Gulf Archives

May 02, 2008

Funny, She Doesn't Look Bahraini

Bahrain's possible new ambassador to the US has interesting demographics. Not all that amazing if one is familiar with the region outside of stereotypes and post-1948 tensions. Still the background of the former legislator(-tress?), if legislating is what the Shura Council does, might cause some to be unduly surprised.

MANAMA, Bahrain - The only Jewish woman lawmaker in Bahrain is a candidate to become this Persian Gulf kingdom's ambassador to Washington. . . . Huda Nono, a legislator in the Shura Council, said she was among people being considered for the post and referred further queries to the foreign ministry. . . .If Nono was appointed, Bahrain would be the first Arab country to send a high-level Jewish diplomat to Washington. . . . Nono is the first Jewish woman in the Shura Council, a 40-seat body appointed by the king that also has a Christian among its 11 female legislators. . . . Nono replaced her cousin Ibrahim Nono, who held the Shura Council seat for four years.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 05:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 07, 2008

Saudi Arapia? Hib-hob from the Land of the 2Moskz

Over at the Washington Post, Faiza Ambah tells the tale of a Saudi hip-hop crew who dream of stardom and self-expression. Unfortunately, their Saudi parents and kinfolk are not so enamoured of these kids now performing a real-life version -- allowing for musical genre differences -- of the movie Dirty Dancing (whose own star is, incidentally and sadly, fighting for his real life).

But even as they rap in praise of Islam and their mothers, and against the war in Iraq and terrorism, their biggest hurdle has been convincing family, friends and Saudi society that they are not simply trying to imitate a decadent Western lifestyle.

Continue reading "Saudi Arapia? Hib-hob from the Land of the 2Moskz"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 24, 2008

Bahrain: Reform and Liberalism

Worthy of reflexion on larger tensions between economic and political reform in MENA, Bahrain seems to be going through an awkward spot in terms of political and economic reform although it is Bush ibn Bush's Khaliji wunderkind for democratisation. Nothing surprising in this, other than perhaps the qualified support of the opposition (and even that is not terribly astounding as such, given the way publicly expressed opposition generally occurs in Monarchies).

Continue reading "Bahrain: Reform and Liberalism"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 03, 2008

Dollars, Gulf Politics & MENA Economies, tip, tiptoeing...

Without extended commentary, I draw attention to The Financial Times report that Qatar is considering breaking the dollar peg, following Kuwait and certainly if it does so putting a nail in the coffin of the original vision of the unified Gulf currency zone.

The report, which if realized, would make Qatar the 2nd after Kuwait to break the strict dollar peg, highlights a feedback between the current American Administration's profligate fiscal policy -itself tied to a frankly delusional foreign policy that has by evident incompetence as well as imperial overreaching damaged credibility generally [never mind the exact politics]- and regional politics and policy. Make no mistake, the dollar peg has long been as much a politic as an economic statement.

Of course taking such a step in an environment like the present is economically rational - above all if one believes that one is entering a period of long term dollar weakness or instability, although a more flexible exchange regime is generically usually a better thing regardless of the specific dollar issues.

Continue reading "Dollars, Gulf Politics & MENA Economies, tip, tiptoeing..."

Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:51 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 18, 2008

Don't Worry, the French Military is En Garde Duty in the Gulf

France just announced plans to establish a military base in the UAE.

Continue reading "Don't Worry, the French Military is En Garde Duty in the Gulf"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 08:11 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

December 27, 2007

Sindhs of the father: Benazir Bhutto dead thread (open)

Benazir Bhutto, ex-Pakistani prime minister, is now an ex-person. Have at the whole set of issues in this open thread, o dear readers. Others of the Aqoul team may post more detailed entries on this most unpleasant passing of the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (BTW, I don't know who those people are who say 'why do Muslims never go out in the streets venting their anger when al-Qaeda or other extremists* do a terrorist act?') Well, clearly, they sometimes do.

Continue reading "Sindhs of the father: Benazir Bhutto dead thread (open)"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 06:22 PM | Comments (20) | TrackBack

December 11, 2007

Releasing Built-Up Labor Tension

The floodgates have opened. It is the beginning of the end for serious labor repression in the UAE, and the rest of the Gulf is likely to follow. Dubai's employers have been forced to negotiate with (illegally) organized labor and come out second-best.

