Political Reform
The Issue
Given its trenchant influence on 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide and its position in the world’s oil market, Saudi Arabia cannot be disregarded or surrendered to an absolute monarchy that encourages the oppression of women and religious minorities, and fosters domestic extremism and international terrorism. A constitutional, democratic government combined with the rule of law, is the best hope for the long term prosperity and unity of the people of Saudi Arabia. This prospect will give Saudi citizens a say in decisions that impact their daily lives and empower them to join the international community as respected equals. A democratized Saudi Arabia will no longer be an incubator for intolerance and terrorism; instead, the result will be a responsible, accountable and productive society, ruled by laws created by its members, not by leaders who invoke fear and resentment. This outcome is in the best interests of the Saudi people, the United States and all democratic societies. Read More…
From CDHRA Courageous Saudi Blogger languishes in Saudi Prison When the courageous and well known Saudi blogger, Fouad Al Farhan, was arrested on December 11th, 2007, by Prince Naif’s Ministry of Interior, many Saudis knew it was because he had posted blogs demanding reforms in Saudi Arabia. Another belief is that his arrest was the immediate result of his refusal to retract some of his blogposts criticizing Saudi officials. Although the government denied these allegations, it has become clear that Fouad’s criticism and demands were what led to his unjustified and arbitrary arrest, because no other charges have been brought against him. Read More… Codifying Shariah Law is Overdue Shariah law is an arbitrary system subject to any interpretation and implementation by any judge in Saudi Arabia, yet it is also the law of the land. There are many discourses among Muslims as to the origin, interpretation and application of Shariah law. Modernity, globalization and unprecedented economic interdependence demand accountability, transparency, rule of law and independent judicial systems, operated by modern men and women who have diverse religious and secular training. These men and women should either be elected or appointed based on their merits and service to the public. Read More… Spending Money on Education is Not Enough The University of Shanghai, in Communist China conducted a survey of 3,000 universities worldwide last year and ranked Saudi universities only above Somalia and Djibouti, which led a Saudi citizen to say, “I learn something new, I did not even know Somalia and Djibouti have universities.” The unjustifiable, unacceptable and dangerous scientific backwardness in Saudi Arabia lies squarely on the shoulders and conscious of the Saudi royal family’s system, which intentionally puts Salafist religious extremists in charge of education. Read More… Arab Collective Censorship To ensure its already stifling grip on free speech and the flow of information, the Minister of Information of the Arab League approved a censorship bill at the Arab League meeting on February 12, 2008. The bill was drafted by two ostensibly “moderate” Arab allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for the Arab League, a group of nations that is composed of 22 tyrannical regimes (with the exception of Lebanon) and led by the United States. The bill forbids criticism of Arab autocratic regimes and their policies under the guise of preventing subversion, when in fact it reinforces Arab tyrannical regimes to continue doing as they wish, unchallenged. Read More… Arbitrary Judicial System The saga of Fatima and her husband Mansour started approximately two years ago. The couple was married legally and with the consent of Fatima’s father, who died at a later stage. Some relatives, including a half brother, protested against the marriage because they claimed Mansour was not good enough for Fatima because he was not pure blood Arabian. Fatima’s relatives went to one of the Saudi anti-women religious courts and obtained an annulment order to dissolve the marriage. This is where the wrenching story of Fatima, Mansour, and their two young children began. Read More… Time to Surpass Stone Age Mentality The Saudi royal family’s policies and practices of rejecting modern economic and democratic developments have been under relentless global and domestic attack in recent years, especially since September 11, 2001. The most recent assault came from a humble but genius leader, Singaporean Minister, Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who changed the outlook of his small country’s diverse population, comprised of four ethnic nationalities, nine distinct languages and eight different religions (including Islam), from a lifestyle in which people relied on fishing to survive, into one of the world’s most modern and participatory economies. Read More… Release the Blogger Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most censored societies on earth. All forms of free expression are banned, independent civil society is prohibited, and men and women are severely segregated and deprived of many of the same rights, benefits and social norms that are accepted and valued worldwide. The press is government controlled and all editors of print and visual media are appointed by the government. Read More… Despite It’s Obsession with Security Despite the Saudi government’s extraordinary expenditure on its layers of extravagantly armed domestic security personnel and unprecedented fortification of its borders, the instability of Saudi Arabia and its absolute royal family are probably at their worst ever. Since the bombing of foreign compounds in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and other parts of the country in 2003 and subsequent years, 45 violent attempts against the royal family, its infrastructures and its extremist religious establishment have been foiled by the Saudi security apparatus with the help of foreign governments each year. Read More… When Self-Imposed Censorship is Not Enforced The Saudi population is amongst the most self-regulated on earth. This is due to a crippling fear of being punished for doing something a member of the thousands of princes and princesses may consider offensive or insensitive to the royal supremacy. There are no codified civil laws, rules, or regulations in Saudi Arabia. Read More… Buttressing a Failing System By decreeing the formation of a constellation of power-hungry and competing royal princes to determine who among them should