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| Arabia | |
| Saudi Opinion Piece: "Our Society Suffers From Schizophrenia" | |
| 2003-07-20 | |
| Of course, every society has similar anomalies - Iâm not picking on the Saudis, this time. But since I have seen this one myself - on every flight I ever took in or out of the Kingdom - I know itâs an accurate observation. Others may find it interesting, as well. A foreign journalist told me about a weird incident that happened to him on his flight from Jeddah to London. After taking a short nap on board, he woke up to set eyes on a totally different scene. His veiled neighbor wearing the familiar long black abaya had disappeared. In her place, he found a beautiful and stylish girl in tight pants checking her make-up. Still dazed, he looked right and left trying to find his veiled neighbor, but then came the second surprise: All surrounding veils were gone. Some men who had been taking care of their women were busy watching others, some of the completely silent women started talking and laughing loudly, expensive dresses came out, and for the first time the astonished journalist saw and heard Saudi women. In London, it was the same. Cheery Arabs were gathering in Londonâs markets, squares and nightclubs dressed in the latest Western fashions. My confused friend asked: If your religion and traditions specify certain features for a womanâs dress, why is their use limited to your country? Why canât I phone my friendâs wife in Jeddah if I can meet her in full make-up in London? Why does my Muslim friend perform his prayers regularly five times a day in his country and turns his back on some or all of them in London? Is your religion confined to the land of Islam or do rules vary according to time, place and occasion? I explained to him that these few donât represent the whole of society. There are maximum and minimum levels of veiling depending on persuasion and circumstances. Covering the face is not required in most Islamic schools of thought. The black abaya is a societal tradition and not a condition for wearing the veil. Foreign women do the same when they visit the Kingdom. They wear veils and dress in long abayas out of respect for the country and its authentic traditions. Although I believe in that answer, I also share the desire to explore the reasons for the âschizophreniaâ many segments of our society suffer from. Our young are taught the noble values and virtues of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in schools and mosques, and learn about them from radio and TV, but when they are out in the real world dealing with adults and observing the behavior and attitudes of their teachers and parents, they discover that what they had learned is not necessarily what is practiced. Confusion rules and innocence is submerged in a sea of contradictions. We are in real need of religious, sociological, and scientific studies concerning these phenomena. Experts in each field should participate in exploring ways to get us out of this situation. Allah doesnât help a people unless they help themselves. This is just a taste - and he picks one of the most innocuous examples: womenâs dress. He failed to point out the most obvious example: the instant an outbound flight is airborne, the "attendant call" buttons light up like a Christmas Tree: itâs all the Saudis dying for a drink and demanding immediate service. Just ask any stewardess on any International flight about the legendary stories from co-workers whoâve been on flights in and out of the Gulf. I guarantee that she will know a bunch and enjoy telling them. BTW, this is possibly the best opening "line" you can use to chat up a stew... Good luck!
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| Posted by:PD |
| #7 How do Soddies act outside the kingdom? Walk down Pat Pong. Watch the Soddies, proudly wearing their skirts and scarves, leering at the 12 year old boys performing the boy-f***ing-boy shows. Listen as they mutter something about this not being against their religion as they waddle off to the side room with boy #4. Soddy land - accurate description - sod 'em all. |
| Posted by: parallaxview 2003-7-21 2:11:58 AM |
| #6 Cyber Sarge - You're right, in the West. The way it works within Islam, however is a real eye-opener. Muslim men get a pass. No matter what happens, it's never their fault. It's one reason Islam is attractive to certain types of people. You don't even have to do a bunch of equivalent Hail Marys or any such silliness. If he is tempted - it's not his fault. He does not have to have any self-control or discipline - that's Western thinking. Examples: Ramadan - during the "holy" month Muslims may not eat, drink, smoke, or have sex - and that includes water or anything - from sun-up to sun-down. And this is in a desert country... Westerners are ALSO required to abstain. We get into serious trouble if we break this stricture and are reported. Why, you ask? Why should WE have to live by this moronic display of nothing? Because if we do it - then he is tempted and we have harmed him and Islam. Let that circle the drain for a few seconds... now extrapolate... Beach Riots - last summer there were "riots" in the Jeddah area. I know this didn't make the news in any big way outside of Saudi, because it was suppressed and downplayed so well within. Large roving gangs / groups of young men descended upon the Red Sea beaches around Jeddah and "attacked" women. Now I have seen families at the sea-shore around Dhahran. It's a helluva sight - clusters of ninjas with men and children. Fully covered in the MBO (Moving Black Object) garb in the middle of summer by the sea serving their families picnic lunches. And