Organized labor has never had it good in the Gulf. The armies of foreign construction workers - there are 700,000 in the UAE alone - live in overcrowded and unhygienic quarters, work in unsafe conditions, have no political rights, and are banned from collective bargaining. They can't even switch jobs when their employers fail to pay them, as happens all too often. Over the past couple of years, a depreciation in the value of local currencies pegged to the dollar has meant they have been able to send less money home than ever before, rendering many unable to support families they were forced to leave behind, even as high inflation has eaten into their purchasing power in the Gulf. Meanwhile, demand for workers has surged with a building boom brought about by high oil prices.

Continue reading "Releasing Built-Up Labor Tension"

Posted by Top Secret Anonymous Guy at 11:17 AM | Comments (18) | TrackBack

December 09, 2007

NIE Iran Nuke Report Roundup

A quick round-up on likely reactions of interested parties to the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuke dreams by TIME is here.

All sides of the Iran nuclear dispute are working hard to make their own reading of the report the accepted one . . . Israel and Washington hawks want military action against a grave and gathering threat; the Bush Administration is pursuing coercive diplomacy; the Europeans want to avoid war. And it is those agendas that will shape each player's response to the NIE in what promises to be a furious battle over Iran policy in the months to come.

Have at it. My 2 cents below fold.

Continue reading "NIE Iran Nuke Report Roundup"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 08, 2007

Citigroup: "Arab" Capital, Need and Fear

With the good apparent news that , as FT commentator Ferguson put it, World War IV is off as the warmongering Right Bolshies in America have had their arguments castrated, and a moment on the weekend, I think it useful to take an economy moment to reflex slightly on on Citigroup's rescue by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the effective non-reaction of the usual suspects such as congenital cretin Mr Schumer. Now, the non-reaction somewhat wrong-foots my own commentary two months ago anticipating great hysteria, but perhaps the promise to be "silent" as an FT arty put it placated the professional cretin. Or perhaps rather his handlers in NY understood Citi's shaky state and shaped the reaction, so very different than either his reaction to the investment proposed in Nasdaq or last year (2006) with Dubai Ports World (also at the opening for more explicit Schumerism).

The contrast between in particular the round up of reaction in the Schumerism link and the non-reaction to Citigroup is interesting. Fear of banking collapse and grinding halt to the queer American use of houses as credit cards perhaps partial driving explanations on the political side, but my speciality is not American politics, which I care little about except where it has MENA blow back. Unfortunately given a near decade of utter cretinism on the Americans part in this respect, this is too frequent.

Continue reading "Citigroup: "Arab" Capital, Need and Fear"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:59 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

December 01, 2007

Spank me, I've been a bad girl

Marjorie, an expatriate blogger in Qatar who often tackles social and religious issues, brought my attention to that country's first survey of violence against women. Not only had nearly two-thirds of women polled been beaten, over two in five believed they deserved it.

Continue reading "Spank me, I've been a bad girl"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 10:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

November 24, 2007

Not in my name

This short entry to denounce the recent verdict againt a victim of rape in Saudi Arabia. Ibn Kafka also has an excellent post about this (in French).

Saudi Arabia claims that it applies Islamic law. In doing so, this medieval country is tarnishing - again - my identity as an Arab and as a Muslim.

If you are like me, sick and tired of this Tartuffesque regime, let it be known how much you want it to change. Not to the equally retarded bigots, but to their influential friends.

Posted by Shaheen at 06:09 PM | Comments (30) | TrackBack

November 03, 2007

Strategery, Indeed: Lewis and Huntington

I have to borrow from the discussion on the previous thread the quotation below. It's from a book review of at-best mixed value but by someone with the knowledge to make the statement. Tell me its assertion is false. Please, God, please......

Continue reading "Strategery, Indeed: Lewis and Huntington"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:14 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

October 25, 2007

The Magic Kingdom

Last week, I decided it would be interesting to watch The Kingdom, an action movie that followed four FBI agents sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate a massive attack on an American housing compound. I went not because I expected it to be intellectually stimulating (it wasn't) or because I figured I'd learn useful things from the film (I didn't), but because I wanted to see how Hollywood portrayed Saudi Arabia. Save for the surfeit of British villains, Hollywood is a useful barometer of American perceptions of a particular part of the world; there is a reason so many bad guys were Russians during the Cold War.