rule after he and his designated replacement, Crown Prince Sultan either die or cannot govern, King Abdullah put an end to speculations and hopes for power sharing with his disenfranchised subjects. Instead of opening the political process and empowering the people to help determine their future and the fate of their important but unstable country, King Abdullah reinforced his family’s exclusionary and authoritarian political structure, his government’s contested interpretation of Islam and the use of religion to justify the royal family’s legitimacy. Read More… Misreading the Saudis – Annapolis We, at the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, have received many inquiries asking for our opinion about the Saudi presence and participation at the November 27th Annapolis conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Our answer is simple: the Saudi foreign minister was dispatched to make sure no deal could be accepted without the approval of Hamas. Read More… East-West Religious Conflict The rise of religious fervor in Muslim communities in most parts of the world is seen by many non-sectarian Muslims and non-Muslims as a threat to democratic values, world peace, rights for women and minorities, and economic stability. This dangerous trend is attributed to excessive use of religion as a political and oppressive tool by many autocratic Arab and Muslim regimes, especially in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to two of its most holy shrines. Read More… Saudi Arabia Should Ensure Detainees’ Rights Saudi Arabia should disclose the charges facing ten men recently arrested for “helping terrorism” and ensure the men are protected from torture or other ill-treatment, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights said today in a letter to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. Read More… Iraq Study Group Report Highlights Saudi Inaction The Iraq Study group released its report in Dec. 2006, detailing its recommendations to the Bush administration on how best to proceed with the war in Iraq. A key aspect of these recommendations was the Group’s determination that regional diplomacy will be paramount if a stable and permanent solution is to be found to the ongoing sectarian strife. The role Saudi Arabia is to play in any such solution was given much thought in the report, and the findings about the Saudi role in the Iraq conflict were revealing in several respects. Read More… Saudi Arabia Blocks Promised Access to Prisons When a delegation from Human Rights Watch (HRW) traveled to Saudi Arabia in December 2006, the delegates were told prior to their trip that they would have access to the country’s numerous prison facilities. However, when the delegates arrived in Saudi Arabia, they were denied access and told that they couldn’t speak with any prisoners because the guards were the only ones who could authorize such visits. This should not have come as a surprise to anyone who knows anything about Saudi methods. Arbitrary arrests, interrogations and verdicts based on the moods of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif and religious judges are commonplace. Read More… Turki al-Faisal’s Intrigues Causing a storm of speculation, allegations and confusing reports, Turki al-Faisal suddenly and unexpectedly resigned from his high profile position as Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. in mid-December. Contrary to the usual process of the Saudi ruling dynasty, where officials often learn of their dismissal through the media, Turki al-Faisal told the Washington Post he was leaving his position to spend time with his family. An examination of his relationship with the royal family raises questions about the real reasons for his resignation and reveals the dysfunction of the Saudi system. Read More… Saudis thwarted Seven “Terrorists” Cells The unearthing of what seems to be seven cells (136 people) in Saudi Arabia during the last three months, and killing of two Saudi security personal by men who wanted to free their Al-Qaeda comrades from “Ruwais prison in Jeddah” on December 7, is sobering proof that the stability of the Saudi state remains elusive at best. Read More… |
In the NewsAnnihilation of Critical Thinking in Young Minds “What we have overlooked as a society is the fact that it is this very annihilation of critical thinking that has allowed members of our youth to be seduced and manipulated by spurious and dangerous ideologies. We have reached a turning point in our history and the only way to redefine ourselves is to re-evaluate our educational system.”
“The first-ever elected Municipal Council is facing procedural and bureaucratic bottlenecks as well as problems resulting from old regulations. However, it is striving to live up to the expectations and demands of the people who elected them to office, a Municipal Council official told The Saudi Gazette on Thursday.”
20 face lash, prison for dancing in Saudi Arabia “A Saudi Arabian judge sentenced 20 foreigners to receive lashes and spend several months in prison after convicting them of attending a party where alcohol was served and men and women danced, a newspaper reported Sunday.”
“A happily married couple, with three children, who expressed the singular desire to stay married, was divorced by the court in absentia against its will. How can someone be “divorced” against their will you may ask? Good question!”
“Private Schools can now have syllabi different from the ones prescribed by the Ministry of Education, reported the Arabic language daily Al-Madina Wednesday. The Ministry of Education gave the green light to private schools to teach foreign syllabus so long as it does not conflict with the Saudi education policy.”
All Charges against Al-Harbi Dropped The high school teacher Mohammad Al-Harbi, who was accused of mocking religion and was sentenced to three years in prison and 750 lashes on Nov. 14, has had all charges dropped against him, according to a Saudi security adviser.
Rights Groups Alarmed at Rising Saudi Executions Saudi murderer Ahmad al-Shaater’s appointment with death passed without fanfare on Friday. On the same day that high-profile executions in the United States and Singapore drew worldwide attention, Shaater was executed in the Red Sea town of Qunfudha, becoming at least the 78th person to be put to death in Saudi Arabia this year. Executions in the conservative kingdom, which strictly implements Islamic law, have doubled since last year and have hit their highest level for five years.
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