Reverend Jones-the Christian terrorist and the media

Religious extremists and intolerance are not just limited to the Middle East. Christian fundamentalism can be equally as hateful and destructive. Look at Pastor Terry Jones. What was his agenda really? To actually burn the Qurans or perhaps just to get some money and fame? I'm 100% sure it was the latter. I didn't want to write about this earlier with all the hype he caused going on in the media and add to it even a bit.

In a way he is actually a clever man, he used the media for his personal benefit at a time islamophobia is raging like an epidemic in the US. Before his magnificent idea to burn the books life wasn't that great for Mr Jones. He had a sorry 50 followers (thank God), he had been kicked out of Germany a disgraced preacher following accusations of emotional, spiritual and economic abuse of his followers, his hate book didn't sell, and he happened to be in deep depts too.
Read more on his sect in Germany:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/09/quran-burning-terry-jones-sect-germany

He saw the potential of growing fear for Islam and decided to manipulate the media to his own advantage.

And what did the western media do? Go all crazy in reporting on this nobody. Even reporting LIVE from his church! I mean seriously, why did the media even bother? Because they too want to profit and with the "ground zero" mosque debate and 9/11 anniversary, what better headlines for them to indulge in!
The western media is feeding the terrorists, the Christian terrorists like mr Jones. Even president Obama disappointed by going along in his game and giving this insignificant hater some attention-just what Jones wanted and needed.

Now lets look at the definition of terrorism and its psychological aspects:
Terrorism is defined as political violence in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear (sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send a message from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is to exploit the media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifying force multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short- and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states."

The western media can be thanked for giving this terrorist maximum attainable publicity and allowing him thus to reach his goals. It's a shame on them for making such a little indifferent man top news for so many days. SHAME on them! He should not have made any headlines!

According to the reverend himself who btw never read the Quran or talked to a muslim before, his goal was to show the world how the muslims ie terrorists would (over)react. He wanted to send a message! I wonder what his noble message was. If anything it was a message of hate, intolerance and ignorance. Whatever his original message would have been, in reality it would've never reach the people he targeted unaltered.

First of all, if the foolish western media would have done the right, responsible thing and left the reverend to his pathetic existence, none of this madness would have happened.

Take those muslims in Afghanistan who got outraged and totally overreacted on the Quran burning. How did they actually find out and why was their reaction so blown out of proportion?
Media in places like Afghanistan is of course, nothing like media in the west. People don't have tv's or internet let alone access to channels like cnn or bbc. Otherwise they would have learned the truth of the matter, that about 90% of americans are against what Jones represents and entirely condemn his actions.
What ultimately reaches these uneducated poverty stricken people is mostly hearsay, not what we know, not what the reverends egoistic heroic message to them was.
These hypersensitive muslims probably heard about an american christian religious leader threatening to burn Qurans. They most likely heard it at the neighborhood mosque, from the imam they trust. The imam could possibly have a clue of the true matters, but what is most important here is that the message he delivers to them is of hatred and intolerance. So the original message becomes distorted and exaggerated.

Before reverend Jones or any other westerner goes ahead and rolls their eyes condmening these people and says "we told you so" we have to put things into context. These radically reacting muslims might have no education at all, they might be illiterate, their knowledge of the west is from anti-western extremists they look up to at their mosques, they have no access to other media outlets and their whole lives have been fed crap about the big bad west and it being the source of all their problems. That is their reality and it sheds a whole different light on the matter.
I think we as educated human beings should acknowledge this, not necessarily accept it, but at least understand the backrounds that lead to this behavior.

Maybe mr Jones could fly out to Afghanistan himself and see what goes on there and deliver his message while at it!

Saudi Nightlife

Nightlife in Saudi? Yes it does exist, and I am not talking about the nocturnal road hooligans on Tahlia street.

I'm talking about what goes on behind closed doors every weekend. Westerners planning a move here often ask me questions about the social scene and nightlife. Above all things people seem to be concerned how they are going to be able to get drunk in Saudi-Arabia! In fact if you type alcohol and saudi into Google the results will mostly be of westerners asking these questions. Is it really so important I wonder?

Many expats are in for a surprise when they realise the amount of parties there are, that alcohol is available and that they can mingle with the opposite gender. Westerners tend to come to the Kingdom thinking they are facing a years obligatory rehab therapy, but soon realise they are actually looking at more parties and drinking than they did back home if they choose to get into that scene. For many KSA is certainly not a place to detox.

So what is the nightlife like in Saudi? Well due to the circumstances it certainly is

different than outside of the Kingdom. For every restriction there are ways around them. People of all ages from different nationalities and backrounds dealing with various stages of culture shock gathering and drinking way too much alcohol can result in some pretty interesting parties.