Continue reading "The Magic Kingdom"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 11:40 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

October 02, 2007

Victory of Image and Capital: Emirates & Hollywood

Quite frankly while not entirely surprising, the Time Warner - Abu Dhabi Entertainment Hub (or city in Dubai parlance) does not strike me as a match made in heaven.

On one hand the Emirates are sucking in a certain kind of talent, but I have a hard time believing that the cost issues in the Emirates plus the lack of a vibrant real culture, a salon and artists culture as it were, can make this anything but "a 6,000 acre theme park" rather than a space "to produce Arabic-language film, TV and video games" (well maybe video games, although I still imagine doing video game Arabization is likely cheaper to do in say Cairo or even better Amman, although maybe one puts HQ in Abu Dhabi for money raising purposes).

But that the idea is being floated speaks to the problems of getting investment off the ground and also, ahem, doing business in much of the region.

Continue reading "Victory of Image and Capital: Emirates & Hollywood"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 13, 2007

Iran War On the Way: More Evidence

It appears that I may have been right to call attention to those saying a war on Iran is being rolled out by the Administration. An informed and expert source in DC affirmed it to me as well a few days back. And it looks like the usual suspect sources are now marketing it. (Love the part where we can mysteriously tell that the Germans really want us to attack even as they back away from sanctions against Iran. Saying "no" when they really mean "yes", those Teutonic teases!) Michael Ledeen appears to be the one whose job is to incite the converted; he who says that al-Qaeda and Iran are interchangeable terms and at one point called Dubai, an "Iranian colony". Man, all them dang camel jockeys are the same and interchangeable, and that thinking is how one manufactures a war. Anyway, Aqoulites and Aqoulite wannabes with Iran-specific knowledge are needed to weigh in, now and in the future.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:19 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack

September 09, 2007

Quick Roundup of News on Roundups

{Sarcasm} Here's a headline you'd never expect to see. I'm shocked, shocked. . . . {/sarcasm} (Iraq)

Now here's a headline you'd really never expect to see. (Israel)

Here's an interesting roundup about al-Qaeda leader roundups. For a variety of reasons, this Abu al-Yazid guy seems the most interesting and dangerous , specifically as he reminds me in terms of his alleged internal likeability, technical profession (accountancy/fundraising), energy, and tactical sense of a rather successful violent insurgent of the past. Insurgencies can use good accountants and fundraisers.

And, just for yucks, bad news for anyone planning to have online virtual sex with Osama bin-Laden.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 07, 2007

Bin-Laden Versus Bin-Laden, same day

Osama bin-Laden on Sept. 7 2007* -- "19 young men were able, by the grace of [God], the Most High, to change the direction of [America's] compass."

Osama bin-Laden on, um, Sept 7, 2007 -- "burning living beings is forbidden by our religion, even if they be small like the ant, so what of men?"

In addition to terrorist, criminal, fanatic, and other filth-and-foul words, we can now add "what a fatuous dick".

Continue reading "Bin-Laden Versus Bin-Laden, same day"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 04, 2007

Incentives and Accountability in Gulf Labor Markets

If the penalty for shooting someone was a $12 fine, and a warning that repeat offenders might lose access to firearms, what would happen? The murder rate would shoot up. We rely on incentives and disincentives to promote or dissuade against all sorts of things, from charitable giving to compliance with the law.

Continue reading "Incentives and Accountability in Gulf Labor Markets"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 12:15 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

September 02, 2007

Tehran: A Sore US Wrecks? Iran War Looming?

The informed blogosphere and newsosphere are abuzz with rumors* that a US war, or a sustained attack (i.e.war), on Iran is being put out for aggressive marketing by Administration innards this week. Events will prove this true or false. Regardless of the rightness or wrongness of such a thing, if it is being planned, I do wonder if the questions and considerations below have been addressed.

