MetaFilter posts tagged with middleeast and saudiarabia

WSJ's Middle East Real Time blog

mediareport — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:47:08 -0800

Since the end of March, the Wall Street Journal's new Middle East Real Time blog has written about Turkey's "unstoppable" export boom in soap operas, Saudi Arabia's "life after jihad" rehab program, the persistence of obviously fraudulent bomb detectors across Iraq, YouTube branding discussions among Syrian rebel factions, a rising media star Sunni cleric in Lebanon, a post-revolutionary Cairo arts festival, and attempts to overcome conservative objections and change the Saudi Thursday-Friday weekend to match the rest of the business world. Previous non-paywalled WSJ Real Time blogs include Korea, China, Canada, India, Brussels, Emerging Europe, Japan.

"I felt like I'd been catapulted from one end of the universe to the other"

Rhaomi — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:17:51 -0800

This weekend marks the time of the Hajj, a core pillar of Islam in which great tides of humanity venture to the ancient city of Mecca to honor God. Predating Mohammed's birth by centuries, the pilgrimage comprises several days of rites, from congregation like snow on Mount Arafat and the ritual stoning of Shaitan to the circling of the sacred Kaaba (the shrouded cubical monolith Muslims pray toward daily) and kissing the Black Stone (colored by the absorption of myriad sins, and believed by some to be a fallen meteorite). While the city has modernized to handle this largest of annual gatherings -- building highway-scale ramps, gaudy skyscrapers for the ultra-rich, and tent cities the size of Seattle -- it remains mysterious, as unbelievers are forbidden from entering its borders. Richard Francis Burton became famous for touring the city in disguise to write a rare travelogue, but contemporary viewers have a more immediate guide: Vice Magazine journalist Suroosh Alvi, who smuggled a minicam into the city to record The Mecca Diaries [alt], a 14-minute documentary of his own Hajj journey. Browse the manual to see what goes into a Hajj trip, or watch the YouTube livestream to see the Grand Mosque crowds in real time.

Bahrain explodes (part two)

asymptotic — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:15:12 -0800

Government of Bahrain declares state of emergency. Mixture of Saudi, UAE, and other GCC troops enter Bahrain upon invitation. Bahrain declares state of emergency (LA Times):

Reporting from Manama, Bahrain Bahrain's king declared a three-month state of emergency Tuesday in an effort to quell a month-old uprising as rival groups of protesters and gangs set up more checkpoints around the capital. The move by King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa appeared to amount to a declaration of martial law the day after hundreds of troops and police from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates poured into Bahrain with the support of the government after worsening violence paralyzed Manama, the capital, in recent days.

Why there'll be no no-fly-zone over Bahrain (positive spin):

But the advocates of action haven't yet focused on Bahrain, where Saudi troops have been called to support the government. Of course, there are huge differences. Col Gaddafi has already killed a lot of his own people. The Bahraini authorities swing between tolerating and repressing opponents but there's been no massacre, no murderous attacks on protesters. This is a series of demonstrations, not a civil war. But presumably the Saudi troops aren't there to help enforce traffic regulations.

We won't trouble Saudi's tyrants with calls to reform while we crave their oil (George Monbiot, Guardian):

Did you hear it? The clamour from western governments for democracy in Saudi Arabia? The howls of outrage from the White House and No 10 about the shootings on Thursday, the suppression of protests on Friday, the arrival of Saudi troops in Bahrain on Monday? No? Nor did I. Did we miss it, or do they believe that change is less necessary in Saudi Arabia than it is in Libya? If so, on what grounds? The democracy index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit places Libya 158th out of 167, and Saudi Arabia 160th. At least in Libya, for all the cruelties of that regime, women are not officially treated as lepers were in medieval Europe.

Bahrain School, the US Department of Defence sponsored and staffed school, is closed. St. Christopher's School, the major British curriculum school in Bahrain, is closed. Protesters have successfully surrounded and isolated the financial district. I'm in touch with my family, who live in Bahrain, and they've told me that a large number of foreigners have left or are attempting to leave the country; this exodus doesn't appear in any foreign media reports, but is understandable. previously

Doing our homework on the Middle East

LobsterMitten — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:41:44 -0800

22 basic suggested readings on the Middle East from history professor and informed commenter on Middle Eastern affairs Juan Cole.

Rebellion brewing in Saudi city

Postroad — Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:23:16 -0800

Rebellion brewing in Saudi city The tiny city of Sakaka in the remote al-Jouf province that borders Iraq may seem an unlikely setting for the beginning of a revolution against the ruling al-Saud family. But one does not have to spend too long here to realise that this is what is happening.

With friends like the Saudis, who needs enemies?

homunculus — Tue, 09 Jul 2002 22:07:44 -0800

With friends like the Saudis, who needs enemies? "There is, then, no real need for us to be frightened by the loss of the kingdom's oil friendship. But we should be concerned by the evidence of its strategic enmity. It may be true that the Saudis are neither Iraqis nor Iranians nor Libyans; but it is quite dangerous enough that they are Saudis."

Arab Experts Fault Saudi's Idea Based on Land-for-Peace Trade

Postroad — Sun, 17 Feb 2002 08:34:24 -0800

Arab Experts Fault Saudi's Idea Based on Land-for-Peace Trade Let's see if I have this right. Five arab nations attacked Israel a few times and Israel, winning, occupied land, waiting for a peace settlement. Now the very influential ruler of Saudi Arabia has a plan that will tgive back all occupied land to the Palestinians and give them a state and give them their place in Jerusalem. But other Arab "thinkers"--academics, so to speak, think this is unwsise because it would help Sharon. Instead, Israel, the victor in these wars, ought to give all back and them hope that the losers in the struggle will in turn recognize Israel's right to exist in peace. Seems a rather odd way to win or lose in warfare and suggest to mea certain intransigence when this might be the beginning of a breakthrough that the world has waited for. What think?

Covering for our "oil buddies"

owillis — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 19:06:05 -0800

Covering for our "oil buddies" It seems there were some choice statements about Saudi support for Osama's terrorism that were removed from last week's "party tape". Wouldn't want to mess with Bush/Cheney's oil pals, now would we?

Did the government hinder the FBI to investigate against the Bin Laden family?

alex63 — Thu, 22 Nov 2001 05:00:01 -0800

Did the government hinder the FBI to investigate against the Bin Laden family? Transcript from last night's BBC Newsnight: GREG PALAST: The CIA and Saudi Arabia, the Bushes and the Bin Ladens. Did their connections cause America to turn a blind eye to terrorism? UNNAMED MAN: There is a hidden agenda at the very highest levels of our government. JOE TRENTO, (AUTHOR, "SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA"): The sad thing is that thousands of Americans had to die needlessly.