26 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
Saudi court sentenced on Friday a woman for 180 lashes and 8 months
in prison for on charges of driving a car and attacking security
officers.
SABQ online newspaper said that the security officers [private
right litigants] attended the trial and demanded the enforcement of
laws against the defendant.
According to the newspaper, the defendants appealed the ruling. Her
appeal was overturned by the Attorney General, the ruling was approved
by the Court of Appeal and turned to executive authorities for
enforcement.
The newspaper did not mention the name or the identity of the
suspect. Saudi Authorities did not issue an official statement regarding
the case.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/11111-saudi-woman-sentenced-to-180-lashes-and-8-months-in-jail-for-driving-a-car.
Showing posts with label Arabia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arabia. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Mecca for the rich: Islam’s holiest site ‘turning into Vegas’
January 17, 2014
Source:World Observer Online
Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas, and the moniker is not a compliment.
Over the past 10 years the holiest site in Islam has undergone a huge transformation, one that has divided opinion among Muslims all over the world.
Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.
To the al-Saud monarchy, Mecca is their vision of the future – a steel and concrete metropolis built on the proceeds of enormous oil wealth that showcases their national pride.
Yet growing numbers of citizens, particularly those living in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have looked on aghast as the nation’s archaeological heritage is trampled under a construction mania backed by hardline clerics who preach against the preservation of their own heritage. Mecca, once a place where the Prophet Mohamed insisted all Muslims would be equal, has become a playground for the rich, critics say, where naked capitalism has usurped spirituality as the city’s raison d’être.
Few are willing to discuss their fears openly because of the risks associated with criticising official policy in the authoritarian kingdom. And, with the exceptions of Turkey and Iran, fellow Muslim nations have largely held their tongues for fear of of a diplomatic fallout and restrictions on their citizens’ pilgrimage visas. Western archaeologists are silent out of fear that the few sites they are allowed access to will be closed to them.
But a number of prominent Saudi archaeologists and historians are speaking up in the belief that the opportunity to save Saudi Arabia’s remaining historical sites is closing fast.
“No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country’s historical sites. “We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it’s not too late to turn things around.”
Sami Angawi, a renowned Saudi expert on the region’s Islamic architecture, is equally concerned. “This is an absolute contradiction to the nature of Mecca and the sacredness of the house of God,” he told the Reuters news agency earlier this year. “Both [Mecca and Medina] are historically almost finished. You do not find anything except skyscrapers.”
Dr Alawi’s most pressing concern is the planned £690m expansion of the Grand Mosque, the most sacred site in Islam which contains the Kaaba – the black stone cube built by Ibrahim (Abraham) that Muslims face when they pray.
Construction officially began earlier this month with the country’s Justice Minister, Mohammed al-Eissa, exclaiming that the project would respect “the sacredness and glory of the location, which calls for the highest care and attention of the servants or Islam and Muslims”.
The 400,000 square metre development is being built to accommodate an extra 1.2 million pilgrims each year and will turn the Grand Mosque into the largest religious structure in the world. But the Islamic Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of key historical sites that they believe are now at risk from the ongoing development of Mecca, including the old Ottoman and Abbasi sections of the Grand Mosque, the house where the Prophet Mohamed was born and the house where his paternal uncle Hamza grew up.
There is little argument that Mecca and Medina desperately need infrastructure development. Twelve million pilgrims visit the cities every year with the numbers expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.
But critics fear that the desire to expand the pilgrimage sites has allowed the authorities to ride roughshod over the area’s cultural heritage. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca’s millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone.
The destruction has been aided by Wahabism, the austere interpretation of Islam that has served as the kingdom’s official religion ever since the al-Sauds rose to power across the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th century.
In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites and shrines encourage “shirq” – the sin of idolatry or polytheism – and should be destroyed. When the al-Saud tribes swept through Mecca in the 1920s, the first thing they did was lay waste to cemeteries holding many of Islam’s important figures. They have been destroying the country’s heritage ever since. Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.
Those circling the Kaaba only need to look skywards to see the latest example of the Saudi monarchy’s insatiable appetite for architectural bling. At 1,972ft, the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, opened earlier this year, soars over the surrounding Grand Mosque, part of an enormous development of skyscrapers that will house five-star hotels for the minority of pilgrims rich enough to afford them.
To build the skyscraper city, the authorities dynamited an entire mountain and the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress that lay on top of it. At the other end of the Grand Mosque complex, the house of the Prophet’s first wife Khadijah has been turned into a toilet block. The fate of the house he was born in is uncertain. Also planned for demolition are the Grand Mosque’s Ottoman columns which dare to contain the names of the Prophet’s companions, something hardline Wahabis detest.
For ordinary Meccans living in the mainly Ottoman-era town houses that make up much of what remains of the old city, development often means the loss of their family home.
Non-Muslims cannot visit Mecca and Medina, but The Independent was able to interview a number of citizens who expressed discontent over the way their town was changing. One young woman whose father recently had his house bulldozed described how her family was still waiting for compensation. “There was very little warning; they just came and told him that the house had to be bulldozed,” she said.
Another Meccan added: “If a prince of a member of the royal family wants to extend his palace he just does it. No one talks about it in public though. There’s such a climate of fear.”
Dr Alawi hopes the international community will finally begin to wake up to what is happening in the cradle of Islam. “We would never allow someone to destroy the Pyramids, so why are we letting Islam’s history disappear?”
Source:World Observer Online
Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas, and the moniker is not a compliment.
Over the past 10 years the holiest site in Islam has undergone a huge transformation, one that has divided opinion among Muslims all over the world.
Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.
To the al-Saud monarchy, Mecca is their vision of the future – a steel and concrete metropolis built on the proceeds of enormous oil wealth that showcases their national pride.
Yet growing numbers of citizens, particularly those living in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have looked on aghast as the nation’s archaeological heritage is trampled under a construction mania backed by hardline clerics who preach against the preservation of their own heritage. Mecca, once a place where the Prophet Mohamed insisted all Muslims would be equal, has become a playground for the rich, critics say, where naked capitalism has usurped spirituality as the city’s raison d’être.
Few are willing to discuss their fears openly because of the risks associated with criticising official policy in the authoritarian kingdom. And, with the exceptions of Turkey and Iran, fellow Muslim nations have largely held their tongues for fear of of a diplomatic fallout and restrictions on their citizens’ pilgrimage visas. Western archaeologists are silent out of fear that the few sites they are allowed access to will be closed to them.
But a number of prominent Saudi archaeologists and historians are speaking up in the belief that the opportunity to save Saudi Arabia’s remaining historical sites is closing fast.
“No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country’s historical sites. “We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it’s not too late to turn things around.”
Sami Angawi, a renowned Saudi expert on the region’s Islamic architecture, is equally concerned. “This is an absolute contradiction to the nature of Mecca and the sacredness of the house of God,” he told the Reuters news agency earlier this year. “Both [Mecca and Medina] are historically almost finished. You do not find anything except skyscrapers.”
Dr Alawi’s most pressing concern is the planned £690m expansion of the Grand Mosque, the most sacred site in Islam which contains the Kaaba – the black stone cube built by Ibrahim (Abraham) that Muslims face when they pray.
Construction officially began earlier this month with the country’s Justice Minister, Mohammed al-Eissa, exclaiming that the project would respect “the sacredness and glory of the location, which calls for the highest care and attention of the servants or Islam and Muslims”.
The 400,000 square metre development is being built to accommodate an extra 1.2 million pilgrims each year and will turn the Grand Mosque into the largest religious structure in the world. But the Islamic Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of key historical sites that they believe are now at risk from the ongoing development of Mecca, including the old Ottoman and Abbasi sections of the Grand Mosque, the house where the Prophet Mohamed was born and the house where his paternal uncle Hamza grew up.
There is little argument that Mecca and Medina desperately need infrastructure development. Twelve million pilgrims visit the cities every year with the numbers expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.
But critics fear that the desire to expand the pilgrimage sites has allowed the authorities to ride roughshod over the area’s cultural heritage. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca’s millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone.
The destruction has been aided by Wahabism, the austere interpretation of Islam that has served as the kingdom’s official religion ever since the al-Sauds rose to power across the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th century.
In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites and shrines encourage “shirq” – the sin of idolatry or polytheism – and should be destroyed. When the al-Saud tribes swept through Mecca in the 1920s, the first thing they did was lay waste to cemeteries holding many of Islam’s important figures. They have been destroying the country’s heritage ever since. Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.
Those circling the Kaaba only need to look skywards to see the latest example of the Saudi monarchy’s insatiable appetite for architectural bling. At 1,972ft, the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, opened earlier this year, soars over the surrounding Grand Mosque, part of an enormous development of skyscrapers that will house five-star hotels for the minority of pilgrims rich enough to afford them.
To build the skyscraper city, the authorities dynamited an entire mountain and the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress that lay on top of it. At the other end of the Grand Mosque complex, the house of the Prophet’s first wife Khadijah has been turned into a toilet block. The fate of the house he was born in is uncertain. Also planned for demolition are the Grand Mosque’s Ottoman columns which dare to contain the names of the Prophet’s companions, something hardline Wahabis detest.
For ordinary Meccans living in the mainly Ottoman-era town houses that make up much of what remains of the old city, development often means the loss of their family home.
Non-Muslims cannot visit Mecca and Medina, but The Independent was able to interview a number of citizens who expressed discontent over the way their town was changing. One young woman whose father recently had his house bulldozed described how her family was still waiting for compensation. “There was very little warning; they just came and told him that the house had to be bulldozed,” she said.
Another Meccan added: “If a prince of a member of the royal family wants to extend his palace he just does it. No one talks about it in public though. There’s such a climate of fear.”
Dr Alawi hopes the international community will finally begin to wake up to what is happening in the cradle of Islam. “We would never allow someone to destroy the Pyramids, so why are we letting Islam’s history disappear?”
Under Threat
Bayt al-Mawlid
When the Wahabis took Mecca in the 1920s they destroyed the dome on top of the house where the Prophet Mohammed was born. It was thenused as a cattle market before being turned into a library after a campaign by Meccans. There are concerns that the expansion of the Grand Mosque will destroy it once more. The site has never been excavated by archaeologists.
Ottoman and Abasi columns of the Grand Mosque
Slated for demolition as part of the Grand Mosque expansion, these intricately carved columns date back to the 17th century and are the oldest surviving sections of Islam’s holiest site. Much to the chagrin of Wahabis, they are inscribed with the names of the Prophet’s companions. Ottomon Mecca is now rapidly disappearing
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi
For many years, hardline Wahabi clerics have had their sites set on the 15th century green dome that rests above the tomb holding the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar in Medina. The mosque is regarded as the second holiest site in Islam. Wahabis, however, believe marked graves are idolatrous. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that “the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Masjid”.
Jabal al-Nour
A mountain outside Mecca where Mohammed received his first Koranic revelations. The Prophet used to spend long spells in a cave called Hira. The cave is particularly popular among South Asian pilgrims who have carved steps up to its entrance and adorned the walls with graffiti. Religious hardliners are keen to dissuade pilgrims from congregating there and have mooted the idea of removing the steps and even destroying the mountain altogether.