Continue reading "Tehran: A Sore US Wrecks? Iran War Looming?"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:28 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack

July 31, 2007

Weapons for Everyone

As you might already have read, the United States has announced a massive arms package covering Israel, Egypt, and the Gulf countries. Guardian columnist Brian Whitaker, a Middle East expert, believes the deal is a bad idea, as it will inflame Sunni-Shia tensions throughout the region. While I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Whitaker, I must respectfully disagree with him and say I consider the deal a good idea overall.

Continue reading "Weapons for Everyone"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 06:36 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack

July 23, 2007

MENA Business, Liquidity, Speculation, Fatwas and Egyptian Belly Dancing

Being bored on the TGV, some time to catch up on comments. In this instance on various MENA economy items that caught my eye in the past month.

So, some quick reactions to the massive amount of liquidity flowing about the region now, and globally, and fatwas on IPOs. Sorry no actual Egyptian dancing as such, but the investment equivalent with Ministry of Finance blithering on.

(edited formatting 23/7/07 18h00 GMT+2)

Continue reading "MENA Business, Liquidity, Speculation, Fatwas and Egyptian Belly Dancing"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:25 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack

July 22, 2007

Dubai's New Erection Penetrates Foe China Entry's Position

Why are you looking at me like that? Stop it. The internal structure of the new under-construction Burj Dubai tower has just passed the height of the rival entry in the world's tallest building competition, Taiwan-Republic of China's Taipei 101 tower. The Burj is now 1,667 feet (sorry, I don't do metric). The question: is there any value or significance to such structures? It looks horrible at this stage; is the final version decent? And no. The caption wrote itself. Grow up. (Update: Taipei 101 - I think it's ugly too.)

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 02:45 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

June 24, 2007

Foregoing their Commission? Saudi Virtue/Vice Cops on Trial

D'apres this Washington Post story, it seems that the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the morality cops, are on trial. Some of Saudi's finest face charges for brutality, including killing, of suspects detained for, I don't know, flirting, willful shimmying, being within six meters of unbearded non-familial genitals, or whatever it is they arrest folks for. But whatever may be the foibles and popularity of enforcement of extremely conservative mores, there does seem to be a popular line in the sand (MENA stereotype imagery, sorry) being drawn against arbitrariness and in favor of due process. Procedural due process is a good thing in itself. {Note to the over-self-righteous: Of course, (adopting superior cultural tone here), we never have such things here as "vice squads", general alcohol bans, or police killing old ladies in places where consenting informed adults are merely alleged to be consuming or distributing a vice-inducing product.}

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 02:20 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

May 28, 2007

Sexy Abaya Fashion & Breathless American Journos

While not entirely terrible, the Washington Post arty For Cloaked Saudi Women, Color Is the New Black - indeed in some ways quite an interesting piece on new Abaya fashion - was moderately annoying. I suppose it's from the Saudi-centered vision (of course it is an arty about KSA, but given my experience that much of the non-Islamic world takes KSA as if it were the standard...)

Of course it does raise fond images of sexy Abaya fashion as seen outside KSA. Never mind the baroqueness of Maghrebine Caftans...

Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:18 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

April 04, 2007

On Citizenship and Marriage

As the number of foreigners living in the Gulf has increased, so have the number of marriages between Gulf citizens and expatriates. Foreign women who marry Gulf citizens have relatively little legal trouble in these patriarchal societies. But women from the Gulf who marry foreigners find that their husbands cannot acquire their nationality, and that their children are not citizens in the countries where they have been born and raised.

Continue reading "On Citizenship and Marriage"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 08:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 13, 2007

Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai

An interesting article, or rather an article on an interesting development that is difficult to assess. From the FT, entitled Risky Locations, on Halliburton's queer decision to move its CEO to Dubai.

I am, to be frank, puzzled. Comment below (crossposted from The Lounsbury).

Continue reading "Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 03, 2007

Khaleejization: Background Information

The Arab Gulf countries have long relied on foreign labor to keep their economies running. Nationals largely work in cushy government jobs that pay above-market wages and require relatively few hours. This was part of the bargain the royal families struck with their populations- no representation, no taxation. By contrast, private sectors in the Gulf are dominated by expatriates. With the partial exception of certain kinds of managers, the latter are compensated poorly and work long hours.