What's the venue?

The parties will mostly be held on the largest western compounds, embassies, rarely private villas and even the desert. Some compounds have amenities centers or halls turned into nightclubs and bars. The embassy parties might be in bomb shelters. The British couldn't survive without their neighborhood pubs in their compounds.

A few times a year during the cooler months huge rave parties are held in the middle of the desert.

How to get invited?
A western woman will have no trouble entering any venues as long as she knows someone who has signed her on the gatelist. The story is different for the western and especially Arab nationality males though. This is because the residents of the compounds arranging the parties or the embassy people are mostly single males. They have the power to choose who to let in. Naturally men do not like too much competition for women, especially from those ladies favorites, arab men! So to get invited, men need to get seriously connected. For example the US embassy guys (marines and other military personnel) will allow a male on the list only if he is signed with two females.

Saudi nationals are not allowed into most western compounds. Now in my opinion this rule is ridiculous and racist since we are in their country this kind of disrespect is just incomprehensible to me. This could be a chance to meet and make friends with locals, and I dont mean by inviting them to these parties, just letting them in to have dinner together for example. Westerners like to keep in their small circles and stick to their prejudices as firmly as they hold on to their wine glasses. Anyways being invited would mean knowing someone and having to go through the same security checks as everyone else.

Socially well connected Saudi men, the rare prince and Saudis that have a foreign passport do rarely attend parties though.

What's served?

Homebrewed wine and beer and sid, the saudi "national" drink. Sid is short for siddiqi which means my friend. It s a very potent (around 90%) and potentially dangerous foul tasting clear alcohol made from dates. Sometimes it has impurities in it which may result in memory loss and other neurological disturbances, visual problems, alcohol poisoning and diarhhea among other things.

think about it before you drink it

The embassies and military compounds have real alcohol, shipped into the Kingdom by the truckload usually smuggled from Bahrain. Especially military personnel have access to a large variety because their shipments are not subject to inspection and this applies to the royals and the diplomats too. Drugs are widely on offer especially marihuana and amphetamine. Bottles of Black Label sell for around 1000-1800SAR on the black market depending on availability. Needless to say smuggling and trading alcohol on the black market seem to be a very lucrative (and dangerous) "profession" in saudi-Arabia. Every once in a while there are news headlines about alcohol or drug traffickers getting caught and the punishments are severe.

What's the dresscode?

Women tend to dress like they would in western nightclubs, and because the weather is so hot almost all year, more often than not they will have little clothing on (which explains the popularity of the parties among men). There are some more official parties which require cocktail dresses or even long ballgowns and a suits from the gents. Parties are often themed and the dresscode is accordingly. For example hawaiian, 80's,or toga themed parties. I heard of "come dressed as a Saudi" parties where expats get drunk in thobes, abayas and niqabs..Which reflects the bad attitude towards locals pretty well.

Is it safe?
Compounds in general have strict security checks, entering is by invite only. The US military compounds and the British aerospace have security checks that take at least an hour to get through during rush hours in other words, before parties.They will check the vehicles, bags and sometimes even the visitor will be xrayed. Muttawas are not allowed inside compounds however they might be outside at the gates but I guess that would only happen if someone tipped them off.
The security issue to be concerned about is the impure alcohol, harassement, getting stopped by police and drunken drivers offering the girls rides home. Since places like these are the only outlets for women and men to interact freely, some men (and women?) can get a bit carried away. If a woman gets harassed or raped in these types of situations there's not much that can be done about it. I know one nurse that got raped and many others that were harassed, and for some reason most of these men were of Lebanese nationality.

Beware of alcoholism. Many expats start drinking so much that it becomes their only hobby. They drink homebrew like it's mountain dew! I feel sorry for people who come here only to try and live exactly as they did back home, never leaving their compounds and passing their every weekend and sometimes weekday drinking in the same small circle of people.
I know of one British guy slowly turning into an alcoholic, which in the end got him fired from his job, robbed and thrown into jail after drunk driving. He naturally got deported from the Kingdom and went to rehab in Britain.
So if you are planning a move here, you have been warned! I honestly can't recommend for newcomers to get involved in the Saudi nightlife scene. I would suggest finding something meaningful to do instead, get to know some locals and explore your surroudings since you have the chance to be in Saudi-Arabia!

Eid al Fitr in Riyadh

The first three days of the Eid al Fitr following the ending of Ramadan were full of different celebrations around Riyadh. This wasn't always the case though, a few years ago there wasn't much happening in KSA during these holidays. Most Saudis used to flock abroad this time of the year so now they have tried to keep people in the country by arranging these events.