Link: http://worldobserveronline.com/2014/01/17/mecca-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-vegas/.
Bayt al-Mawlid
When the Wahabis took Mecca in the 1920s they destroyed the dome on top of the house where the Prophet Mohammed was born. It was thenused as a cattle market before being turned into a library after a campaign by Meccans. There are concerns that the expansion of the Grand Mosque will destroy it once more. The site has never been excavated by archaeologists.
Ottoman and Abasi columns of the Grand Mosque
Slated for demolition as part of the Grand Mosque expansion, these intricately carved columns date back to the 17th century and are the oldest surviving sections of Islam’s holiest site. Much to the chagrin of Wahabis, they are inscribed with the names of the Prophet’s companions. Ottomon Mecca is now rapidly disappearing
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi
For many years, hardline Wahabi clerics have had their sites set on the 15th century green dome that rests above the tomb holding the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar in Medina. The mosque is regarded as the second holiest site in Islam. Wahabis, however, believe marked graves are idolatrous. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that “the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Masjid”.
Jabal al-Nour
A mountain outside Mecca where Mohammed received his first Koranic revelations. The Prophet used to spend long spells in a cave called Hira. The cave is particularly popular among South Asian pilgrims who have carved steps up to its entrance and adorned the walls with graffiti. Religious hardliners are keen to dissuade pilgrims from congregating there and have mooted the idea of removing the steps and even destroying the mountain altogether.
Link: http://worldobserveronline.com/2014/01/17/mecca-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-vegas/.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
First Saudi Lady joins the 'ID Revolution'
Source: latheeffarook.com
from Middleeastmonitor
from Middleeastmonitor
The
first Saudi lady joined the "ID Revolution" in which a number of Saudi
citizens posted separately posts in YouTube attacking the regime. The
following is a translation of the clip posted on Youtube by a lady
calling herself Ali'niziyah (From the tribe of '): English translation of the video below.
In
the name of God. Praise be to god and peace of God and His Prayers be
upon the Messenger of God. Praise be to God, Praise be to Gad, Praise be
to God until Praise reaches Him. I have been extremely delighted as I
followed the recordings made by the young men of the land of the two
Shrines, with such courage and boldness, in which they uttered the word
of truth without hesitation or flattery. Each time someone spoke his
wordswere stronger than his predecessor in terms of meaning, clarity and
defiance of oppression. I hereby, in turn, join them and say the
following:
First,
I begin with expressing support for these young men and commending them
for speaking the truth out. Frankly, I had been concerned about our
country because those who spoke the truth in it were few and they had
already been held in the prisons. Yet, here they are competing to speak
the truth without fearing the wrath of the oppressor or his prisons or
the courts of oppression and tyranny.
I
would not add much if I were to talk about unemployment, poverty,
housing problems, the loss of rights, bad services, fees, penalties (for
violations), and inflation, etc. All the people know that this is the
reality.
Whoever says anything to the contrary knows he is lying, is a hypocrite and is simply paying lip service to those in authority.
Nor
would I be adding much if I said that whoever speaks out the truth will
be imprisoned and tortured and his reputation will be smeared.
Nor
would I be adding much if I said that the judiciary is corrupt and is
being manipulated by the princes so as to enable them to rob people of
their rights and is being manipulated by the authority so as to inflict
its punishment on whoever it wishes in the name of religion.
Nor
would I be adding much if I were to say that the country is full of
financial corruption, administrative corruption, red tape, nepotism and
illusionary projects that wasted billions, even trillions, to no avail.
Nor would I be adding anything new if I were to say that the country is full of immorality, crime and drugs.
However,
I might be adding (new things) by saying that those who stand behind
all of this corruption, oppression and manipulation of religion are the
House of Saud.
Until
when shall we continue to fool ourselves and blame it all on the
entourage? By God Almighty, those who accuse the entourage know well
that the House of Saud are behind all of this. Yet, they continue to do
this putt of tuqyah (knowing that what they conceal contradicts what
they reveal).
I
tell you, believe me, that the talk about the entourage in this way
only serves to protect and vindicate the oppressor. I would not rule out
the possibility, I would even say it firmly, that the oppressor is
happy to see the blame put squarely on the entourage. It is possible,
even surely, that it is the oppressor that propagates and spreads this
idea believing that such talk would contain people's anger and
frustration.
This,
indeed, is what is happening. Whenever you sit in the presence of a
group of people you hear them blaming it on the entourage, although they
know real well that it is the oppressive House of Saudi that stand
behind all of this and not the entourage. The entourage goes and comes
while the House of Saud is always there (going nowhere).
The
real issue is that we should declare it for all to hear: the problem
lies with you, House of Saud. There is no solution to our disasters,
catastrophes and the decline of our country except your departure. That
is it. There is no other solution.
Those
who care have been cautioning you for more than twenty years but the
situation only continued to deteriorate. And now, where are those who
cared? They are all inside prison.
Therefore, there is no solution except that you can effect yourselves, O people of the peninsula.
Prior
to these recordings I was sad that our people had not moved like the
rest of the peoples (in the region). But after the recordings (started
appearing) I came to the conclusion that the matter is drawing close.
You,
young men of the land of the two Shrines, who have earned testimony
from the arenas of heroism across the globe, in that you were the first
to take part and the bravest among those who took part (in Jihad)
everywhere, it is time you are testified for by your own homeland.
It
is time the land of the Peninsula testified for you and your heroic
acts. You should get ready to move whether by means of making recordings
like these or through other means. You are all obliged, religiously, to
make a move. The saying of the Prophet Peace be upon him "who he sees
an evil should endeavour to remove it" applies to all. It does apply to
all without exception and no one is excused. Do not hesitate.
Do
not hesitate at all. An action of this sort is categorised in the
highest ranks of jihad. Seek help from God and have trust in his.
"Whoever places his trust in God, God is enough for him".
I
am optimistic that (we shall see) hundreds, even thousands, of
recordings (made and published). May God provide victory or some other
(success). He is most capable.
May the peace and mercy of God be upon you
(Signed) Al-Jazi bint Sattam Al-Wayil Al-'Nizi
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Saudi Arabia: 'ID cards revolution' inflames YouTube against regime
06 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
Exclusive report and translation
Under the emblem of "the ID cards revolution" the Saudi youth protest
movement has shifted from twitter to YouTube. A group of Saudi young
men have begun recording individual video clips separately to convey
messages to the king complaining living hardships, criticising the
performance of the authority and denouncing corruption.
This started nearly a week ago, more specifically on the 30th of March, when a young man called Abd Al-Aziz Muhammad Al-Dusari published a video clip on YouTube under the title "a message to the king" in which he complained from his living condition due to the low salary he receives, which does not exceed 1900 riyals (500 dollars) and which, according to him, does not suffice his essential living needs. He criticised the preoccupation of the authority with fighting "bombings" and not paying attention to the needs of its citizens. He demanded improving the living conditions of Saudis from oil revenues that are, in his own words, enjoyed solely by the royal family. The he pulled his ID card in front of the camera announcing his full name to the public in what seemed an act of defiance to the authority and its expected repressive response.
This is the translation of what he says in his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I am a Saudi citizen. I only receive 1900 riyals. I ask you in the name of God, O Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, is this amount sufficient for the dowry or for the car or for the house? We have had enough. And you (do nothing but) blame those who carry out bombings and you blame this and that. Give us (what is duly ours) of the petroleum, which you keep to yourself and your children to enjoy. Here, this is my name, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Fahd Al-Dusari. Give us what is duly ours."
The Saudi Authorities moved immediately arresting Al-Dusary and charging him with incitement, sedition and rebelling against the ruler. This case has stirred up a wave of criticisms within the ranks of Saudi youth. Some young men have followed Al-Dusari's example and recorded their own videos in which they express their solidarity with him and criticise corruption within the ranks of the ruling regime in the Kingdom.
The second message was posted by Abdullah Al-Ghamdi who expressed solidarity with Al-Dusari's demands and called on young men to express solidarity with him by means of recording similar video clips. Al-Ghamdi criticised corruption inside the kingdom as a result of which few people enjoy wealth and prosperity while the rest of the people are starving, as he put it.
The following is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. Good evening to you all. Today, I watched a video clip for a Saudi young man called Abdul Aziz Muhammad Al-Dusari complaining from low salaries and their insufficiency addressing the king in his statement. By virtue of my own judgement and knowledge of the situation I support what the young man said in his statement and message to the king. I call on everyone to participate using the same method so that (our) voice may reach the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines and so that he may learn about the situation we are in of low income and the spread of corruption and oppression. It is neither acceptable nor sensible that only a small group of people, whether those governing or others that are corrupt, are enjoying state wealth while the rest of the population is starving and suffering because of poverty and oppression. Therefore, I support what the young man said and hereby I show you my ID card with my full details. I am Abdullah Mabruk bin Othman from Disha. I wish that everyone takes part (in this effort) using the same method. May God's peace and prayers be upon Muhammad."
The third message came from Saud Al-Harbi who started with an expression of solidarity with his comrades. He warned that this dynamic may soon spread to the street and criticised the Authority that is having dialogue with everyone including the Jews and the Americans but it has never occurred to it to have a dialogue with its own people.
Here is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. May God's peace and prayers be upon His Messenger. I would like to talk about the video clip of brother Abdullah Al-Ghamdi and the video clip of brother Abdul Aziz Al-Dusari. They demanded the improvement of citizens' living conditions. These of course are our demands, the demands of the entire people. We lost our voices talking in vain about them. Our demands are easy to find. You do not need to open a twitter account or something of the sort to know them. You will find them in the rubbish bins of Al-Tuwaijri. Do not force the people to resort to a peaceful protest dynamic. Do not force the people to take to the streets. Simply put, the number of black (word indistinct) cars is a lot fewer than the number of free men. It would be easy for us to (take to the streets) to demand our rights, peacefully of course. So, I beg you, I beg you, listen to our voice. Please listen to our voice. You have a national dialogue centre. You have had dialogue with the Jewish and the Christian and tomorrow you will be having dialogue with Obama. So, I beg you. Listen to our voice, listen to your voice, meet our demands. We need housing. We need to live a decent life. And here is our ID card: Saud Mardi Abdullah Al-Harbi."
The Saudi authorities arrested all three men one after the other and charged them with incitement, sedition and rebelling against the ruler. Consequently, there has been more discussion among the youth about this. Some of them pursued the same methodology of recording video clips in solidarity with the detained young men.
The next message came from Abul Rahman Al-Asiri who criticised the authorities for arresting the three young men who preceded him simply for demanding their rights.