Continue reading "Khaleejization: Background Information"

Posted by Top Secret Anonymous Guy at 08:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Abu Dhabi Strikes Back

For generations, the rulers of the Arabian peninsula have been rivals. In the past, they vied for the loyalties of the nomadic tribes of the region. Today, their competition centers around their economies. Flush with oil revenues, they have striven to outdo one another in building businesses and cities.

Continue reading "Abu Dhabi Strikes Back"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 12:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 23, 2007

Female Saudi student vs. FrontPageMag jihadist

I would've never thought that I'd ever call my readers' attention toward a piece in FrontPageMag, but hey, if The Eagles can make hell freeze over ...

The interview is from Feb '06 but I don't think it has lost any value. I found it particularly interesting how Moudhy al-Rashid did not let herself be baited by the interviewer's harping on the usual tropes. Certainly her own positions are worthy of debate and she herself stated that she doesn't see them as finalized, but she is certainly representative of a broader group of young women in KSA (and other MENA countries).

Continue reading "Female Saudi student vs. FrontPageMag jihadist"

Posted by MSK at 11:34 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack

December 22, 2006

Emirati Elections

I'm not sufficiently well-versed in UAE politics as to recognize the names of any of the winners in the recently concluded elections there. I am, however, curious about what country last held a vote for parliament in which fifteen percent of those chosen garnered a two-digit number of votes. Let's hope this is the proverbial footstep that begins a thousand-mile journey.

Posted by Top Secret Anonymous Guy at 01:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 14, 2006

Attending Holocaust Denial Conference Might Be Career-Limiting

The Tehran conference has drawn widespread condemnation for its roster of infamous attendees and controversial position on the Holocaust. Certainly any academic with half a brain wouldn't be caught dead at one of Ahmedinejad's little soirees, as demonstrated by the brewing intellectual slapfight between Alan Dershowitz and Norman Finkelstein. Using evidence from a neo-nazi website, Dershowitz insinuated that his academic nemesis not only attended, but would fit right in because he "has allied himself closely with the Holocaust denial movement by trivializing the suffering of its victims and denying that many of them were victims at all." Our man Richard Silverstein summarizes the story and casts doubt on Dershowitz's conclusion by noting that a) Finkelstein's own parents narrowly escaped the Holocaust, making denial a bit difficult and b) he was testifying at a federal trial in Chicago during the conference.

The motive behind this accusation is clear: legitimate academics who attend Holocaust conferences with David Duke and his ilk may experience slight credibility loss among peers. Rather like evolutionary biologists presenting papers at a conference of Creationists, I suppose.

Continue reading "Attending Holocaust Denial Conference Might Be Career-Limiting"

Posted by eerie at 11:46 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack

December 04, 2006

A Grand Bargain with Iran?

In 2003, as American troops were moving into Baghdad, Iran offered the United States a grand bargain. The deal offered was simple: Iran would not attempt to procure WMDs, stop supporting terrorism, cooperate in Iraq, and accept a two-state solution for Israel/Palestine, in return for a full normalization of relations with the United States, an end to sanctions, cooperation on technology, and a recognition of Iranian security concerns.

Continue reading "A Grand Bargain with Iran?"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 01:28 AM | Comments (20) | TrackBack

November 24, 2006

Labor Rights in the UAE: An Update

In the UAE, a new agreement means middlemen are to be cut out of the labor supply chain bringing workers to the country from four countries that serve as major sources of manpower.

If the agreement works, it will go a long way towards bridging the gap between what workers expect when they leave their home countries, and what they actually receive. However, this is a big 'if,' especially given the the number of regulations regarding workers that already exist but remain unenforced. Nevertheless, the agreement would serve the interests of both workers themselves and the companies that hire them. Workers are often cheated by unscrupulous agents into illegally paying large sums of money to secure jobs, and these funds are often secured by pawning the family jewelry or through loansharks charging exorbitant interest rates. When the workers in question find out how much they will actually be paid, they are not happy. All too often, low morale- also caused by poor working conditions- has led to work disruptions, as workers have put down their tools in protest.

Continue reading "Labor Rights in the UAE: An Update"

Posted by Top Secret Anonymous Guy at 10:20 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 15, 2006

Al-Jazeera International: Setting the News Agenda?

