BFF “When King Hamad came to power in 1999, he initially sought to put an end to the violence and sectarian tension that had characterized much of the 1990s by releasing political prisoners, expanding freedoms for the press and civil society, abolishing the most repressive aspects of the security apparatus, and encouraging dialogue with the opposition to help draft a new constitution that would devolve authority to an elected parliament. These efforts gained overwhelming support from most Bahrainis who yearned for more political and civil liberties, and particularly from Shi’a who faced systemic discrimination in the political, economic, and social spheres. Despite initial expectations, however, the resulting 2002 constitution failed to deliver on the King’s promises, dashing hopes and creating deep mistrust between the ruling family and the political opposition. Tensions were exacerbated when an alleged government report was leaked in 2006 detailing a plan to weaken the Shi’a community politically and alter the country’s demographics through the systematic naturalization of Sunni expatriate workers…………..” Not only did the al-Khalifa fail to fulfill their contract with the people of Bahrain, the one agreed at independence. (Their failure to democtratize as promised did not much bother the elite who were not victimized and it certainly was welcomed by the other oligarchies of the Gulf states). It was, it is, the apartheid system that they and their retainers of the elite have insisted on keeping in place. Of course getting rid of the apartheid system would mean a more open political system and more freedoms. More important, it would mean the election of an effective legislature and accountability for corruption by the ruling dynasty. That is why the rulers of Bahrain and their masters and protectors in Saudi Arabia, the absolute tribal princes, insist on keeping the discriminatory system in place. That is why they have resorted to fanning the flames of sectarian fears and passions among the people of Bahrain and the people of the Gulf GCC region. That is why they are willing to foot the bill for the importation of foreign mercenary thugs and torturers by the regime. What they don’t understand is that the people of Bahrain (and one or two other Gulf states) are not like the people of Saudi Arabia who have been trained and terrified over several generations to silently bow and accept the writ of the princes. Even the people of the Arabian Peninsula are stirring now against the restrictions imposed by the potentates and their Salafi lackeys among the clergy. Cheers
mhg
“The lawyer of Yusef Naderkhani, an Iranian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy, says there is a good chance his client will be acquitted. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah made the comments to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda as international anger over the sentence grew. “I have provided the court with explanations that I believe will make the court change its decision, and it is 90 to 95 percent likely that the court will acquit Naderkhani,” Dadkhah said. The 33-year-old Naderkhani converted to Christianity from Islam in 1997, when he was 19. He was arrested in 2009, when he was serving as the pastor of a small church in the northern city of Rasht. A court sentenced him to hanging after convicting him of apostasy. Islamic law in Iran says a Muslim who converts to another faith can face the death penalty. Naderkhani’s wife was sentenced to life imprisonment, but has been released. The Supreme Court upheld Naderkhani’s sentence but said his conviction would be overturned if he repented and renounced his conversion……….”
With judges like these, no wonder the guy converted to something else. We always call for freedom of religion, but only in the West. It is the same story in Iran or in Saudi Arabia or in Malaysia or in almost any other Muslim country. Freedom of religion is professed by all, except Saudi Arabia which openly does not allow any religious practices other than Islam. In some places even other Muslim sects are banned. The fact is that most of our Islamic countries, including Iran, do not respect the freedom of any other religion. Cheers
mhg
BFF
This new rumor about inviting Egypt to join the Gulf GCC could be a way to inject some Egyptian humor into the GCC. Is it to offset Jordanian lack of humor? A humorous Egyptian to offset a surly Jordanian (some claim, probably unfairly, that is the only kind of Jordanian there is), although it might take more than even a sunny Egyptian or two to offset a truly surly Jordanian. Egypt would be a great candidate, humor-wise, to join the GCC. These eighty or ninety million humorous Egyptians will more than offset the 20 million or so GCC citizens who are mostly humorously-challenged (I admit) plus the five million totally humorless Jordanians and any among Moroccans who lack a sense of humor. (My knowledge of Moroccan humor is extremely limited, although I had some great fun with a couple of Moroccan friends I had met in Vienna when we were all younger. I also know something about Algerian humor: they are still waiting for it at the station). Of course all this would not be relevant to the GCC if the citizens of the GCC were a little bit more humorous (actually if they were a lot more humorous). But we do have a trace of a sense of humor, which is an improvement over, say, Jordanians or even Syrians. (Did I ever write about my experience with Turkish humor? It is probably second only to Jordanian and Palestinian humor in terms of non-existence, but close enough to Syrian and Lebanese). Anyway, let me cut the bull and say it: the GCC needs Egypt, especially now that it plans to expand into Jordanian territory, terra humorless.Humor should be considered as a human right, even in Jordan.