The following is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I am citizen Abdul Rahman Ali Ahmad Ghraib Al-Asiri from Tuhama of Asir. I have watched a video clip for some repeatable and kind young men from our country, namely Al-Dusari, Al-Ghamdi and Al-Harbi. They were demanding their rights, their most basic rights. They were imprisoned the following day. The problem is with you Al Saud. You deliberately seek to humiliate and impoverish the people. The poor fellow Al-Dusari says "my salary is 1900", by Allah this is not sufficient to pay for dinner for one of your children. The following day we saw one of the princes, one of your children, who bought a gold plated car. The problem is with you Al Saud. You have stolen everything. You have stolen our name and our country and you have annexed us to you. By what right have you done that? You have even stolen Islam. It has become Saudi Islam, the one that belongs to Al-Fawzan, to Al Al-Sheikh and to you. You have even distorted it. You have stolen Messenger who has become Saudi. As for petroleum, instead of distributing it and giving to the people, you have (pursued a policy of) empoverishing and humiliating the people. And if you ever distribute petroleum you distribute it to the enemies of the Ummah, the Sisi and the Christians of Lebanon who look down upon the Arabs and see them as nothing but trash. The problem is with you. You have stolen everything. This is unlawful, this is unjust. This is unjust. I am a medical doctor. I trained in (National) Guards and military hospitals and in hospitals belonging to the Ministry of Health. Once we had to place three patients in one bed. Where is this Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz? You seem to see nothing! I am demanding the rights. The first right I demand is (to ask) why have you imprisoned them? All they did was to demand their rights. Why have you imprisoned them? It is from the man who bought a gold plated care that we seek to demand our right. While I am recording this clip you are busy giving an oath of allegiance to Migrin. This is a selling / buying process as if the people are nothing but a piece of furniture. You sell and buy when you tell people come and pay allegiance. No, this will not do. This is unlawful. And when we speak you imprison us. You imprison us or you tell us to leave the country. This is not your country alone. No. The people demand their rights. We want freedom. I warn you. We want what is right for our country. Yemen, Tunisia and the others are in the second republic (phase). Saudi Arabia will enter the first republic (phase) if you do not move and apply reason. And for the benefit of the secret police, because I know their tactics, here is (my ID card). Abdul Rahman Ali Ahmad Ghraib Al-Asiri. Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God."
The fifth message was recorded by Mu'adh bin Sulaiman Al-Juhani. He criticised the authority for imprisoning the youth who are only demanding their rights. He himself demands that the state distribute wealth to the people, build housing estates, employ the unemployed, and increase the salaries or else repercussions would rather grave, as he put it.
The following is the translation of his clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I direct this message to Al Saud. When the despotic king [reddens his cheeks] we flock to him with swords. You have stolen the people's wealth and when the people demand their rights you imprison them. What religion is this and what humanity? We demand the government to distribute the wealth fairly among the people and to stop stealing it you and your children. We demand the building of housing estates, employing the unemployed and increasing the salaries of employees. Otherwise the repercussions will be rather grave. And this is my ID card. I am Mu'adh Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Juhani from the Blessed Hijaz. May God's peace and prayers be upon Muhammad."
Video clip on YouTube by Al-Shammari
"Peace be upon you. I have three messages. The first message is directed to the people. Naturally, we all wish for reform except, of course, for the House of Saud. We as people wish for reform and wish to see things change (for the better). But, to be fair, whoever sees things will discover that it would impossible for reform to take place under the banner of the House of Saud. It is impossible, just impossible, by the Almighty God. These people are hostile to Islam, they are traitors, they are lackeys. They sold Iraq and they sold Palestine to Israel and they are hostile to all the Arab revolutions. The people are destitute. 25 per cent of the people are below the poverty line. All of this and (ours) is the richest country in the world. 70 per cent of the people cannot find housing. 60 % of the land is in the hands of the princes. And who ever utters a word demanding reform will be thrown in jail. Evidently, the young men who a few days ago demanded reform have been imprisoned. Why? What did they say to deserve imprisonment by you? As the proverb says: "evil and arrogant". You do not like to hear people demand reform! You just want them to pay lip service to you? Praise and thanks be to God. By God, even the Pharaoh was not like that. So, my message to the people is: rebel. Rebel because reform will not occur unless the House of Saud is no more.
My second message is directed at the Ulema. If you consider rebellion against the ruler is unlawful, this does not justify your defence of them and paying lip service to oppression and oppressors. By God, some Ulema, and some laymen too, justify oppression by the House of Saud in a manner that makes one suspect that they are none other than secret police. Why are you justifying this? What motivates you to defend them in this way? Some (much earlier) ulema used to prohibit rebellion against the rulers but they used at the same time to denounce them and even curse them. There is no contradiction (between the two acts). Regrettably, some ulema are not content with justifying (their oppression) but they also praise them. That is one thing. But if you consider rebellion against the oppressive ruler to be mandatory, then why are you silent? Why are you silent? I would like to know. You are (supposed to be) an example (to be followed by others). The House of Saud are oppressing (the people) and stealing (the wealth) while you are preoccupying the people with (trivial matters such as) growing the beard, shortening the gown and the technique of uttering praise post prayer. Ok, these are part of jurisprudence, we do not dispute. But, to what extent are we in need of this (type of) jurisprudence. Are these things more important than justice? Gold Almighty says: "We sent down our messengers with the book so that people establish justice and balance". He made justice an objective of sending messengers and books (to humanity) while you only care about growing the beard and shortening the gown. Yesterday, during the Friday sermon the imam spoke about the rewards allocated for those who fast on Mondays and Thursdays. You may say to me, so what, where is the problem (in this)? I shall tell you what is the problem. When oppression is so widespread and when corruption is so widespread and when all types of deviation are widespread while you are giving (the Friday) sermon about the reward (awaiting these who) fast on Mondays and Thursdays, there must be something wrong with you. This means you are completely detached from reality. So, my message to the ulema is that you should speak the truth. You should tell the oppressor "you are an oppressor". By God Almighty, the people will never respect you or appreciate you if you do not tell the House of Saud the truth to their faces.
My third and final message is directed at the House of Saud. Naturally, I am not (here) to demand or wish (anything) from you. Frankly and clearly, we have already lost all hope in you. Since the day you detained those young men who demanded reform, I feel you live in a world and we live in a different world altogether. However, I would like to say just one word. I would like to say that your end is drawing near, you lackeys. Your end is near. And this is my name: Muhammad Mut'ib Abdullah Al-Shammari."
Translation of a video clip by Al-Amri
"In the name of God most Gracious Most Merciful. May God's peace and prayers be upon Prophet Muhammad and all his companions. I would like to extend my thanks to the brothers who have demanded the rights of the citizens. My Allah reward them on our behalf. It is your legitimate right to demand you rights. So long you are on the (path of) truth, we are the supporters of Truth. The brothers have said enough regarding demands for the rights of the citizens.
The money that is sent abroad, to (support) coups and other things for the purpose of protecting your thrones, (you'd better) give to your people. Empower your own people instead. It is your people that will protect you. I ask you by God, (is it acceptable that) you have been so disrespectful of your people to the extent that a minister from Al Al-Sheikh comes out to say that we are protecting our asses? Shame on you by Allah. Not only is the citizen in dire need but is being humiliated by you. What a mess.
The detainees, the detainees, oh Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, (include) scholars and ulema. Whoever speaks the truth, you imprison him. By Allah this is a disaster. Sheikh Khalid Al-Rashid who is a defender of the Messenger of God, you have imprisoned him for 15 years? And then you say you implement the Law of God? No by God, this is not the Law of God. Never, never. The same thing happened to Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Ulwan. This by God is a strange thing. Fear god. There is this poor weak woman who is powerless and helpless, and you have imprisoned her. (Something about Muhammad bin Nayif - indistinct). I am present and my name is Jabir Salih Hamdan Al-Amri. This on the one side.
On the other side, whoever calls for the implementation of Shari'ah is accused of terrorism. If demanding the implementation of Shari'ah (amounts to being accused of) terrorism, (I'd say) welcome. If demanding our legitimate rights is (considered) stirring up sedition, then we seek God's help. Consider us fomenters of trouble. To (give my claim) more credibility that the people are suffering, I shall move elsewhere to video from it. Peace be upon you.
My second message is from the bedside of my father in the hospital. May God cure him and provide him with recovery. My father is the father of detainee Ali Salih Al-Amri who has been held inside Al-Ha'ir prison for the past 12 years. He was sentenced to three years but has not so far been released. There is no charge whatsoever apart from having god to (perform) jihad in 1410 (of Hijrah). Apart from that he has never been charged (of any crime). Frankly, we have not kept quiet for 12 years out of cowardice or fear. No, by God. We have appealed to the king, we have appealed to the Court of Grievances, we have appealed to the human rights (council), we have appealed to prince Nayif, we have appealed to Prince Muhammad bin Nayif, but to no avail. He was sentence for three years and now they are retrying him and fabricating new charges to justify keep him locked up for 12 year. For 12 years we have left no one but appealed to by letters and by faxes etc. You tell us your door is open? For 12 years, oh Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, I and my father have spared no effort. Of the open doors you talk about we have found none whatsoever. Muhammad bin Nayif has burnt the heart of this elderly man. May God burn his heart and provide us with victory in the life before the Hereafter.
I have only spoken and recorded this clip to clear my responsibility. I am not going to ask you once again whether you will release him or not. It is all in the hand of God. But I wanted to convey to you a picture that is already known to many people.
This is the father of detainee Ali Salih Hamdan Al-Amri whose nickname is Abd Al-Majid Al-Tabuki and I am his brother. May the peace and mercy of God be with you."
Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10748-saudi-arabia-id-cards-revolution-inflames-youtube-against-regime.
Comment: Subhan Allah...The regime of Arabia (Hijaz) is indeed tyrannical.. It is obviously a part of the global oligarchy/NWO/Illuminati. Leaders of many Muslim countries are tyrants who are agents of the NWO. All leaders within The Islamic Nation that are tyrannical will fall....I repeat any and all leaders within The Islamic Nation -that are tyrannical- will fall. Allah hates tyranny.
In sha' Allah... the period of tyranny is over and the period of the return of the Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad has begun... Allah knows best... tyrants within The Islamic Nation will fall. Only Allah knows when and how... Only after all the tyrants are gone will the Khilafah be re-established. Allah knows best.
Any Muslim who wants the Khilafah to be re-established must understand that the Khilafah is a blessing from Allah-not an obligation. This blessing will only come after the tyrants have gone. Allah knows best.
This is a statement to the NWO. Your agenda will not be accomplished. Allah is in command. He was always in command, and He will always be in command.
You who are of the Illuminati/NWO, you are not in command. Only what Allah permits will happen-nothing more! Your "God" Shaitan is a Jinn who is doomed to The Hell Fire. Any one who takes him as a lord or as a patron-and dies as such- will find themselves in The Hell Fire.This is a promise from Allah, through The Qur'an. Allah fulfills His promises.
The actual taped recordings of the individual brothers can be found in the original article.
Source: Middle East Monitor
Exclusive report and translation
Al-Dusari: My
salary is 1900 Riyals. The authority is preoccupied fighting the
bombings while enjoying alone the revenues of the petroleum. The maxim
"stave your dog it will obey you" is no longer valid.
Al-Ghamdi: I call upon the youth to participate by recording videos in the same way.
Al-Harbi: The
authority has established centres for having dialogue with the Jews and
the Americans but has not yet thought of having a dialogue with its
people.
Al-Asiri: Al
Saud, you have stolen every thing including even Islam and the
Messenger. I warn that the first Saudi republic is on its way.
Al-Juhani: If the state fails to meet the demands of the youth the repercussions will be grave indeed.