Fortunate enough to have a stinking cold and be bunged up in front of the TV all day I managed to catch the inaugural day of Al-Jazeera International. Concurrent on Al-Jazeera's Arabic network there was back-patting self-congratulatory coverage and on the English sister network presenters like Riz Khan used their first shows to to take the opportunity to explain what the shows were going to be about, what the remit was, what they hoped to achieve etc.

Continue reading "Al-Jazeera International: Setting the News Agenda?"

Posted by Meph at 04:15 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

November 14, 2006

Rack Your Brains

In a democracy, the media often twists a reasonable statement into a ridiculous soundbite which gets propagated widely, and causes unnecessary defensiveness on the part of the speaker. A far bigger problem, however, is that not enough people challenge the ridiculous claims of speakers in authoritarian countries (or indeed by speakers in the so-called free world about faraway places that their populations know little about).

Continue reading "Rack Your Brains"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 11:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

November 13, 2006

Blogging In the Sand: Saudi bloggers profiled

The Washington Post Foreign Service's Faiza Ambah profiles Saudi bloggers. Featured are Fouad al-Farhan, Ahmed al-Omran, and Bandar Raffa, with references to Mystique and others. An organized group of Kingdom bloggers is in formation.

[A] growing wave of young Arabs...have turned to blogging to bypass the restrictions on free expression in a predominantly authoritarian, conservative and Muslim region. Blogging is so novel here that the equivalent term in Arabic, tadween, to chronicle, was coined only this year. But it has spread rapidly among the increasingly urban youth and in the process has loosened the limits of what's open for discussion.

Fuller quote and your (one hopes) informed comments below the break.

Continue reading "Blogging In the Sand: Saudi bloggers profiled"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 04:05 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

November 12, 2006

Dirty Little Secrets: Labour Exploitation in the UAE

To get away from US centered whanking on, and away from the depressing subjects of Iraq or Palestine, a quick reference to a very timely article in FT on labour exploitation in the UAE .

An open secret of course, if one can say a secret at all.

Continue reading "Dirty Little Secrets: Labour Exploitation in the UAE"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:38 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

October 16, 2006

Tarawih in the Kingdom, Part 2

Today I got the giggles.

We chose a small makeshift mosque that was close by as the big neighbourhood one was too far to walk after a long day and so we made our way to the small one round the corner. It was tiny, barely holding a hundred people and the women's section held barely a third of that number. The moment I walked in and saw that there was a curtain, a CURTAIN, separating the male and female section, all the piety I had managed to muster evaporated as all I could think of was that the billowing curtain might be blown high enough to expose the two worlds. There would be havoc.

As we began to pray an old woman a couple of feet away from me began whispering visciously in my direction. Alarmed slightly I edged away from her but this only seemed to infuriate her further. After a few more ignored hisses, she grabbed me by my cloak and dragged me in one surprisingly firm move towards her. As I staggered in alarm my mother looked at me barely surpressing a laugh and whispered "You were too far away from her, there shouldn't be any gaps between worshippers." This I knew but had never witnessed it so dedicatedly implemented. I managed to regain my composure and keep praying, bemused by the small, bent octogenarian's strength.

Continue reading "Tarawih in the Kingdom, Part 2"

Posted by bint ash-shaitan at 09:10 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

October 11, 2006

Tash ma Tash: Serious Saudi Satire or Child's Play?

The Tash ma Tash controversy rages on and has been adequately reported in both Arabic and non-Arabic media as well as on the blog of our own Lounsbury. However, apart from the obvious religious knee-jerk reaction that has sadly come to be expected when the world is dealing with something apart from sombre doom and gloom of the Wahhabi institution, there have been some interesting and disturbing reactions that reflect some entrenched attitudes towards free speech and criticism.

