9/12/07

Hey Dad,

I'm glad people are enjoying the emails! I heard from Barb Bowman and added her to the list, and got Bryn's email and talked to her. part of the reason why I want to get a couple of these cats to come inside and trust me is so I can take them to the vet! The one who lets me love on him (at first he just tolerated it; now he purrs!!! yay!!) has a really messed up eye and I'm 99% sure he's got parasites because he always eats like he's starving even tho we feed him twice a day, and he's really bony and hasn't put on any weight since I got here. I mean, probably most of the cats have parasites. also, I'm talking with Lobat and a woman who just moved to Riyadh about starting up a catch-spay/neuter-release program for the cats here. it's a good solution when domesticating and finding homes for all the cats is simply out of the question. we might be using my spare room for the recovery room, which is great because I don't have a use for it and it seems silly to have this huge apartment, a spare bedroom, and nothing to do with it!

Diane's last name is Odegard, but I think it's rather funny that you asked. Does God need last names? haha Or people could say Diane in Iraq, whatever. As long as people are praying for her--that's what counts!

Ohhh, that poor baby, and poor family! that's so sad. i can't even imagine what the family is feeling now. Hey, did you hear about this Russian woman who was pregnant, travelled to Turkey, and while she was there, gave birth prematurely. The baby had to be kept in an incubator, etc. and of course it rang up quite a hefty bill. Since the woman had not intended on any of that happening, she didn't have enough money to pay the hospital bill, so they refused to give her her baby! She had to leave her newborn in Turkey to return to Russia, scrounge up the money for the bill, then return to Turkey to get her baby! I guess Russia is pretty upset (understandably!) about it. The moral to the story is: don't go to Turkey when you're pregnant! (I know this directly affects you...)

Well, alhamdalillah (thanks be to God) that the weekend starts tomorrow! I have been going to sleep around 2 am, and I don't sleep well because the mattress is awful, and I have to wake up at 7. The first 2-3 days of the week it's not so bad, but then I start feeling more and more tired, so by the last day of the week, no amount of coffee can save me!

Anyway, so I'm looking forward to the weekend and sleeping! I don't care if I do nothing else, I just want to sleep! Ramadan starts tomorrow, which changes things a bit: eating/drinking in public is very VERY illegal during Ramadan, and the Mutawa are quick to punish u for it because, well, they're thirsty and hungry and cranky! And a cranky Mutawa...well, that is not something u wanna mess with! speaking of which, here's an interesting news story about the Mutawa:

It was business as usual for Saudi Arabia's religious police one night in June this year when a dozen of them stormed into the house of 28-year-old hotel security guard Salman al-Huraisi, arrested 10 members of his family, and ransacked his property in search of banned alcohol.

Known as the mutawa'in, this strike force of the Kingdom's Committee for the Protection of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice have essentially had unlimited power since their establishment, patrolling the streets with short sticks to flog those who overstep their strict Wahhabi version of Islam. Their "work" ranges from enforcing prayer times to ensuring segregation of the sexes.

But the mutawa'in went too far after detaining al-Huraisi, beating him so severely that he died in custody. Outrage has been expressed across the kingdom, with calls for justice bursting forth even from the heavily-restrained Saudi press. "Five years ago, we could have never done this" says one editor at the Saudi-owned daily Arab News. "The change is drastic."

Equally dramatic is the launching of three separate lawsuits against the committee - an unprecedented call to accountability for their heavy-handed behaviour. The public outcry has also forced the government to launch an investigation into the committee's behaviour - a striking illustration that the Wahhabi clergy may be slowly losing their stranglehold over the Saudi polity.

Established as a result of the pact between the religious establishment and Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, the military leader and founder of modern Saudi Arabia, the mutawa'in were the symbolic bedrock of a union which has legitimised the existence of Saudi Arabia in its current form. When asked by al-Watan newspaper in 2003 whether the committee ought to be restructured, Prince Nayef, the ultra-conservative interior minister overseeing its work, responded scathingly to the reporter: "As a Saudi, you should be ashamed of asking this question." The newspaper's editor was fired shortly after the encounter.

The infallibility of the mutawa'in began to erode in 2002, when committee members reportedly prevented schoolgirls from fleeing a burning building because they had left their headscarves inside. Fifteen girls died in the blaze. Though Prince Naif refused to acknowledge any responsibility for the deaths, the particularly gruesome incident was a strong blow to the Committee's credibility.

Today, criticism of the committee has reached fever pitch. The National Society for Human Rights, officially sanctioned by the Saudi rulers, has issued a report criticising committee practices. Significantly, the interior ministry recently circulated a pointed directive reminding Committee members not to hold suspects in detention centers.

Physical attacks on the religious police have even been reported, with 21 incidents documented last year. "Sometimes my friends and I dress in western clothing just so that we can provoke fights with them," says one Saudi teenager with inflated bravado. "Their time is over."

The breakdown of these taboos stands as a testament to the kingdom's radical transformation over the past few years. Since officially taking power in 2005, the reform-minded King Abdullah has been attempting to sideline the official religious establishment in favour of the merchant classes and more progressive Islamic leaders.

These changes are anchored in the need to provide jobs to the 75% of Saudi society that is under 30 years of age and suffers from a 30% unemployment rate. Mindful of this talent pool of potential terrorists and anti-regime dissidents, King Abdullah has launched vast economic reforms, capped by accession to the World Trade Organisation. These will have ripple effects in conservative Saudi society. According to Jean-Francois Seznec, a leading expert on the kingdom, "the official ulama [religious scholars] will be among the main losers' of Abdullah's market-oriented reforms.

But while the link between the palace and the clergy has been diluted, it is far from broken. The Wahhabi establishment still has a wide base of support among some royal circles while conservative Islamism is popular in regions such as the Nejad. And the clock is ticking for Saudi Arabia's progressives. At 83, time for King Abdullah's reforms is running out, before one of his more conservative or less bold brothers takes the Saudi throne. One thing is clear, however, as a sociology Professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah says: "The committee will never be able to regain its previous, untouchable status, after this public backlash."

They recently beat a guy to death for having alcohol, and people are a bit peeved. Also, it mentions another incident that caused a big stir: a few months ago a private girls' school caught fire, and the girls were trying to evacuate, and the Mutawa wouldn't let them leave because they didn't have their headscarves on. 15 girls died, several others were hospitalized. Officially, according to the Saudi newspapers, the girls died in a "stampede." But plenty of eyewitnesses, including the girls, have spoken up about it. Anyway, the more things like this that happen, the more people are turning against the Mutawa, which have been an important part of Saudi society since before it offically became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Maybe you could bring this news article in to the church too. For the record, I haven't really had any run-ins with Mutawa, although when Diane and I were shopping, as we walked outside the mall (diane doesn't cover her hair), some Mutawa who were in their car called out to her to cover her hair, so we quickly stepped back in the mall. She muttered and grumbled about having to cover her hair, dug around in her purse for her scarf, and covered up. I don't try to push the envelope--I always cover my hair. It's illegal not to, but many non-Arabic women don't do it anyway because they resent having to do it, etc. I'd rather just cover than deal with the harassment of not covering--especially since I'm a blond! Diane's got gray hair, and still gets lots of stares and men make noises, etc.

75 degrees! I don't even want to hear about it! actually, it's cooled down a bit here--at night it actually gets down into the double-digits! woohoo! :)

Still trying to get my Iqama here so I can open a bank account. I'm irritated that they're ignoring my daily emails asking if any progress is being made. many of the teachers said I'll probably not have it this month and get paid in cash at the end of the month.

I love you!!!

Much Love, Lizz