This started nearly a week ago, more specifically on the 30th of March, when a young man called Abd Al-Aziz Muhammad Al-Dusari published a video clip on YouTube under the title "a message to the king" in which he complained from his living condition due to the low salary he receives, which does not exceed 1900 riyals (500 dollars) and which, according to him, does not suffice his essential living needs. He criticised the preoccupation of the authority with fighting "bombings" and not paying attention to the needs of its citizens. He demanded improving the living conditions of Saudis from oil revenues that are, in his own words, enjoyed solely by the royal family. The he pulled his ID card in front of the camera announcing his full name to the public in what seemed an act of defiance to the authority and its expected repressive response.
This is the translation of what he says in his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I am a Saudi citizen. I only receive 1900 riyals. I ask you in the name of God, O Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, is this amount sufficient for the dowry or for the car or for the house? We have had enough. And you (do nothing but) blame those who carry out bombings and you blame this and that. Give us (what is duly ours) of the petroleum, which you keep to yourself and your children to enjoy. Here, this is my name, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Fahd Al-Dusari. Give us what is duly ours."
The Saudi Authorities moved immediately arresting Al-Dusary and charging him with incitement, sedition and rebelling against the ruler. This case has stirred up a wave of criticisms within the ranks of Saudi youth. Some young men have followed Al-Dusari's example and recorded their own videos in which they express their solidarity with him and criticise corruption within the ranks of the ruling regime in the Kingdom.
The second message was posted by Abdullah Al-Ghamdi who expressed solidarity with Al-Dusari's demands and called on young men to express solidarity with him by means of recording similar video clips. Al-Ghamdi criticised corruption inside the kingdom as a result of which few people enjoy wealth and prosperity while the rest of the people are starving, as he put it.
The following is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. Good evening to you all. Today, I watched a video clip for a Saudi young man called Abdul Aziz Muhammad Al-Dusari complaining from low salaries and their insufficiency addressing the king in his statement. By virtue of my own judgement and knowledge of the situation I support what the young man said in his statement and message to the king. I call on everyone to participate using the same method so that (our) voice may reach the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines and so that he may learn about the situation we are in of low income and the spread of corruption and oppression. It is neither acceptable nor sensible that only a small group of people, whether those governing or others that are corrupt, are enjoying state wealth while the rest of the population is starving and suffering because of poverty and oppression. Therefore, I support what the young man said and hereby I show you my ID card with my full details. I am Abdullah Mabruk bin Othman from Disha. I wish that everyone takes part (in this effort) using the same method. May God's peace and prayers be upon Muhammad."
The third message came from Saud Al-Harbi who started with an expression of solidarity with his comrades. He warned that this dynamic may soon spread to the street and criticised the Authority that is having dialogue with everyone including the Jews and the Americans but it has never occurred to it to have a dialogue with its own people.
Here is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. May God's peace and prayers be upon His Messenger. I would like to talk about the video clip of brother Abdullah Al-Ghamdi and the video clip of brother Abdul Aziz Al-Dusari. They demanded the improvement of citizens' living conditions. These of course are our demands, the demands of the entire people. We lost our voices talking in vain about them. Our demands are easy to find. You do not need to open a twitter account or something of the sort to know them. You will find them in the rubbish bins of Al-Tuwaijri. Do not force the people to resort to a peaceful protest dynamic. Do not force the people to take to the streets. Simply put, the number of black (word indistinct) cars is a lot fewer than the number of free men. It would be easy for us to (take to the streets) to demand our rights, peacefully of course. So, I beg you, I beg you, listen to our voice. Please listen to our voice. You have a national dialogue centre. You have had dialogue with the Jewish and the Christian and tomorrow you will be having dialogue with Obama. So, I beg you. Listen to our voice, listen to your voice, meet our demands. We need housing. We need to live a decent life. And here is our ID card: Saud Mardi Abdullah Al-Harbi."
The Saudi authorities arrested all three men one after the other and charged them with incitement, sedition and rebelling against the ruler. Consequently, there has been more discussion among the youth about this. Some of them pursued the same methodology of recording video clips in solidarity with the detained young men.
The next message came from Abul Rahman Al-Asiri who criticised the authorities for arresting the three young men who preceded him simply for demanding their rights.
The following is the translation of his video clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I am citizen Abdul Rahman Ali Ahmad Ghraib Al-Asiri from Tuhama of Asir. I have watched a video clip for some repeatable and kind young men from our country, namely Al-Dusari, Al-Ghamdi and Al-Harbi. They were demanding their rights, their most basic rights. They were imprisoned the following day. The problem is with you Al Saud. You deliberately seek to humiliate and impoverish the people. The poor fellow Al-Dusari says "my salary is 1900", by Allah this is not sufficient to pay for dinner for one of your children. The following day we saw one of the princes, one of your children, who bought a gold plated car. The problem is with you Al Saud. You have stolen everything. You have stolen our name and our country and you have annexed us to you. By what right have you done that? You have even stolen Islam. It has become Saudi Islam, the one that belongs to Al-Fawzan, to Al Al-Sheikh and to you. You have even distorted it. You have stolen Messenger who has become Saudi. As for petroleum, instead of distributing it and giving to the people, you have (pursued a policy of) empoverishing and humiliating the people. And if you ever distribute petroleum you distribute it to the enemies of the Ummah, the Sisi and the Christians of Lebanon who look down upon the Arabs and see them as nothing but trash. The problem is with you. You have stolen everything. This is unlawful, this is unjust. This is unjust. I am a medical doctor. I trained in (National) Guards and military hospitals and in hospitals belonging to the Ministry of Health. Once we had to place three patients in one bed. Where is this Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz? You seem to see nothing! I am demanding the rights. The first right I demand is (to ask) why have you imprisoned them? All they did was to demand their rights. Why have you imprisoned them? It is from the man who bought a gold plated care that we seek to demand our right. While I am recording this clip you are busy giving an oath of allegiance to Migrin. This is a selling / buying process as if the people are nothing but a piece of furniture. You sell and buy when you tell people come and pay allegiance. No, this will not do. This is unlawful. And when we speak you imprison us. You imprison us or you tell us to leave the country. This is not your country alone. No. The people demand their rights. We want freedom. I warn you. We want what is right for our country. Yemen, Tunisia and the others are in the second republic (phase). Saudi Arabia will enter the first republic (phase) if you do not move and apply reason. And for the benefit of the secret police, because I know their tactics, here is (my ID card). Abdul Rahman Ali Ahmad Ghraib Al-Asiri. Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God."
The fifth message was recorded by Mu'adh bin Sulaiman Al-Juhani. He criticised the authority for imprisoning the youth who are only demanding their rights. He himself demands that the state distribute wealth to the people, build housing estates, employ the unemployed, and increase the salaries or else repercussions would rather grave, as he put it.
The following is the translation of his clip:
"Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of God. I direct this message to Al Saud. When the despotic king [reddens his cheeks] we flock to him with swords. You have stolen the people's wealth and when the people demand their rights you imprison them. What religion is this and what humanity? We demand the government to distribute the wealth fairly among the people and to stop stealing it you and your children. We demand the building of housing estates, employing the unemployed and increasing the salaries of employees. Otherwise the repercussions will be rather grave. And this is my ID card. I am Mu'adh Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Juhani from the Blessed Hijaz. May God's peace and prayers be upon Muhammad."
Video clip on YouTube by Al-Shammari
"Peace be upon you. I have three messages. The first message is directed to the people. Naturally, we all wish for reform except, of course, for the House of Saud. We as people wish for reform and wish to see things change (for the better). But, to be fair, whoever sees things will discover that it would impossible for reform to take place under the banner of the House of Saud. It is impossible, just impossible, by the Almighty God. These people are hostile to Islam, they are traitors, they are lackeys. They sold Iraq and they sold Palestine to Israel and they are hostile to all the Arab revolutions. The people are destitute. 25 per cent of the people are below the poverty line. All of this and (ours) is the richest country in the world. 70 per cent of the people cannot find housing. 60 % of the land is in the hands of the princes. And who ever utters a word demanding reform will be thrown in jail. Evidently, the young men who a few days ago demanded reform have been imprisoned. Why? What did they say to deserve imprisonment by you? As the proverb says: "evil and arrogant". You do not like to hear people demand reform! You just want them to pay lip service to you? Praise and thanks be to God. By God, even the Pharaoh was not like that. So, my message to the people is: rebel. Rebel because reform will not occur unless the House of Saud is no more.
My second message is directed at the Ulema. If you consider rebellion against the ruler is unlawful, this does not justify your defence of them and paying lip service to oppression and oppressors. By God, some Ulema, and some laymen too, justify oppression by the House of Saud in a manner that makes one suspect that they are none other than secret police. Why are you justifying this? What motivates you to defend them in this way? Some (much earlier) ulema used to prohibit rebellion against the rulers but they used at the same time to denounce them and even curse them. There is no contradiction (between the two acts). Regrettably, some ulema are not content with justifying (their oppression) but they also praise them. That is one thing. But if you consider rebellion against the oppressive ruler to be mandatory, then why are you silent? Why are you silent? I would like to know. You are (supposed to be) an example (to be followed by others). The House of Saud are oppressing (the people) and stealing (the wealth) while you are preoccupying the people with (trivial matters such as) growing the beard, shortening the gown and the technique of uttering praise post prayer. Ok, these are part of jurisprudence, we do not dispute. But, to what extent are we in need of this (type of) jurisprudence. Are these things more important than justice? Gold Almighty says: "We sent down our messengers with the book so that people establish justice and balance". He made justice an objective of sending messengers and books (to humanity) while you only care about growing the beard and shortening the gown. Yesterday, during the Friday sermon the imam spoke about the rewards allocated for those who fast on Mondays and Thursdays. You may say to me, so what, where is the problem (in this)? I shall tell you what is the problem. When oppression is so widespread and when corruption is so widespread and when all types of deviation are widespread while you are giving (the Friday) sermon about the reward (awaiting these who) fast on Mondays and Thursdays, there must be something wrong with you. This means you are completely detached from reality. So, my message to the ulema is that you should speak the truth. You should tell the oppressor "you are an oppressor". By God Almighty, the people will never respect you or appreciate you if you do not tell the House of Saud the truth to their faces.
My third and final message is directed at the House of Saud. Naturally, I am not (here) to demand or wish (anything) from you. Frankly and clearly, we have already lost all hope in you. Since the day you detained those young men who demanded reform, I feel you live in a world and we live in a different world altogether. However, I would like to say just one word. I would like to say that your end is drawing near, you lackeys. Your end is near. And this is my name: Muhammad Mut'ib Abdullah Al-Shammari."
Translation of a video clip by Al-Amri
"In the name of God most Gracious Most Merciful. May God's peace and prayers be upon Prophet Muhammad and all his companions. I would like to extend my thanks to the brothers who have demanded the rights of the citizens. My Allah reward them on our behalf. It is your legitimate right to demand you rights. So long you are on the (path of) truth, we are the supporters of Truth. The brothers have said enough regarding demands for the rights of the citizens.
The money that is sent abroad, to (support) coups and other things for the purpose of protecting your thrones, (you'd better) give to your people. Empower your own people instead. It is your people that will protect you. I ask you by God, (is it acceptable that) you have been so disrespectful of your people to the extent that a minister from Al Al-Sheikh comes out to say that we are protecting our asses? Shame on you by Allah. Not only is the citizen in dire need but is being humiliated by you. What a mess.