But what about all the talk and other stuff about elections in Egypt? Will that mean the potentates of the Gulf will also have to run for their offices in elections? And how can, say, five thousand Saudi princes run for office? Will they have to introduce an elected office titled “prince”? Then the Bahrain and UAE potentates will have to run for the job of “shaikh”. Then wtf will the Omani potentates run for since they have neither princes not shaikhs? Or will the Egyptians elect another absolute king and stay with him for another 30 years? Cheers
mhg
“The men showed up in a small town in Australia’s outback early last year, offering top dollar for all available lodgings. Within days, their company, Serco, was flying in recruits from as far away as London, and busing them from trailers to work 12-hour shifts as guards in a remote camp where immigrants seeking asylum are indefinitely detained. It was just a small part of a pattern on three continents where a handful of multinational security companies have been turning crackdowns on immigration into a growing global industry. Especially in Britain, the United States and Australia, governments of different stripes have increasingly looked to such companies to expand detention and show voters they are enforcing tougher immigration laws……………But the ballooning of privatized detention has been accompanied by scathing inspection reports, lawsuits and the documentation of widespread abuse and neglect,sometimes lethal……….”
Look for France’s Sarkozy to adopt this idea if his electoral fortunes get worse in the coming months. That should seal his re-election in the ‘new’ France.
This looks like a definite accelerating trend in the English-speaking major countries now. Private prisons, private security firms for military installations and embassies, and now private detention concentration camps for illegal immigrants. Anybody can tell you that private for profit security companies seek to maximize profits (surprised?) and that the public sector seeks to ensure humane treatment as well as the proper public policy. The twain shall never meet. I know, they say oversight and inspections will take care of that. Harrrrumph. Cheers
mhg
“Six men have been referred to the Federal Supreme Court over charges including perpetrating acts that pose threats to state security, undermining the public order, opposing the government system, and insulting the president, the vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the UAE Attorney, General Salim Saeed Kubaish, said yesterday.
The six were named as Ahmed Mansour Ali Abdullah Al Abd Al Shehi, Nasser Ahmed Khalfan bin Gaith, Fahad Salim Mohammed Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali Al Khamis, all Emiratis, and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq Ahmed, who does not carry identification papers, were said.
General Kubaish said the crimes are punishable by the Federal Penal Code and the Federal Law on Combating Cyber Crimes.
He said the six were detained after evidence against them was established by investigations……..”
I guess by “cyber crimes” they mean blogging. They flipped off the ruling potentates, but only metaphorically. Their written demands and comments were very polite, too polite in fact toward the potentates. I’d flip off the potentates and the watermelon court that will no doubt sentence them to prison, unless it is ordered by the potentates to do otherwise. Cheers
mhg
The clock is ticking and time is running out for the combatants to position themselves. Here is a summary of the turf wars and how the Saudi pie is being split now among the “next” generation (meaning those in their 70’s and up):
The crown prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz is seriously ill and highly unlikely to become king. He spends his time between an undisclosed location at home and American hospitals and Moroccan recuperation. He has appointed his son Khaled as deputy defense minister, meaning he is to inherit the ministry as well as becoming the minister of aviation and inspector general (recalling Danny Kaye now).
Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz is next in line and almost certainly the next king. He is a seriously conservative man and is against any type of elections. He famously said a couple of years ago that “Elections can never produce good people of the quality that we appoint” (and that was long before the Tea Party gained control of the U.S. Congress!). He is the minister of interior, in charge of police and security and secret police and terrorism and arrests and prisons and prisoners without charges and whatever goes in the dark cells. He has appointed his son Mohammed as a deputy minister, meaning he is to inherit the ministry when the father either becomes king or dies, whichever comes first.
Then there is the king himself and he is no slouch when it comes to his interests and the interests of his children. Abdullah was head of the National Guard, a parallel army, since forever. Last year he appointed one of his sons to replace him as head of the Guard. Thus the king has staked the permanent claim of ‘his’ branch of the al-Saud clan.
That leaves the Foreign Ministry, forever headed by Prince Saud al-Faisal. He is reportedly ailing without a clear heir. At one time there were two apparent claimants competing for the ministry, or at least there seemed to be, until King Abdullah appointed his son Abdulaziz as Deputy Foreign Minister, thus staking the claim of his own ‘branch’ of the al-Saud clan. Now Abdulaziz has the inside track as compared to Prince Turki al-Faisal brother of the current minister (and the wittiest prince, at least in public) and Prince Bandar Bin Sultan (of the famous BAE Systems bribery case that Tony Blair covered up). The foreign ministry is interesting because has become an area of unexpected competition and turf war. I had assumed it was the private reserve of the al-Faisal clan until Bandar made his move and then Abdullah appointed his own son. Apparently Bandar is a restless type, for he has reportedly made many moves inside and outside the kingdom and was allegedly involved in some palace plots. Apparently all the BAE Systems bribe money has given him more time and funds to pursue his ‘hobbies’. He was even reported at one time to be active in Iraq (not physically, but financially among the Sunni tribes and others). The foreign ministry truly reflects the current territorial infighting among the al-Saud branches: if Abdullah dies before the minister leaves, his son is not guaranteed the top job.
What is at stake is: (a)the future of the throne, (b)the allocation of the petroleum loot among the hungry numerous princes, and (c)power within the top leadership that control the various ministries/fiefdoms.
That is on the ministry or ‘functional’ level. Then there is the real estate, the various provinces, each presided over by a senior al-Saud prince. A prince is the absolute ruler of his province even as he claims allegiance to the king in Riyadh. Does it remind you of Europe in the Middle Ages? Yes, I have read Ivanhoe more than once, read it the first time in Arabic when in ninth grade (Isaac of York, the Jew, would probably be some wayfaring Shi’a from the Eastern province).……. Did I hear you mention something about “the people” of the Arabian Peninsula? OH, yeah, they were once among the freest peoples of the whole world………. Cheers
mhg
“Egypt’s state security prosecutor should immediately close “treason” investigations into Egyptian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accused of receiving foreign funding, Human Rights Watch said today. The Egyptian cabinet announced on September 14, 2011, that a Justice Ministry report had identified more than 30 NGOs that are receiving foreign funding and are not registered with the Social Solidarity Ministry as required by the Associations Law and that it had submitted this information to the prosecutor. The offense is punishable with imprisonment under Egypt’s Associations Law. Restricting foreign funding can effectively deny civil society groups the ability to operate since under former President Hosni Mubarak, local funding sources shied away from funding controversial groups, Human Rights Watch said. “It sends alarming signals about the transitional government’s commitment to human rights that Egyptian authorities have started a criminal investigation with the same methods Hosni Mubarak used to strangle civil society, …………”
The military junta (SCAF) keeps nibbling at the freedoms Egyptians gained with their blood since last January, even before then. It keeps testing the people’s will, trying to abort the march toward a more just and more free society. But that may be natural: it is unusual to see a non-elected regime encourage free elections and other freedoms. No doubt the junta is being urged by some sisterly and brotherly oligarchies in the neighborhood. But it is impossible to push the toothpaste back into the tube, and the Egyptian toothpaste is definitely out of the tube. Cheers
mhg
Saudi king Abdullah announced that Saudi women will be able to vote in 2015. That is interesting because I am not sure the king will be around at that time to see it happen, IF it happens. Even if he is still “there”, he may not be “there” altogether, if you get my drift. Nevertheless, ‘tribal liberals’ on my Gulf are cautiously hailing this “bestowal” as a sure sign of reform and progress. He was talking about the toothless municipal councils not about any true elections. What this tells me is that the Saudis have changed their PR strategy. They have decided to follow the old Arab oligarch policy of pretending they are holding elections so that there will be less pressure on them from the outside. Potentates like Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Bin Ali, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Omar al-Bashir, among others have tried that, as have the potentates of Bahrain and even the UAE (to a more limited extent). Like I said before, even dog-catchers are appointed.