The attitude towards comedic parody laced with political observation differs widely. In Egypt for example, despite the long-standing heritage of presidential domination and totalitarianism, political satires, most prominently Mohammed Subhi's "Mama America", get away with a lot and resonate with the concerns of the Egyptian public. The Egyptian actor Adil Imam's "Al-Irhabi" (The Terrorist) in the 90's was one of the first indigenous Arabic works to tackle and put a human face on the phenomenon of homegrown terrorism and Syria's Duraid Lahham has a long history of political satire, the play "Ka'sak, ya Watan" ("Cheers, o homeland") being one of the most moving works deriding the weakness of the Arab states in confronting Israel, where hope in a bright Arab future is metaphorically killed off in the death of Dureid's new-born baby Ahlam (= dreams).

Continue reading "Tash ma Tash: Serious Saudi Satire or Child's Play?"

Posted by Meph at 04:32 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

October 09, 2006

Tarawih in the Kingdom

I stepped into the women's section of the neighbourhood mosque, my mother by my side and the imam's quranic recitations booming in my ears. The praying area was on the upper floor of the mosque, ornate, sweet-smelling and half full by the time we got there. The imam had already finished isha'a prayer and started on tarawih so we quickly joined the last line and started praying under the brilliant chandelier and, thankfully, an air conditioning vent.

One thing that has always moved me is the reverberation of the congregation as they say "Amen" after the end of a quranic verse. As women are not allowed to raise their voices in prayer if men are in earshot, the rising chant after each verse is a deep rich tenor. These moments always affirmed - as far as I was concerned - the virtues of group prayer and the significance of communal religion. A lone worshipper believing more in a personal spiritual relationship with one's Maker, I am not a fan of mosque prayer but taken with the spirit of Ramadan and not wishing my mother to go on her own, I found myself smiling at the familiar "Amen" that emanated from the (not overlooked) male congregation below.

Continue reading "Tarawih in the Kingdom"

Posted by bint ash-shaitan at 05:03 PM | Comments (24) | TrackBack

October 06, 2006

Dubai, the Attraction

A quick note to draw attention to a recent arty by Roula Khalaf of FT on Dubai and the why behind its success to date: Dubai cultivates oasis of calm where Arab business life can flourish.

The main thrust of the article is to highlight some of the why behind Dubai's success to date, beyond just stupid amounts of capital. Although that is a clear major condition, it is not a sufficient one as the other petro-giants of the region never managed to achieve Dubai's success (even if we mitigate our appreciation of the success by noting a definately unsustainable aspect doped by too much liquidity chasing too few quality assets).

Despite my own critical attitude towards Dubai - much is clearly illusion and can not survive, there are also clear lessons with respect to the ability of the Arab/MENA region entreprenurial classes actually being able to flourish when a moderately liberal (quite liberal for the off-shore aspects) business environment is established. I do note that some of - indeed in some ways much of Dubai's liberalism is rather Potemkin liberalism insofar as it is all of a very temporary, Enlightened Despot Suffrage quality. That being said, if one takes Dubai with a grain of salt, it does illustrate via its off-shore business services sector the degree to which Arabo-Muslim entrepreneurship is seeking a place to flourish away from the dead hand of the state, and the degree to which even in the temporary, Prince-dependent liberalism of Dubai seems vastly attractive in a world where the West is growing stupidly more hostile to Arabo-Islamic money.

Continue reading "Dubai, the Attraction"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 01, 2006

UAE to hold polls in December

The UAE has announced dates for its first-ever polls. While the elections will do little to alter the balance of power in the country- the voters have been chosen by the rulers of the country's seven constituent emirates, and will only elect half the members of a purely consultative body- this still marks an important step towards increasing political participation.

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September 20, 2006

Racism? What racism?

Allow me to bring your attention to a particularly poorly written piece of UAE agitprop. The UAE is quite heavily segregated socially - people of different national and ethnic origins tend not to mix together except for business. This has been exacerbated greatly by some rather flagrant racism.

I am not sure what legal sanctions exist regarding discrimination, but it is clear that if these exist, they aren't ever enforced. Housing ads can thus ask for Keralite Muslim bachelors, and job ads for Tagalog-speaking candidates only to apply for positions where these language skills are unnecessary, while nightclubs often turn away non-white people at the door on flimsy grounds. Pay scales differ wildly depending on one's skin color, as does how one is treated by all sorts of people one encounters, ranging from shopkeepers to immigration staff.

There has lately been some very slight movement towards recognizing this and doing something about it. Until now, that is.