The detainees, the detainees, oh Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, (include) scholars and ulema. Whoever speaks the truth, you imprison him. By Allah this is a disaster. Sheikh Khalid Al-Rashid who is a defender of the Messenger of God, you have imprisoned him for 15 years? And then you say you implement the Law of God? No by God, this is not the Law of God. Never, never. The same thing happened to Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Ulwan. This by God is a strange thing. Fear god. There is this poor weak woman who is powerless and helpless, and you have imprisoned her. (Something about Muhammad bin Nayif - indistinct). I am present and my name is Jabir Salih Hamdan Al-Amri. This on the one side.
On the other side, whoever calls for the implementation of Shari'ah is accused of terrorism. If demanding the implementation of Shari'ah (amounts to being accused of) terrorism, (I'd say) welcome. If demanding our legitimate rights is (considered) stirring up sedition, then we seek God's help. Consider us fomenters of trouble. To (give my claim) more credibility that the people are suffering, I shall move elsewhere to video from it. Peace be upon you.
My second message is from the bedside of my father in the hospital. May God cure him and provide him with recovery. My father is the father of detainee Ali Salih Al-Amri who has been held inside Al-Ha'ir prison for the past 12 years. He was sentenced to three years but has not so far been released. There is no charge whatsoever apart from having god to (perform) jihad in 1410 (of Hijrah). Apart from that he has never been charged (of any crime). Frankly, we have not kept quiet for 12 years out of cowardice or fear. No, by God. We have appealed to the king, we have appealed to the Court of Grievances, we have appealed to the human rights (council), we have appealed to prince Nayif, we have appealed to Prince Muhammad bin Nayif, but to no avail. He was sentence for three years and now they are retrying him and fabricating new charges to justify keep him locked up for 12 year. For 12 years we have left no one but appealed to by letters and by faxes etc. You tell us your door is open? For 12 years, oh Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, I and my father have spared no effort. Of the open doors you talk about we have found none whatsoever. Muhammad bin Nayif has burnt the heart of this elderly man. May God burn his heart and provide us with victory in the life before the Hereafter.
I have only spoken and recorded this clip to clear my responsibility. I am not going to ask you once again whether you will release him or not. It is all in the hand of God. But I wanted to convey to you a picture that is already known to many people.
This is the father of detainee Ali Salih Hamdan Al-Amri whose nickname is Abd Al-Majid Al-Tabuki and I am his brother. May the peace and mercy of God be with you."
Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10748-saudi-arabia-id-cards-revolution-inflames-youtube-against-regime.
Comment: Subhan Allah...The regime of Arabia (Hijaz) is indeed tyrannical.. It is obviously a part of the global oligarchy/NWO/Illuminati. Leaders of many Muslim countries are tyrants who are agents of the NWO. All leaders within The Islamic Nation that are tyrannical will fall....I repeat any and all leaders within The Islamic Nation -that are tyrannical- will fall. Allah hates tyranny.
In sha' Allah... the period of tyranny is over and the period of the return of the Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad has begun... Allah knows best... tyrants within The Islamic Nation will fall. Only Allah knows when and how... Only after all the tyrants are gone will the Khilafah be re-established. Allah knows best.
Any Muslim who wants the Khilafah to be re-established must understand that the Khilafah is a blessing from Allah-not an obligation. This blessing will only come after the tyrants have gone. Allah knows best.
This is a statement to the NWO. Your agenda will not be accomplished. Allah is in command. He was always in command, and He will always be in command.
You who are of the Illuminati/NWO, you are not in command. Only what Allah permits will happen-nothing more! Your "God" Shaitan is a Jinn who is doomed to The Hell Fire. Any one who takes him as a lord or as a patron-and dies as such- will find themselves in The Hell Fire.This is a promise from Allah, through The Qur'an. Allah fulfills His promises.
The actual taped recordings of the individual brothers can be found in the original article.
Monday, April 7, 2014
The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemony
Source: Al Monitor
comment: There is some interesting information in this article about the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Although the emphasis in the article about "Sunni hegemony" is nonsensical; the fear the Saudi regime has concerning the possibility of it being overthrown is real. Here is the article:
"The current “cold war” in the Middle East has taken two forms. It involves the Shiite-Sunni war being fought in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Gulf, as well as a parallel Sunni-Sunni conflict involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and political Islamic forces to control and dominate the politics of Sunni Islam. Dominating the Sunni sphere requires controlling religious interpretation, especially that relating to political systems. In this regard, the model of Islamic democracy practiced in Turkey is considered a challenge to the political realm of Saudi religious theory.
"While Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey believes that Islam and democracy are not mutually exclusive, and seeks to promote their compatibility among conservative Islamic movements in the Arab Middle East, Saudi Islamic rhetoric sees democracy as an encroachment on the fundamentals of religion. The rhetoric in the fatwas of Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, is an example of this perspective."
Friday, March 28, 2014
Saudi Arabia Isn't America's Friend
Mar 26, 2014
By The Editors
Source: Bloomberg View
Comments: The title of this article is misleading. Both the regimes of Arabia and The United States are members of the same team-the team of the NWO (New World Order). Just as the Democrats and Republicans are team mates within the team of NWO-the regimes of different nation states (which sometimes behave like they are hostile towards each other) are also team mates within the NWO team. The NWO play mind games against the public-both domestically within the U.S.-as well as internationally. "Bloomberg" is obviously one of many mouthpieces of the NWO. With this article it is being an active player in the mind games of The New World Order (a.k.a. The Illuminati). There is some interesting information within the article itself. It is for this reason that I am sharing it in this blog. Here is the article:
By The Editors
Source: Bloomberg View
Comments: The title of this article is misleading. Both the regimes of Arabia and The United States are members of the same team-the team of the NWO (New World Order). Just as the Democrats and Republicans are team mates within the team of NWO-the regimes of different nation states (which sometimes behave like they are hostile towards each other) are also team mates within the NWO team. The NWO play mind games against the public-both domestically within the U.S.-as well as internationally. "Bloomberg" is obviously one of many mouthpieces of the NWO. With this article it is being an active player in the mind games of The New World Order (a.k.a. The Illuminati). There is some interesting information within the article itself. It is for this reason that I am sharing it in this blog. Here is the article:
"U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah tomorrow, and the president's critics have been sounding a warning: By parting with the Saudis on Egypt, Syria and Iran, they say, his administration is endangering a vital alliance. The truth is, the relationship with Saudi Arabia is overdue for a recalibration.
"The U.S. and Saudi Arabia still have common interests -- in fighting terrorism, for example -- and Saudi Arabia's oil wealth means it will hold disproportionate sway in Washington for years to come. But neither Obama nor his critics (nor, for that matter, Saudis themselves) should kid themselves. Saudi Arabia is not a natural ally of the U.S., and probably never has been.
"The current landscape puts in stark relief just how anomalous the relationship is. When the Saudis look around the region, they see rebellions that unseated autocrats, like them, in Tunisia and Egypt. The U.S. generally welcomed these developments. Meanwhile, the one uprising that Saudi's Sunni royalty supports -- in Syria, against Syria's non-Sunni dictator -- is failing, and the Saudis resent the U.S. for not intervening decisively.
"On Iran, the Americans and Saudis stood together when the country's government was led by the pugnacious Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. President Hassan Rouhani's election, however, created an opening for a diplomatic resolution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, splitting U.S. and Saudi interests. The U.S. wants the talks to succeed to avoid a war with Iran. The Saudis hope they fail so its Shiite archrival will remain the subject of sanctions if not attacks.
"By complaining that Obama turned his back on Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak after Egyptians rose up against him, Saudi leaders betray both an exaggerated sense of U.S. influence and an unwillingness to consider what democratic reforms they might make to avoid Mubarak's fate. Might they consider, for example, allowing national elections? How about peaceful demonstrations? How about giving women equal rights to men?
"For decades, Saudi rulers have been able to rely on their oil wealth both to pacify their population and smooth their relationship with the U.S. This tool, however, is not what it used to be. Increasing internal demand means the Saudis have less oil to sell abroad. And the U.S., by importing more crude from sources such as Canada and Mexico and exploiting its own shale oil reserves, has reduced its reliance on Saudi oil.
None of this is to argue that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have nothing in common. It is in U.S. interests for the Saudis to continue supplying oil to U.S. allies that need it, and for the Saudis to use their spare production capacity to keep prices stable. For their part, the Saudis have to sell oil to someone, as oil revenue supports 80 percent of their budget, and keeping prices reasonable discourages investments in shale oil and alternative energy sources.
"The two countries also share a strong interest in combating terrorism, particularly by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the most serious terrorist threat to both. It benefits neither to scale back their close counterterrorism cooperation, which includes U.S. drone operations out of a base in Saudi Arabia.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship is one the region's oldest, and has a storied past. Obama and Abdullah can be expected to celebrate that history at their meeting. The future of the partnership, however, will require a realistic accounting of their mutual and divergent goals.
Link: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-26/saudi-arabia-isn-t-america-s-friend?cmpid=yhoo.
"The U.S. and Saudi Arabia still have common interests -- in fighting terrorism, for example -- and Saudi Arabia's oil wealth means it will hold disproportionate sway in Washington for years to come. But neither Obama nor his critics (nor, for that matter, Saudis themselves) should kid themselves. Saudi Arabia is not a natural ally of the U.S., and probably never has been.
"The current landscape puts in stark relief just how anomalous the relationship is. When the Saudis look around the region, they see rebellions that unseated autocrats, like them, in Tunisia and Egypt. The U.S. generally welcomed these developments. Meanwhile, the one uprising that Saudi's Sunni royalty supports -- in Syria, against Syria's non-Sunni dictator -- is failing, and the Saudis resent the U.S. for not intervening decisively.
"On Iran, the Americans and Saudis stood together when the country's government was led by the pugnacious Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. President Hassan Rouhani's election, however, created an opening for a diplomatic resolution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, splitting U.S. and Saudi interests. The U.S. wants the talks to succeed to avoid a war with Iran. The Saudis hope they fail so its Shiite archrival will remain the subject of sanctions if not attacks.
"By complaining that Obama turned his back on Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak after Egyptians rose up against him, Saudi leaders betray both an exaggerated sense of U.S. influence and an unwillingness to consider what democratic reforms they might make to avoid Mubarak's fate. Might they consider, for example, allowing national elections? How about peaceful demonstrations? How about giving women equal rights to men?
"For decades, Saudi rulers have been able to rely on their oil wealth both to pacify their population and smooth their relationship with the U.S. This tool, however, is not what it used to be. Increasing internal demand means the Saudis have less oil to sell abroad. And the U.S., by importing more crude from sources such as Canada and Mexico and exploiting its own shale oil reserves, has reduced its reliance on Saudi oil.
None of this is to argue that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have nothing in common. It is in U.S. interests for the Saudis to continue supplying oil to U.S. allies that need it, and for the Saudis to use their spare production capacity to keep prices stable. For their part, the Saudis have to sell oil to someone, as oil revenue supports 80 percent of their budget, and keeping prices reasonable discourages investments in shale oil and alternative energy sources.