Of course, women will still not be able to drive cars in 2015. Cheers
mhg
“A Saudi Arabian ministry statement carried by the state news agency, SPA, stated that Abdul Hamid al-Fakki “practiced witchcraft and sorcery,” which are illegal under Saudi Arabia’s Islamic sharia law. Al-Fakki was beheaded in the western city of Medina on Monday, the interior ministry announced. In October last year, Amnesty International said it had appealed to King Abdullah in a letter to commute Fakki’s death sentence. His execution brings to 42 the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP tally based on official and human rights group reports…………” Saudi reforms continue unhindered, according to tribal liberals on my Gulf. As if to prove it, another “sorcerer” was beheaded last week in a Saudi public square (this is only the last of many). He was a poor foreigner from Sudan this time. He was beheaded by the regime for allegedly practicing “sorcery and witchcraft”. Magic is seriously frowned upon in the Kingdom without Magic. I wonder if the Lebanese TV magician Ali Sabat who performed magic on “Lebanese” TV. I believe he is still in prison awaiting something (he was supposed to be beheaded but the princes decided to keep him around for a while after an international campaign). Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, the usual Western glitterati are not out in force showing their outrage, condemning this most recent execution. Nor is Bernard-Henri Lévy. Cheers
mhg
BFF “The Saudis are afraid of the Arab spring, because they don’t want anti-Saudi forces, including such enemies as Iran and Al Qaeda, to increase their influence in the Middle East, and they believe the revolutions in the region might have just this effect. Some of the older Saudi leaders have seen this movie before. The nationalist revolutions of the 1950’s and 1960’s, inspired and galvanized by Gamel Nasser’s Egypt, nearly toppled the House of Saud. Nonetheless, today’s Saudi princes appear to recognize that something has genuinely changed in the Middle East: The younger generation of Arabs is no longer prepared to accept unaccountable, corrupt, and brutal governments. Saudi Arabia, a self-proclaimed bulwark of Islamic conservatism, where popular democracy has never been considered a legitimate form of rule, has been more aggressive in some arenas than in others. Domestically, the royal family struck quickly, adopting a ban on public demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience. The Kingdom’s traditional interpretation of Islam construes political legitimacy in terms of a ruler’s proper application of Islamic law. In return, his subjects owe him obedience within the constraints of Sharia religious law…………..”
There is a Hadith that purports to indicate that Prophet Mohammed urged Muslims to obey their “Muslim” rulers as long as they allowed and facilitated the practice of Islam, no matter how lousy the rulers are. This Hadith has been at the center of Salafi alliances with despotic Arab rulers. It has supplied the rulers with a “loophole” to get away with all kinds of corruption and injustice. It is used by absolute Arab monarchs as an alibi, with the Salafis as allies. Of course there are other Hadiths against corruption and thievery by rulers, and against despotism, but these are ignored. I have never believed in the veracity of that Hadith, not even as a kid. Needless to say, I still have strong doubts about its veracity. For 1400 years this particular Hadith has been just too convenient, too useful for ruling tyrants of our region. Cheers
mhg
Rattlesnake Ridge 
BFF