I went to the National museum garden where there was traditional singing, dancing and poetry recital shows. The audience there was segregated, men were in the front rows with best views.. Anyways the atmosphere was relaxed and the garden and fountain areas were packed with families having picnics enjoying the light and fountain shows.

The definite highlight was the event at the al Kindy square in the Diplomatic Quarters. The area was beautifully decorated and the event well organized. We were given seats on the golden chairs in the VIP area, for unknown reasons (other than we were the only westerners there?)

The show consisted of traditional singing and dancing from various regions around Saudi. The dancers were great and the audience was really into the show, especially the female audience seemed to particularly like some of the dancers (all male)!! This time they hadn't segregated all of the audience. Surprisingly only the single males were having the worst seats in their own pen away from the main audience.

Later on the press wanted to interview us for live tv and we agreed (I was so nervous I can't remember what I answered to the questions) Then when the event was over we were photographed for some local magazines together with the dancers and even got to hold the swords. They are very heavy btw.

Here are some random pics I took:

fireworks at the football stadium

Najdi singing/dancing group in DQ

the flower festival areaa muttawa at the King abdulaziz historical centre is caught on candid camera.

the fountain and light show at national museum

view from water tower looking down to the garden of national museum

a jasmine-haired girl from the Gizan dancers carries the bakhoor

sometimes being a westerner might get you a seat in the VIP section

the Gizan dance group reminded me very much of african tribal dances

this dancer from the Riyadh group had some seriously groovy moves, whenever he was on stage the ladies would start screaming!

boys all dressed up in daglah

girls in eid dresses

traditional salesman

sword dancing which if broadcasted in the western media would possibly be interpreted as "fanatic group of extremists performing jihad dancing" or "muslim warriors dance and chant with swords threatening world peace" 

bedouin man playing a rababah while singing poetry

:)

Letter to Saudi women: Please leave my husband alone!

Dear Saudi women out there who have the bad habit of stalking my Saudi husband. Please leave my husband alone. You drive me crazy!!
Not that this letter will be likely to ever reach you.

Could you please stop staring at my husband and following him around when we are out together?

Yes he is married to a westerner, does that make you feel jealous or bitter that he didn't marry one of his "own kind"?

Please just leave him alone, he is a shy guy. He doesn't want the attention.

Staring is actually really impolite, did you know?

In fact leering at someone is viewed as inconsiderate and uncivilized.

Civilized people do not stare at strangers so recklessly.

Civilized people also do not whisper, point at people and giggle in their presence. Especially adults.

Shouldn't you be minding your own business rather than gawking at him like he is an alien?

Or do you perhaps view him as a traitor? Since he is with me, a western woman who stole such great marriage material from a Saudi woman?

Yes, my husband is very handsome, tall and well-built. Are you checking him out? I think sometimes you are.

Please lower your gaze.

Wearing niqab is not an excuse to stare and does not give you the right to neglect the first part of the ayat of lowering gazes.

Aren't you worried your husband if you have one, will notice you staring at another man?

Sometimes I've seen you with your husband, looking at mine.

Do you not feel guilty at all for leering at him so blatantly, and for flirting with an obviously married man?

What about batting your long fake eyelashes at him like you are the Queen of Sheba? Do you seriously think it has any effect on him?

And for your information, I am not a stupid, or blind. I can see very well you eyeing him from behind the anonymity of your niqab.

Sometimes you follow him around the store with your girlfriends like he is a piece of meat and you forgot to eat your iftar.

Or are you really this bored? If so, couldn't you think of a more stimulating and intelligent way to pass your time than shopping and evaluating other womens husbands?

Can you please be a bit more respectful? My husband does not stare back at you, he has done nothing to you and just wants to do some shopping in peace with his wife.

Sorry to disappoint you but he is not looking for a second wife.

Your co-operation is highly appreciated.

Thank you!

P.S Here is a very similar experience written by an Englishman in Riyadh:http://margraves.blogspot.com/2006/11/i-am-not-piece-of-meat.html


P.S. Just to clarify this letter is not meant for ALL Saudi women!

Saudi-Arabia: Changing Genders

In a previous post I wrote about Saudi-Arabia and its raging epidemic of tribalism. Read more about it here.

The 'inbreeding' which results from tribal thinking can sometimes be devastating or even fatal to children that are born into families who practiced first cousin marriages for centuries. I've seen the most peculiar and rare genetic disorders birth defects in the pediatric patients I've taken care of in the Kingdom. The prevalence of certain genetic diseases is very high in Saudi-Arabia compared to the rest of the world because of high rates of consanguinity reaching up to 80% of all marriages in some regions.