"The two countries also share a strong interest in combating terrorism, particularly by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the most serious terrorist threat to both. It benefits neither to scale back their close counterterrorism cooperation, which includes U.S. drone operations out of a base in Saudi Arabia.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship is one the region's oldest, and has a storied past. Obama and Abdullah can be expected to celebrate that history at their meeting. The future of the partnership, however, will require a realistic accounting of their mutual and divergent goals.
Link: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-26/saudi-arabia-isn-t-america-s-friend?cmpid=yhoo.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Kuwait to ban Muslim Brotherhood
16 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
The Kuwaiti Administrative Court on Tuesday adjourned till March 25 a lawsuit that calls for banning the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated "Social Reform Association" [Al-Islah], the Al-Arab newspaper said on Wednesday.
The newspaper explained that the objective of this case is to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, represented by the civil society organisation Al-Islah.
Al-Islah is accused of mixing charity work with politics, both on the local and international levels.
The court case reflects the escalating crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf due to its perceived role in the so-called Arab Spring.
Saudi Arabia has recently outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, labelling it as a terrorist organisation. It imposed a strict ban on all activities supported by the group. However, the Muslim Brotherhood denied having any organization in Saudi Arabia. In a subsequent move, the three GCC countries Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Emirates recalled their Qatar ambassadors in protest of the Gulf nation's alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam.
The recent Gulf escalation against the MB raises questions regarding the future of the group in the Gulf where it mostly engages in public charitable and social activities.
Mohamed Al-Dallal, member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement and defense lawyer in the current case against Al-Islah, said that the Saudi decision would have "repercussions on the entire region", and that the recent decision to withdraw ambassadors aimed at exercising pressures on the MB in order to limit its activities and end its influence in the region.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10329-kuwait-to-ban-muslim-brotherhood.
Source: Middle East Monitor
The Kuwaiti Administrative Court on Tuesday adjourned till March 25 a lawsuit that calls for banning the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated "Social Reform Association" [Al-Islah], the Al-Arab newspaper said on Wednesday.
The newspaper explained that the objective of this case is to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, represented by the civil society organisation Al-Islah.
Al-Islah is accused of mixing charity work with politics, both on the local and international levels.
The court case reflects the escalating crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf due to its perceived role in the so-called Arab Spring.
Saudi Arabia has recently outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, labelling it as a terrorist organisation. It imposed a strict ban on all activities supported by the group. However, the Muslim Brotherhood denied having any organization in Saudi Arabia. In a subsequent move, the three GCC countries Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Emirates recalled their Qatar ambassadors in protest of the Gulf nation's alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam.
The recent Gulf escalation against the MB raises questions regarding the future of the group in the Gulf where it mostly engages in public charitable and social activities.
Mohamed Al-Dallal, member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement and defense lawyer in the current case against Al-Islah, said that the Saudi decision would have "repercussions on the entire region", and that the recent decision to withdraw ambassadors aimed at exercising pressures on the MB in order to limit its activities and end its influence in the region.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10329-kuwait-to-ban-muslim-brotherhood.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Hamas, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudi terrorist designation
11 March 2014
Abdel Bari Atwan
Source: Middle East Monitor
Saudi Arabia's decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood and place it on a terrorism watch list will undoubtedly have serious implications. The Saudi designation will be a new chapter marked by hostility for the group, which has over 20 branches spread across 17 countries where it is considered a legitimate political party by state authorities. The group's branches in Jordan and the Gaza Strip are bound to be affected.
The government in Riyadh is not capable of taking any punitive action against Hamas, the Brotherhood offshoot in the Gaza Strip, because there is no communication or connection between the two sides to begin with. Not a single official in Hamas has ever received a Saudi official. In fact, the only time that Saudi officials have invited Hamas members to go to Saudi Arabia was when Riyadh tried to encourage reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah at the Makkah Conference in February 2007. That conference resulted in an agreement for national reconciliation through the formation of a new government headed by Ismail Haniyeh; it did not last long as clashes broke out between Fatah and Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement gained full control of the Gaza Strip in June of that year.
Since that day, no official from Hamas has visited Saudi Arabia on official business; if anyone did go, it was to perform the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah. Hamas officials are prohibited from contacting any Saudi officials throughout the duration of their stay in the Kingdom when on pilgrimage.
Saudi pressure on Hamas comes in the form of pressure exerted on the organisation by the Egyptian authorities, which placed the Palestinian group on a terrorist watch list some time ago. The Egyptians have banned all of the organisation's activities, shut down its offices, frozen all of its assets, destroyed its underground tunnels and enforced a political and economic siege based on charges that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood and is actively interfering in Egypt's internal affairs.
In a phone call with a senior official in Hamas I was told of his deep concern over the worsening dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He confirmed to me that the Hamas leadership held a secret meeting to discuss the matter and the potential implications for the movement. He pointed out that Saudi's efforts to force Qatar to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood would have disastrous repercussions on Hamas because Qatar functions as its backbone, lifeline and sole financial and political supporter.
It is interesting to note that Hamas met Saudi Arabia's designation of the Brotherhood with absolute silence. In fact, no official comments have been made by Hamas's senior officials on either the Saudi decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood or the Saudi-Qatari dispute. In contrast, the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was courageous enough to declare its opposition to the Saudi move.
Spokesman Zaki Bin Irsheid declared that he considered the Saudi decision to be hasty and emotional. "I am surprised that Saudi Arabia would make such a decision at this time, especially as it is being threatened by American and Zionist actions concerning the Iranian nuclear programme in the region," he said. "Is it possible that the Saudi authorities are cooperating with Bashar Al-Assad in his anti-Brotherhood sentiments and repression of the group?" Strong words indeed. In Egypt, meanwhile, a spokesman for the now illegal Brotherhood pointed out that the movement does not have any branches in Saudi Arabia.
Two systems of government in the region were established and run on agreements between ruling families and religious movements. The first ruling family is that of Al-Saud and the second is the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan. The former gained power based on a social and political contract with the fundamentalist Wahhabi movement while the latter established an understanding with the Muslim Brotherhood. The critical question that arises now is to what degree Saudi Arabia's actions toward the Brotherhood will shape the Jordanian government's actions towards the group. Will it follow in Riyadh's footsteps by prohibiting Brotherhood activities or will it prefer to distance itself from the decision altogether?
The alliance and relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its Jordanian counterpart is very strong. It is no secret that this relationship is the reason behind the deteriorating relations between Jordan and Qatar and the reason why the government in Doha refuses to provide any economic aid to Amman. This also explains Qatar's refusal to hire anyone holding Jordanian citizenship within its economic institutions.
Jordan's decision to keep up with Saudi Arabia and Egypt's decisions to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood could have unpredictably horrendous repercussions, especially now as Jordan finds itself in a political minefield with an explosive geographic perimeter. The Syrian crisis grows more complex day by day in light of America's, Saudi Arabia's and Qatar's failed bets to topple the Assad regime. The situation in Iraq is also extremely volatile as the country stands on the edge of a volcano that could erupt at any second. As for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, they are on the verge of a third intifada due to the Palestinian Authority's failed attempts to negotiate peace with the Israelis.
The Jordanian authorities must now make some very difficult decisions and any decision that they make, in any direction, will cost them a great deal. In this case, the safest option is no option. It is safer not to do anything at all.
Translated from Alarab Alyawm newspaper, 10 March, 2014
Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/10236-hamas-the-jordanian-muslim-brotherhood-and-the-saudi-terrorist-designation.
Abdel Bari Atwan
Source: Middle East Monitor
Saudi Arabia's decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood and place it on a terrorism watch list will undoubtedly have serious implications. The Saudi designation will be a new chapter marked by hostility for the group, which has over 20 branches spread across 17 countries where it is considered a legitimate political party by state authorities. The group's branches in Jordan and the Gaza Strip are bound to be affected.
The government in Riyadh is not capable of taking any punitive action against Hamas, the Brotherhood offshoot in the Gaza Strip, because there is no communication or connection between the two sides to begin with. Not a single official in Hamas has ever received a Saudi official. In fact, the only time that Saudi officials have invited Hamas members to go to Saudi Arabia was when Riyadh tried to encourage reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah at the Makkah Conference in February 2007. That conference resulted in an agreement for national reconciliation through the formation of a new government headed by Ismail Haniyeh; it did not last long as clashes broke out between Fatah and Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement gained full control of the Gaza Strip in June of that year.
Since that day, no official from Hamas has visited Saudi Arabia on official business; if anyone did go, it was to perform the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah. Hamas officials are prohibited from contacting any Saudi officials throughout the duration of their stay in the Kingdom when on pilgrimage.
Saudi pressure on Hamas comes in the form of pressure exerted on the organisation by the Egyptian authorities, which placed the Palestinian group on a terrorist watch list some time ago. The Egyptians have banned all of the organisation's activities, shut down its offices, frozen all of its assets, destroyed its underground tunnels and enforced a political and economic siege based on charges that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood and is actively interfering in Egypt's internal affairs.
In a phone call with a senior official in Hamas I was told of his deep concern over the worsening dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He confirmed to me that the Hamas leadership held a secret meeting to discuss the matter and the potential implications for the movement. He pointed out that Saudi's efforts to force Qatar to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood would have disastrous repercussions on Hamas because Qatar functions as its backbone, lifeline and sole financial and political supporter.
It is interesting to note that Hamas met Saudi Arabia's designation of the Brotherhood with absolute silence. In fact, no official comments have been made by Hamas's senior officials on either the Saudi decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood or the Saudi-Qatari dispute. In contrast, the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was courageous enough to declare its opposition to the Saudi move.
Spokesman Zaki Bin Irsheid declared that he considered the Saudi decision to be hasty and emotional. "I am surprised that Saudi Arabia would make such a decision at this time, especially as it is being threatened by American and Zionist actions concerning the Iranian nuclear programme in the region," he said. "Is it possible that the Saudi authorities are cooperating with Bashar Al-Assad in his anti-Brotherhood sentiments and repression of the group?" Strong words indeed. In Egypt, meanwhile, a spokesman for the now illegal Brotherhood pointed out that the movement does not have any branches in Saudi Arabia.
Two systems of government in the region were established and run on agreements between ruling families and religious movements. The first ruling family is that of Al-Saud and the second is the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan. The former gained power based on a social and political contract with the fundamentalist Wahhabi movement while the latter established an understanding with the Muslim Brotherhood. The critical question that arises now is to what degree Saudi Arabia's actions toward the Brotherhood will shape the Jordanian government's actions towards the group. Will it follow in Riyadh's footsteps by prohibiting Brotherhood activities or will it prefer to distance itself from the decision altogether?
The alliance and relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its Jordanian counterpart is very strong. It is no secret that this relationship is the reason behind the deteriorating relations between Jordan and Qatar and the reason why the government in Doha refuses to provide any economic aid to Amman. This also explains Qatar's refusal to hire anyone holding Jordanian citizenship within its economic institutions.
