission from the authorities concerned have a different kind of problem. “They find great difficulties in documenting their marriage contracts or getting their wives and children into the Kingdom,” he said.

Al-Sahrif said children born to Saudi mothers and foreign fathers also have problems in obtaining free medical treatment in government hospitals.

He said the society has come across cases in which children from such marriages were not allowed to obtain their mothers’ pensions or social security assistance.

He claimed that children born to Saudi women and Palestinian men are not even allowed to apply for Saudi citizenship.

Simply bewildering why this kind of gender based discrimination would occur at this day and age. At one point, the UK also treated women differently from men but thankfully this has been resolved now. For example, if a British woman married a foreign man, her British citizenship would be lost but not so if you were a British Man marrying a foreign woman. There are still gender based differences, see here for example.

Protests against Valentines Day

This is what passes for religion. These morons talk about removing all red items and heart shaped gifts during Valentine’s Day. Hey, I have seen morons like this as well, at this time, the Hindu morons come out to play as well, trashing card and florist shops. I personally dislike this entire concept of Valentine’s day – you are supposed to show your love only on one day? but if somebody wants to get flowers and pap, by all means, go for it.

But the idea that somebody can come and tell you to stop being loving or give your wife/daughter/sister/etc. etc. a loving gift is stupid. And the irony? These Hindu militants hate the fundamentalist Islamists, little understanding that they are both morons, they are the same. But then, they dont have any brains, do they? Literally morons. They are barbarians, bereft of any kind of intelligence and principles and morals and logic and comprehension and and and. Look what happens, they sell red roses under the counter?

Just what impression does that give to the world about the birthplace of Islam and the most holy sites? Why am I dragging Islam into this? Well, these muppets are speaking on behalf of Islam, no? and they take their justification, authority and actions from their reading of it. Welcome to Saudi Arabia, just dont wear red. Black is good. Stick to black. bah! I quote:

“I was so furious last year when I was having a romantic dinner at a restaurant in Jeddah. Haia men marched in and grabbed my husband by his arms and cornered him, while I was surrounded by a number of them asking both of us stupid questions,” said Sara Naseem, a 27-year-old college lecturer.

“I was horrified by how they ambushed us and treated us like we were doing something immoral and inappropriate in public.”

The ban on selling red flowers on Valentine’s Day could have a negative effect on profits, according to florist Alex.

“Our annual plan for Valentine’s Day to keep our profit stable is to sell red flowers and gifts from under the counter or behind closed doors,” he said.

“We don’t sell them to everyone, we only make secret deals with trustworthy people or tell open-minded people to keep ourselves safe. We raise the price from SR10 for a red rose to SR30 because it’s the high season for them.”

While those brilliant defenders of Hinduism, these paragons of Hindu Culture, example of Sri Ram Sene, are doing this this year.

Delhi, Feb 11: Yes, the Sri Ram Sene has reared its ugly head once again. What an apt time but the Valentine's Week to do so. The right-wing sensationalist group who went about doing its own moral policing earlier headed by Pramod Muthalik went on a rampage in Mangalore targetting pubs and youth who were into public display of affection (PDA) over Valentine's Day.

The Sri Ram Sene is also targetting youth but have mellowed down considerably still has frowning eyebrows over PDAs and Valentine's Day in general.

The Sene intends to educate youth and organize a three-day awareness campaign at the north campus of Delhi University and will carry their rhetoric to other colleges in Delhi. They will drill down the fact through their supporters in Delhi that Valentine's Day was against the Indian culture and youth need to shun such celebrations. They have also given an alternative ocassion to celebrate and suggested that they rejoice the festival Basant Panchami instead.
Even if the Sene has shunned violence they have issued a warning to couples who wants to celebrate Valentine's Day come what may. The Sene has stated that the couples who are out to celebrate will be videotaped and the videos telecast through YouTube. The idea behind it being that they would be shamed in front of the entire world. Sene members have armed themselves with many cameras and spycams to capture the 'culprits in action'.
Young, 23 year old Sunil Tyagi, who is also the national spokesperson of Sri Ram Sene and also the Delhi unit president said, "We are not against love. What we are protesting against is the vulgar display of love. We won't allow our culture to be hijacked by foreign multinationals who have introduced concepts like Valentine's Day just to sell cards. When we upload such videos on YouTube, the couples will learn their mistake."

Eight to ten teams will scan the city for violating the Sene values and will spread the message of 'love in a decent manner'. Tyagi added, "Make love, not war is also our slogan. Just do it in the privacy of your rooms and not in public."