the young Saudi men drive back and forth on the nearest road "checking out the babes." If it wasn't so pathetic, it would be hysterically absurd. Once you've been there long enough to become a full-fledged cynic, it IS hysterical. Ok. Back to Jeddah. The "attacks" (an Arab News euphemism) were supposedly sparked by some woman or women who weren't covered correctly. I doubt this, personally, but it doesn't matter. Whatever it was, it "set them off" and the melee was on. There were hundreds of these young assholes. Rapes occurred - recall the euphemistic language of one of the official newspapers of the Govt of the birthplace of Islam. The Arab News (and other pubs) is no different from Pravda in the days before Gorbachev. It was undoubtedly bad for them to have even reported the sanitized version that they did. Certainly the scale of the event kept them from hushing it up. When questioned by the police and military (there were a LOT of these guys gone amok) the story given was that they were unduly tempted by some women. Once tempted, well, all bets were apparently off. It might have been triggered by some Western woman who didn't realize she was breaking the "rules" - such detail never made it to print - but if it had been, I bet they would've said so and blamed the West and its "decadence" for the whole thing. In fact, in retrospect, I'm sure they missed an opportunity, there. I DO know that the story was pulled off the online version of The Arab News within 2 days - cuz I looked for it to save. Bottom Line: almost all of the young hoodlums were released because they were held as not being responsible for their actions: they were tempted. You hear stories of this behavior on a smaller scale in other places. Western women are ALL considered fair game and whores becasue they don't cover. Whether a Muslim can take advantage of this temptation without fear of legal consequences merely depends on where they are. In PakiLand and other equally insane Sharia Law controlled locales, similarly absurd acts are not uncommon. Islam of the Sharia Law flavor, Religion of Peace, is hollow and barbaric in practice, fuck what they say, and it certainly caters to a certain kind of sick individual... the gutless kind. Alley Oop would recognize the fit and sign up in a minute. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-20 9:21:27 PM |
| #5 This activity demonstrates the lack of their religious or cultural conviction. A true test of ones religion is how you follow it when no one is looking. If they think the veil is necessary within the kingdom, then it should be necessary outside the kingdom. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-7-20 4:11:38 PM |
| #4 I've heard these stewardess tales for a long time too. One said that, as the plane approached Saudi Arabia and the men started to don their Arab dress, they would become offended if they were offered drinks. They were good Muslims! How dare she insinuate they drink alcohol! These are the same guys who'd knocked back a quart of hooch during the flight. I liked this bit the best: The black abaya is a societal tradition and not a condition for wearing the veil. Uh huh. This in itself is a schizophrenic statement. When repressive covering requirements for women are used to criticize Islam, we're told that these are cultural customs, and not religious requirements. And yet when it's suggested that those customs might be changed, there is outrage, because we are challenging religious law. What I don't get is why, if the Saudis are so eager to shed their customs---which are only customs, remember, not the requirements of Islam---they don't agitate for looser ones. It's possible, I suppose, that they don't really want to shed their customs, but believe that it's necessary to dress and behave as Westerners while in the West. But surely it can't have escaped their notice that no one in the West is beating women who don't wear make-up and tight pants. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-7-20 2:08:31 PM |
| #3 Barbara - I love your comment and I have a couple of funny & relevant stories from SaoodiLand I could tell, but Anonymous would undoubtedly show up and shit on the living room floor, again. He hasn't been house-trained, yet. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-20 12:06:51 PM |
| #2 "Foreign women ... when they visit the Kingdom ... wear veils and dress in long abayas out of respect for the country and its authentic traditions." Like Hell they do. They wear them so they won't be beaten, locked up, and/or raped and then beheaded for "adultery." And if "Allah doesn't help a people unless they help themselves," then it's obvious the Middle Eastern Muslims haven't been helping themselves for over a thousand years. Everything they have they've taken from someone else. Religion of Peace and Toleranceâ¢, my ass. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-7-20 11:55:35 AM |
| #1 "they discover that what they had learned is not necessarily what is practiced." Like with every other religion on this planet. Nothing new here. "We are in real need of religious, sociological, and scientific studies concerning these phenomena." No we're not. It's simply human nature. Nothing difficult to understand here. For as long as there were humans walking around, we were screwing things up, and at the same time, striving for perfection as prescribed in the holy books. "Allah doesnât help a people unless they help themselves." Given that Islam tends to abhor modernity, and prefers the 7th century lifestyle, I don't think Allah will help anyone soon if that statement is to be taken as correct. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-7-20 9:42:52 AM |