Jordan's decision to keep up with Saudi Arabia and Egypt's decisions to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood could have unpredictably horrendous repercussions, especially now as Jordan finds itself in a political minefield with an explosive geographic perimeter. The Syrian crisis grows more complex day by day in light of America's, Saudi Arabia's and Qatar's failed bets to topple the Assad regime. The situation in Iraq is also extremely volatile as the country stands on the edge of a volcano that could erupt at any second. As for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, they are on the verge of a third intifada due to the Palestinian Authority's failed attempts to negotiate peace with the Israelis.
The Jordanian authorities must now make some very difficult decisions and any decision that they make, in any direction, will cost them a great deal. In this case, the safest option is no option. It is safer not to do anything at all.
Translated from Alarab Alyawm newspaper, 10 March, 2014
Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/10236-hamas-the-jordanian-muslim-brotherhood-and-the-saudi-terrorist-designation.
Saudi government targets writers and scholars
10 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
Islamic Saudi writer Mhanna Al-Hbail said he will comply with a ban stopping him from writing articles.
In a tweet published on Saturday, Al-Hbail said: "I received a phone call from his excellency the Minister of Information, Dr Abdullah Al-Jasir, informing me, in a dignified manner, that a top level decision has been issued banning me from writing in Qatar."
Al-Hbail writes for the Qatari Al-Arab newspaper as well as for Aljazeera.net. He also publishes in Saudi newspapers such as Al-Hayat.
In a subsequent tweet he said: "I hereby comply with the regrettable decision, which is a repercussion of the disputes tearing the Arabian Gulf region apart. I do wish that this dispute is resolved and the Gulf is united for its own sake."
He also thanked the Qataris for their stance saying: "Thank you in Qatar for having shown me respect, appreciation and hospitality for me and for my pen. This is what I consider to be a profound fraternal Gulf relationship resting on sound foundations and pillars."
It appears that the Saudi decision has been extended to other writers including Salih Al-Shihi who writes for Al-Arab newspaper and Samar Al-Miqrin who said she had decided to stop writing after having a dispute with the newspaper about the content of her articles. She admitted, however, as quoted by the Saudi Al-Hayat newspaper, that she too received instructions from the Saudi Ministry of Information.
Academic and columnist Ahmad bin Rashid bin Said has not said, at least until this report was written, whether he received a similar call. It is worth noting that he also writes for the same Qatari newspaper. Bin Said is well known for his persistent criticism of the Saudi Al-Arabiya TV channel, which he recently described as the "Haftar Channel" after it broadcast a statement by Libyan General Haftar in which he announced his coup. He is also famous for his hashtag "Deconstructing the Zionised Discourse" in which he attacks Al-Arabiya.
What came as a surprise was a tweet by Saudi renowned writer and novelist Muhammad Al-Hdaif, nearly 10 hours after Al-Hbail's own tweet. Al-Hdaif said: "My dear followers. I bid farewell to you. The space has shrunk and the son has been seized. This account will stop tweeting. Yet, my heart will not stop praying for a deeply wounded Ummah."
His tweet prompted someone to initiate a hashtag called: "Suppressing freedom in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hdaif's account has been suspended."
Prior to the suspension of his twitter account, Al-Hdaif tweeted several times criticising the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. In one of his tweets he said: "The first to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists sentencing their members, both men and women, to death was Nusairi sectarian Hafiz Al-Asad."
Ridiculing the official Saudi decision he also said: "The funny thing about this latest designation of terrorism is that many Saudis have studied in various levels of education at the hands of terrorists."
Al-Hdaif comes from a family known for its political opposition. His brother was executed in the early nineties for allegedly killing a soldier, though his family denies that he ever did so. He also has another brother who has been in detention of many years. He himself spent four years in detention in the early nineties too. He was then a member of the reform movement some of whose leading figures fled the country and continue to live in exile.
The Saudi authorities have so far taken measures that besiege a number of notable writers and academics, banning them from delivering lectures, according to London-based UAE newspaper Al-Arab.
Included in this group is renown scholar Dr Salman Al-Odah, who has also been denied permission to travel. Some observers believe these measures constitute a prelude to a much more expansive campaign that will target whoever is suspected of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood as well as all scholars and Islamic personalities that call for political reform in the Kingdom.
In the meantime, Al-Arabiya's website reported that a special criminal court in Riyadh sentenced an unnamed twitter activist to eight-years in prison for inciting people to take part in demonstrations in Saudi Arabia. The court also ordered his twitter account to be cancelled.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10204-saudi-government-targets-writers-and-scholars.
Source: Middle East Monitor
Islamic Saudi writer Mhanna Al-Hbail said he will comply with a ban stopping him from writing articles.
In a tweet published on Saturday, Al-Hbail said: "I received a phone call from his excellency the Minister of Information, Dr Abdullah Al-Jasir, informing me, in a dignified manner, that a top level decision has been issued banning me from writing in Qatar."
Al-Hbail writes for the Qatari Al-Arab newspaper as well as for Aljazeera.net. He also publishes in Saudi newspapers such as Al-Hayat.
In a subsequent tweet he said: "I hereby comply with the regrettable decision, which is a repercussion of the disputes tearing the Arabian Gulf region apart. I do wish that this dispute is resolved and the Gulf is united for its own sake."
He also thanked the Qataris for their stance saying: "Thank you in Qatar for having shown me respect, appreciation and hospitality for me and for my pen. This is what I consider to be a profound fraternal Gulf relationship resting on sound foundations and pillars."
It appears that the Saudi decision has been extended to other writers including Salih Al-Shihi who writes for Al-Arab newspaper and Samar Al-Miqrin who said she had decided to stop writing after having a dispute with the newspaper about the content of her articles. She admitted, however, as quoted by the Saudi Al-Hayat newspaper, that she too received instructions from the Saudi Ministry of Information.
Academic and columnist Ahmad bin Rashid bin Said has not said, at least until this report was written, whether he received a similar call. It is worth noting that he also writes for the same Qatari newspaper. Bin Said is well known for his persistent criticism of the Saudi Al-Arabiya TV channel, which he recently described as the "Haftar Channel" after it broadcast a statement by Libyan General Haftar in which he announced his coup. He is also famous for his hashtag "Deconstructing the Zionised Discourse" in which he attacks Al-Arabiya.
What came as a surprise was a tweet by Saudi renowned writer and novelist Muhammad Al-Hdaif, nearly 10 hours after Al-Hbail's own tweet. Al-Hdaif said: "My dear followers. I bid farewell to you. The space has shrunk and the son has been seized. This account will stop tweeting. Yet, my heart will not stop praying for a deeply wounded Ummah."
His tweet prompted someone to initiate a hashtag called: "Suppressing freedom in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hdaif's account has been suspended."
Prior to the suspension of his twitter account, Al-Hdaif tweeted several times criticising the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. In one of his tweets he said: "The first to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists sentencing their members, both men and women, to death was Nusairi sectarian Hafiz Al-Asad."
Ridiculing the official Saudi decision he also said: "The funny thing about this latest designation of terrorism is that many Saudis have studied in various levels of education at the hands of terrorists."
Al-Hdaif comes from a family known for its political opposition. His brother was executed in the early nineties for allegedly killing a soldier, though his family denies that he ever did so. He also has another brother who has been in detention of many years. He himself spent four years in detention in the early nineties too. He was then a member of the reform movement some of whose leading figures fled the country and continue to live in exile.
The Saudi authorities have so far taken measures that besiege a number of notable writers and academics, banning them from delivering lectures, according to London-based UAE newspaper Al-Arab.
Included in this group is renown scholar Dr Salman Al-Odah, who has also been denied permission to travel. Some observers believe these measures constitute a prelude to a much more expansive campaign that will target whoever is suspected of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood as well as all scholars and Islamic personalities that call for political reform in the Kingdom.
In the meantime, Al-Arabiya's website reported that a special criminal court in Riyadh sentenced an unnamed twitter activist to eight-years in prison for inciting people to take part in demonstrations in Saudi Arabia. The court also ordered his twitter account to be cancelled.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10204-saudi-government-targets-writers-and-scholars.
Full text of the communique issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry on proscribed organisations
09 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
Full text of the communique issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry:
As per Royal Decree number A / 44 dated 3/4/1435H which orders in paragraph four the formation of a committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah & Guidance; the Ministry of Justice; the Court for Grievances; and the Department of Investigations and Public Prosecution, whose task would be to prepare a list, to be updated regularly, of the currents and groups referred to in paragraph 2 (1) of the decree, to be submitted for approval, the Ministry of Interior would like to explain that the said committee has met, deliberated the matter and submitted to his Majesty its proposal that the list should include any Saudi national or non-Saudi resident of the kingdom who perpetrates any of the following:
1) Preaching any atheistic thought in whatever form or casting doubt on the unchangeable principles of Islam upon which this country has been founded;
2) Whoever rebels against the covenant he pledged to the rulers of this country or whoever pledges homage to any party or organisation or current or group or individual whether local or foreign;
3) Participating in or calling for or inciting combat in any conflict zone in other countries or whoever issues a fatwa to that effect;
4) Whoever supports organisations or groups or currents or groupings or parties, or whoever manifests affiliation to any of these or expresses sympathy with any of them or promotes any of them or convenes meetings under their umbrella whether inside or outside the Kingdom. This includes participating in all forms of media, whether audio or print or video, and in social media networks of all forms and types, audio, print and video, and in internet websites by reporting or re-transmitting any of their contents in whatever format, or the use of the slogans or emblems of these groups and currents or the use of any such symbols that my express support for them or sympathy with them;
5) Donating to or supporting financially or materially the organisations or currents or terrorist or extremist groups or providing shelter for someone affiliated to them or promoting them inside or outside the kingdom;
6) Contacting or communicating with any of the groups, currents or individuals deemed hostile to the Kingdom;
7) Loyalty to a foreign country or associating with it or communicating with it with the objective of undermining the unity, stability or security of the Kingdom or its people;
8) Seeking to destabilise the social matrix and national unity, or calling for or participating in or promoting or inciting people to take part in protests or demonstrations or assemblies or joint statements under whatever pretext and in whatever format or in whatever means that undermines the unity and stability of the Kingdom;
9) Attending conferences or symposia or assemblies whether locally or internationally that target the security or stability of the country and stir up sedition within society;
10) Abuse of other states and their leaders;
11) Inciting other states or associations or international organisations against the Kingdom;
The Ministry of Interior would like to point out that His Majesty has approved these proposals and that Royal Decree number 16820 dated 5/5/1435H has been issued endorsing them. The implementation of these rules will begin as of Sunday 8/5/1435H which corresponds to the 9th of March 2014 CE. Whoever violates these rulings in whatever form or shape as of this date will be prosecuted and punished for all his past and present violations. His Majesty instructed that whoever is taking part in combat activities outside the Kingdom in whatever form will be given a 15 days ultimatum starting from the date of the communique to reconsider and return soon to their homeland. We pray that God may guide them back to their senses.