None of your business, you dunderhead morons, just bugger off. Better still, go to Saudi Arabia where they seem to like this sort of thing. Quarantine all the religious crazies inside that place, lock the door and throw away the key. Hopefully they can foam and foul each other and leave civilised people alone.

btw, remember the Pink Chaddi Campaign? This was in reaction to these morons.

And over here in the UK, the National Trust is urging people to kiss more and plant mistletoe, how sweet and how green. Kiss and help the planet at the same time? Wonderful idea. See this, you muppets in Saudi and India? Learn.

Then again, a New York Zoo is offering the chance to name a cockroach after their loved ones. These are giant Madagascar Hissing Roaches. Here is a nice video of these little critters.

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Facts -- powered by eHow.com

Maybe we can let loose some valentine day named madagascar hissing cockroaches to the muttawa and the sri ram sene.

And the Saudi King says..

CASABLANCA: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama expressed their disapproval of the current turmoil in Egypt in a telephone conservation Saturday night.

“During the call, they reviewed relations between the countries and developments in the region as well as the tragic events taking place currently in Egypt that have been accompanied by chaos, looting, intimidation of innocents, exploitation of freedom and expression and attempts to ignite the flames of chaos to achieve their suspicious goals, which are not approved by Saudi and US sides,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The king also said the stability and security of the Egyptian people cannot be bargained with or be prejudiced under any justification.

“Egypt's capabilities and achievements are integral parts of the capabilities and accomplishments of the Arab and Islamic nations,” the king told the US president.

The king is currently recuperating from surgery in Morocco.

What the heck? USA has to approve this revolution in Egypt? Unbelievable, but then despots are like that. From here. Shameful on part of the Saudi king, but then what else can the poor man do? He is just your normal bog standard tin pot king trying to get along, no?

As for Obama, shame, seriously, mate, what’s up with your basic incoherence and inability to stand up to basic human principles? shame!

Citizenship questions for Saudi Arabia

Two interesting questions, here and here.

Saudi Arabia in trouble over housemaids

Yes, indeed, i can well see the solution to more and more expensive housemaids being Saudi men and women doing the work that the housemaids did. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!. I quote:

The upward spiral of housemaid costs will never stop. These costs will continue to increase as long as our society is totally dependent on foreign maids who have been allowed to become an integral part of our households.

They occupied homes, gained the sympathy of children and learned everything about our homes. For these reasons it is difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of the housemaid.

It is not an exaggeration to say that almost every home in the Kingdom, regardless of its financial situation, has a maid from Indonesia.

Local newspapers recently reported that the cost of recruiting maids from Indonesia has gone up by SR500 to SR10,000.

The charges imposed by recruitment offices have also increased to SR1,000 within two months. The offices have attributed this increase to the pressure exerted by the local recruitment offices in Indonesia, who also hiked their charges.

The time it takes to process paperwork for housemaids has likewise gone up from three to five months.

With the holy month of Ramadan near, the demand for housemaids is expected to surge and with it the costs of bringing them to the Kingdom.

The rise in demand for housemaids has also fueled a black market in cheap labor.

There are now millions of housemaids in our country, including 800,000 in Riyadh alone.

A number of maids tend to escape from their sponsors only a few days after their arrival, looking for more money.

In such cases, the sponsor will lose the money he spent on bringing her into the country and will also have to spend more time and cash recruiting a replacement.

The housemaids have also caused a number of negative habits to form within Saudi families. The children have become spoiled and housewives have neglected their primary duties because they  depend on maids to do everything in the house.

Aware of their growing importance, the housemaids have raised their salary demands and are imposing their own conditions, which the employing family is obliged to fulfill.

Our society is now torn between foreign manpower in the streets and housemaids in homes.

We are beginning to read about various crimes of theft and vengeance in addition to murder, child abuse, sorcery and others. Despite all this, the demand for housemaids is increasing.

I think it is time we curb the trend of recruiting maids and teach our society how to depend on itself.

Pak court rejects asylum petition for 5 American Muslims

This is what happens when you have countries too closely associated with religion. Take for example, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan or any other OIC country which is all gung ho about Islam. Since Jihad is part of the religion, the argument goes, any bearded terrorist who is looking for jihad can ask for asylum. You couldn't make this up, seriously.

 

LAHORE: A Pakistani court today dismissed a petition seeking asylum in the name of 'holy war' for five American Muslim youths recently arrested in the country for allegedly planning terror attacks, saying that it was not the duty of the judiciary to define 'jihad'.
The Lahore High Court dismissed the petition filed by Khalid Khwaja, a former Inter-Services Intelligence official now associated with a rights organisation. In his petition, Khwaja had contended that the youths came to Pakistan for 'jihad' (holy war) and since this was not a crime, their detention is illegal.

And welcome to ISI inc.. lol