An example of such a disorder are the children born with ambigious genitalia. "A child may be born with genitals that are not clearly male or female (ambiguous genitals, or intersex state). Most children with ambiguous genitals are pseudohermaphrodites—that is, they have ambiguous external genital organs but either ovaries or testes (not both). Pseudohermaphrodites are genetically male or female."
Read more about the condition here: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec23/ch265/ch265d.html
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003269.htm

The metabolic disorder causing it is called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Most of the cases in KSA are caused by this inherited condition. Unfortunately accurate data on the nationwide prevalence does not exist or it's very scarce. This is typical to KSA, statistics on certain "hush hush" topics are either withheld, do not exist or at least have a nice thick sugar coating on them.

In Saudi-Arabia the majority of the cases caused by CAH are type 46XX which means the child is a genetic female with male genitalia. Some are not easy to define at birth and need testing to define sex. Sometimes gender is not properly investigated and the outcome is assigning the sex as the preferred gender in Saudi: MALE.

According to this study "There was an obvious preference to assign male sex."

This, despite the evidence from studies conducted in western countries:
"It is often technically easier to treat (and therefore raise) the child as female (it is easier for a surgeon to make female genitalia than it is to make male genitalia), so in some cases this is recommended even if the child is genetically male."
"we conclude that the assignment to the female gender as a general policy for 46,XX patients with CAH appears justified, even in severely masculinized cases"


So why are so many Saudi families that have children with ambiguous genitalia assigning male sex for clearly genetical females?

I guess it's obvious what the preferred gender is in Saudi-Arabia. If you had the chance to live as a woman or as a man in KSA, I bet most would choose the latter because of all the restrictions imposed on a woman's life here. Life as a man in Saudi-Arabia is easy and privileged. For a woman it's hard with many restrictions and never earning the right to be a full citizen, rather treated as a legal child for the rest of her life.

Sometimes the patients will need gender reassignment which means they need to decide whether or not to change the official sex of the child as recommended by the doctors. Saudi parents often refuse, especially when it is suggested to change from male to female. The best for the child would be naturally to determine the sex when they are very young. It happens though that sometimes the diagnosis or decision is made late, and the child already identifies as female or male. Despite this the sex is changed which causes many emotional problems and identity crisis for the child.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15573851

So this means that Saudi patients will come in for sex change operations, which otherwise are strictly prohibited in Islam. Changing God's creation is not allowed by plastic surgery.
I tried to search regarding the Islamic ruling on this type of sex change surgery and it seems to be viewed as a deficit which therefore can be repaired.

I found this ruling for a surgical operation (removing male organs) in order to turn him into a girl:

"It is permissible to perform the operation in order to reveal what was hidden of male or female organs. Indeed, it is obligatory to do so on the grounds that it must be considered a treatment, when a trustworthy doctor advises it. It is, however, not permissible to do it at the mere wish to change sex from woman to man, or vice versa."

Interestingly, children with ambiguous genitalia are actually mentioned in old Islamic texts, they are referred to as "khunutha".
Paula Sanders, "Gendering the Ungendered Body: Hermaphrodites in Medieval Islamic Law," in Nikki R. Keddie and Beth Baron, eds., Women in Middle Eastern History (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 74-95.

"Although the marriage to a khuntha woman, for example, could not be regarded as valid as long as the sex of the khuntha was unknown, it was still considered to be mustaqim, meaning that it did not involve anything forbidden."

"The jurists reasoned that if the khuntha turned out to be a woman, this meant only that two members of the same sex had seen one another and that the marriage itself was merely a blunder. If it turned out to be a man, this constituted the gaze of a woman upon her husband, and there was no prohibition against it."

I recently had a patient that came in for sex change surgery. She had been brought up as a girl and was genetically female, but apparently had decided she wanted to become a boy after all and the surgeons were OK with performing sex change operation on her at the mature age of 19. This girl was very petite and had a short stature but she had cut her hair short and arrived at the hospital in a thobe. It was all very strange. Her medical records had to be altered because her name was to be changed to Mohammed.

After her (or his) operation in which they constructed male genitals and removed the female parts, the girl turned boy seemed quite happy and all the friends that visited him were young Saudi men that didn't seem phased by the change whatsoever.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia could be mostly avoided by simple prenatal screening, especially for the high risk families. That way the pregnant mother could get treatments to minimize the risk of genital ambiguity. It's common for the same family to have more than one effected siblings.

Saudi-Arabia has does have a premarital screening program, in which they screen for the three most common hereditary diseases, including one metabolic disorder (but not CAH). However like I mentioned in my previous post on tribalism, the sad fact remains that even if the screened couple is deemed to be at VERY HIGH RISK for having children with the mentioned hereditary diseases, 90% of them will marry anyway and genetic diseases will continue to flourish in Saudi-Arabia.