The Ministry of Interior attaches to this first list of parties, groups and currents covered by this communique those that call themselves any of the following: Alqaeda Organisation, Alqaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Organisation, Alqaeda Organisation in Yemen, Alqaeda Organisation in Iraq, Daesh (The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), Al-Nusrah Front, Hezbollah inside the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia), The Muslim Brotherhood Group, Al-Huthy Group. It should be known that this would apply to any organisation that is similar to any of these organisations in thought, discourse or action and to all the groups or currents listed in UN Security Council and other international organisations terrorism list or known to have been involved in terrorism and the use of violence.
The Ministry will update this list regularly in accordance with the Royal decree. All are urged to adhere fully to this. The Ministry would like to stress, in the meantime, that there would be no tolerance shown toward any person committing any of the above mentioned violations.
We pray to God Almighty to guide everyone. We would like to remind that God Almighty says: "God is forgiving for those who repent and do well after having been wrong."
First and foremost, it is God that is the provider of success.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10189-full-text-of-the-communique-issued-by-the-saudi-interior-ministry-on-proscribed-organisations.
Source: Middle East Monitor
Full text of the communique issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry:
As per Royal Decree number A / 44 dated 3/4/1435H which orders in paragraph four the formation of a committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah & Guidance; the Ministry of Justice; the Court for Grievances; and the Department of Investigations and Public Prosecution, whose task would be to prepare a list, to be updated regularly, of the currents and groups referred to in paragraph 2 (1) of the decree, to be submitted for approval, the Ministry of Interior would like to explain that the said committee has met, deliberated the matter and submitted to his Majesty its proposal that the list should include any Saudi national or non-Saudi resident of the kingdom who perpetrates any of the following:
1) Preaching any atheistic thought in whatever form or casting doubt on the unchangeable principles of Islam upon which this country has been founded;
2) Whoever rebels against the covenant he pledged to the rulers of this country or whoever pledges homage to any party or organisation or current or group or individual whether local or foreign;
3) Participating in or calling for or inciting combat in any conflict zone in other countries or whoever issues a fatwa to that effect;
4) Whoever supports organisations or groups or currents or groupings or parties, or whoever manifests affiliation to any of these or expresses sympathy with any of them or promotes any of them or convenes meetings under their umbrella whether inside or outside the Kingdom. This includes participating in all forms of media, whether audio or print or video, and in social media networks of all forms and types, audio, print and video, and in internet websites by reporting or re-transmitting any of their contents in whatever format, or the use of the slogans or emblems of these groups and currents or the use of any such symbols that my express support for them or sympathy with them;
5) Donating to or supporting financially or materially the organisations or currents or terrorist or extremist groups or providing shelter for someone affiliated to them or promoting them inside or outside the kingdom;
6) Contacting or communicating with any of the groups, currents or individuals deemed hostile to the Kingdom;
7) Loyalty to a foreign country or associating with it or communicating with it with the objective of undermining the unity, stability or security of the Kingdom or its people;
8) Seeking to destabilise the social matrix and national unity, or calling for or participating in or promoting or inciting people to take part in protests or demonstrations or assemblies or joint statements under whatever pretext and in whatever format or in whatever means that undermines the unity and stability of the Kingdom;
9) Attending conferences or symposia or assemblies whether locally or internationally that target the security or stability of the country and stir up sedition within society;
10) Abuse of other states and their leaders;
11) Inciting other states or associations or international organisations against the Kingdom;
The Ministry of Interior would like to point out that His Majesty has approved these proposals and that Royal Decree number 16820 dated 5/5/1435H has been issued endorsing them. The implementation of these rules will begin as of Sunday 8/5/1435H which corresponds to the 9th of March 2014 CE. Whoever violates these rulings in whatever form or shape as of this date will be prosecuted and punished for all his past and present violations. His Majesty instructed that whoever is taking part in combat activities outside the Kingdom in whatever form will be given a 15 days ultimatum starting from the date of the communique to reconsider and return soon to their homeland. We pray that God may guide them back to their senses.
The Ministry of Interior attaches to this first list of parties, groups and currents covered by this communique those that call themselves any of the following: Alqaeda Organisation, Alqaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Organisation, Alqaeda Organisation in Yemen, Alqaeda Organisation in Iraq, Daesh (The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), Al-Nusrah Front, Hezbollah inside the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia), The Muslim Brotherhood Group, Al-Huthy Group. It should be known that this would apply to any organisation that is similar to any of these organisations in thought, discourse or action and to all the groups or currents listed in UN Security Council and other international organisations terrorism list or known to have been involved in terrorism and the use of violence.
The Ministry will update this list regularly in accordance with the Royal decree. All are urged to adhere fully to this. The Ministry would like to stress, in the meantime, that there would be no tolerance shown toward any person committing any of the above mentioned violations.
We pray to God Almighty to guide everyone. We would like to remind that God Almighty says: "God is forgiving for those who repent and do well after having been wrong."
First and foremost, it is God that is the provider of success.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10189-full-text-of-the-communique-issued-by-the-saudi-interior-ministry-on-proscribed-organisations.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Saudi king orders punishing jihadi fighters
February 3, 2014
By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI
Source: Yahoo News
By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI
Source: Yahoo News
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Monday that punishes
citizens who fight in conflicts outside the kingdom, with prison
sentences ranging from three to 20 years in jail.
The statement
issued by the Saudi Royal Court also says that any Saudi citizen who
joins extremist terrorist groups or supports them materially or through
incitement would face an even harsher punishment ranging from five to 30
years in jail.
The decree
appeared aimed at stemming the flow of Saudi fighters going to Syria.
The region's civil war is believed to have drawn hundreds of young
Saudis, worrying some in the kingdom that fighters could return
radicalized and turn their weapons on the monarchy.
The
statement said it is the Saudi government's duty to block actions and
language that harm public security and stability by exposing the nation
to danger and "damaging the status of the kingdom" Islamically,
internationally and among Arabs. Saudi Arabia is home to two of Islam's
holiest sites.
Many young
Saudi men appear to have been encouraged to join the fight in Syria by
influential Saudi clerics who follow the kingdom's ultraconservative
religious Wahhabi doctrine and view the war as a struggle between
Syria's Sunni majority and President Bashar Assad's Alawite,
Shiite-backed minority.
The
uprising against Assad has transformed into a regional proxy war between
Iran and Saudi Arabia, which support opposing sides. Foreign fighters
and Islamic extremists have infiltrated the opposition, triggering
infighting that has undermined the rebellion.
Saudi officials and key
high-level clerics have largely spoken out against young Saudis joining
the fight. While the Saudi government backs some rebel opposition groups
in Syria with weapons and aid, officials say Riyadh does not fund
al-Qaida-linked groups.
A key
Saudi opposition group, Saudi Association for Civil and Political
Rights, known in Arabic by its acronym HASEM, said in a statement last
week that Saudi rulers are responsible for encouraging extremist
ideology in the kingdom in exchange for retaining power and support from
the religious establishment. The group said the kingdom secretly
tolerates citizens fighting abroad to keep them from carrying out
attacks in Saudi Arabia.
The
decree comes after a sweeping new counterterrorism law came into effect
in the kingdom Sunday that activists say targets virtually any criticism
of the government.
"This
disturbing new law confirms our worst fears - that the Saudi Arabian
authorities are seeking legal cover to entrench their ability to crack
down on peaceful dissent and silence human rights defenders," said Said
Boumedouha, Middle East Deputy Director at Amnesty International, in a
statement.
___
Aya Batrawy contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Monday, February 3, 2014
New Saudi counterterrorism law alarms activists
19 hours ago
By AYA BATRAWY
Source: Yahoo News
By AYA BATRAWY
Source: Yahoo News
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —
Saudi Arabia put into effect a sweeping new counterterrorism law Sunday
that human rights activists say allows the kingdom to prosecute as a
terrorist anyone who demands reform, exposes corruption or otherwise
engages in dissent.
The law states
that any act that "undermines" the state or society, including calls for
regime change in Saudi Arabia, can be tried as an act of terrorism. It
also grants security services broad powers to raid homes and track phone
calls and Internet activity.
Human
rights activists were alarmed by the law and said it is clearly aimed
at keeping the kingdom's ruling Al Saud family firmly in control amid
the demands for democratic reform that have grown louder since the Arab
Spring protests that shook the region in 2011 and toppled longtime
autocrats.
Saudi activist
Abdulaziz al-Shubaily described the law as a "catastrophe." And Human
Rights Watch researcher Adam Coogle warned: "The new law is draconian in
spirit and letter, and there is every reason to fear that the
authorities will easily and eagerly use it against peaceful dissidents."
The
measure was approved by the Cabinet on Dec. 16 and ratified by King
Abdullah. It was published in its entirety for the first time on Friday
in the government's official gazette Um Al-Qura.
In
defense of the law, the Saudi minister of culture and information,
Abdel Aziz Khoja, was quoted in December as saying that the legislation
strikes a balance between prevention of crimes and protection of human
rights according to Islamic law.
Saudi Arabia is one of the
world's last absolute monarchies. All decisions are centered in the
hands of 89-year-old King Abdullah. There is no parliament. There is
little written law, and judges — implementing the country's strict
Wahhabi interpretation of Islam — have broad leeway to impose verdicts
and sentences.
An attempt to
pass a similar counterterrorism law in 2011 was shelved after rights
groups in Saudi Arabia and abroad leaked a copy online.
Since
then, dozens of activists have been detained, a prominent rights
organization was shut down, and authorities more aggressively monitor
social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, where jokes about the
aging monarchy are rife and anger over corruption, poverty and
unemployment is palpable.
The
new law defines terrorism as any criminal act that "destabilizes the
society's security or the state's stability or exposes its national
unity to harm." It also states that terrorist acts include disabling the
ruling system or "offending the nation's reputation or its position."
Activists
said that simply exposing corruption could be seen as a violation of
the law. Some also warned that Saudi women who get behind the wheel of a
car in violation of the ban on female drivers could be tried under the
new anti-terror law.
The law also gives the interior
minister the power to end sentences and drop charges. It says only the
interior minister can order the release of a person on trial. Judges
would have no say.
Other
worrying aspects, activists said, include an article that says police
can raid homes and offices on suspicion of anti-government activity
without prior approval from a judge or even a superior. Suspects can
also be held incommunicado for 90 days, and lawyers are not required to
be present during the initial interrogation.
Lori
Plotkin Boghardt of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said
the new law will not likely have a huge impact on the way in which the
Saudis fight militants. She said the law provides technical cover for
many of the measures the authorities were employing.
Coogle
of Human Rights Watch said the law "enshrines some of the unlawful
practices that Saudi authorities were already committing," such as
detention of suspects for many years without trial. He said it also does
not specify the punishment for crimes committed under the new law.
However,
he said the measure does not include some of the most controversial
language of the 2011 draft, which went further by criminalizing insults
against Islam and protests as acts of terrorism.
Al-Shubaily
is among 12 activists in the country who founded the Saudi Association
for Civil and Political Rights, known in Arabic by its acronym HASEM.
The group was shut down, eight of its founding members were imprisoned,
and he is facing trial.
"If I
call for the release of someone from jail for being held longer than
their sentence, I can be tried for 'asking the state to take action,'"
al-Shubaily said. "When I call for a constitutional monarchy, I can now
be charged with terrorism."
"They characterize you as a terrorist because you ask the kingdom to do something it does not want to do" he added.
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