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September 11, 2006

Yemeni Cricket? Upcoming Elections

Oh I wish I was in the land of khat and old times there were not forgotten, but I've never been there so I can't say there were old times. But for those to whom it matters, it appears that there are elections looming in the southland. September 20, 2006, to be precise. Will they be meaningful? And will they be cricket? This list suggests that the spirit of Lyndon Johnson may have had a hand in the voter registration process. UPDATE: 50 reported dead at election rally.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 11:46 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 06, 2006

In the UAE, even poor people are rich

As long as they are Emirati of course:

Dubai: The municipality has finalised designs for 10 residential complexes which will cater to low-income UAE nationals.

...

Abdul Rahman Sifai, Director of the Government Housing Department at the municipality, said it was the first time that apartment blocks were to be built for nationals.

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Posted by dubaiwalla at 05:31 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 31, 2006

The Economic Side of the Lebanon War

A bit back on my sub-blog I shared some musings on the economic impact of the conflict, which perhaps should be highlighted as the dogs of war are clearly out of the control of their master, and as dogs are wont to do, rather running amok against their own interests.

Some thoughts then on the impact of war regionally, from an economic perspective, and related thoughts on where the various markets may head. Very much seat of the pants by the way, and not profound.

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July 07, 2006

How Islamic credit works

From Adventures In Dubai, a practical example of modern Islamic finance:

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June 14, 2006

More Football

It would be very easy to watch the match between Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, the only two Arab teams in the World Cup, and to essentialize based on it. To begin with, no one in the Saudi squad plays for a foreign club - the players do rather well for themselves in their domestic league, which has low standards. The European teams have always been streets ahead of the Arab ones, and even the Sub-Saharan African teams have come impressively far, while the Arabs have lagged behind. Indeed, one would be surprised if the analogy didn't extend to loads of people secretly (or not-so-secretly) hoping the Americans would fail miserably.

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June 06, 2006

Corner on Niqab: Saudi Women Face Off on Veiling

(The title pun was nearly "Sartorial Spleen Tour", so don't complain) Faiza Ambah, a few days back in the Washington Post, provided a profile of Saudi women, including professionals, who are emphatic in their preference for the unusually high restrictiveness -- even by conservative Muslim standards -- in the dress code mandated in their country.

UPDATE (6/10): Jennifer on Henley's blog has some related thoughts ("Modest Invisibility") on an overlapping subject, inspired by devout Egyptian woman Magda Amer's explanations of women's clothing choice and standards.

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June 04, 2006

Saudi Cyber-Vigilantes effect first Saudi blog ban

In MENA, blogs are increasingly becoming part of the political sphere. Blogs serve as conduits for information and debate and link people from various regions who are interested in a certain topic. In recent times, bloggers have increasingly been vocal in politics as well and regional governments have responded - as exemplified in the cases of the two Egyptian bloggers Karim and Alaa. In Saudi Arabia, however, bloggers do not have to fear the government but rather a self-styled "official" blogger group that appears to aim for the "ethical cleansing" of the Saudi blogosphere.

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June 01, 2006

Rambling Thoughts on Public Space, Community, and Culture in Dubai

Dubai has long been the commercial capital of the Gulf. But much as it would like to pretend otherwise, most of what little culture it contains has been imported, and anything that looks historical only does so by virtue of a good façade. The rulers have always focused first and foremost on attracting business, and have been rather successful at this; most of the city's population has moved there from somewhere else for money. It thus differs in many ways from its next door neighbor Sharjah, whose ruler has put far more of an emphasis on retaining traditional and Islamic values, and where there is a 'decency code' and a prohibition on all alcohol.

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May 29, 2006

Democracy in the UAE

Just over a year ago, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then the crown prince of Dubai and UAE’s defense minister, and now the UAE’s vice president, prime minister and defense minister of the UAE, and ruler of Dubai, said:

I say to my fellow Arabs in charge: If you do not change, you will be changed… If you do not initiate radical changes, responsibly discharge your duties and uphold the principles of truth, justice and responsibility, your people will resent you. More than this, the verdict of history on you will be severe.

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May 24, 2006

Iran & The Faux Law, Backtracking

The infamous Jews and Xians have to wear special clothes fiasco