Here’s an idea for an October Surprise that could transform the political landscape. It has nothing to do with the announcement of a coronavirus vaccine. Nor with Black Lives Matter. Nor with defunding the police. Nor with once-in-a-century wildfires and hurricanes that, in their intensity, happened to be just like those wildfires and hurricanes we’ve […]
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ‘endangers ties with Western allies,’ making ‘many in London and Washington nervous’
Saudi Arabia is the focus of much attention these days, with hopes high that it, too, will normalize relations with Israel. In the meantime, there are many unresolved issues. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, has stated that there will be no deal with Israel “without peace with the Palestinians,” which would include […]
Saudis execute 134 so far this year, many by beheading and crucifixion
“Barbaric crucifixions are on the rise in Saudi Arabia…” What did anyone expect? “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they […]
Khaled Beydoun: The Saudi Regime Does Not Represent Islam (Part Two)
He has also liberalized Saudi society. It may seem from a Western perspective to be a minor matter, but it was huge for the Saudis: giving women the right to drive represents an enormous step forward, in curbing the misogyny of mainstream Islam. At the same time, recognizing that he would have to proceed cautiously […]
Khaled Beydoun: The Saudi Regime Does Not Represent Islam (Part One)
Khaled Beydoun, author of a preposterous book about “Islamophobia,” has taken to the pages of Al Jazeera (the media mouthpiece of the government of Qatar, now at daggers drawn with Saudi Arabia) to deplore what he sees as blaming Islam for the murder of Khashoggi. The Khashoggi affair is yet another reason for the world […]
Saudi textbooks teach jihad violence, hatred of Jews and Christians, death for apostasy
David Andrew Weinberg of the Anti-Defamation League presents the Saudi textbook material as if it were some aberration, a manifestation of Saudi “extremism.” In reality, however, it’s standard Islam. “This academic year, once again Saudi Arabia’s high school monotheism textbooks teach that infidels such as Jews and Christians are ‘the enemies of Islam and its […]
Saudi Arabia to punish “content that ridicules, mocks and disrupts religious values” with 5 years, $800,000 fine
“Producing and distributing content that ridicules, mocks, provokes and disrupts public order, religious values and public morals through social media … will be considered a cybercrime punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals ($800,000).” Remember this one the next time you hear about how the Kingdom […]
This Just In From Saudi Arabia: We Have A History
Islam has always divided the world, both spatially and temporally, in two. Spatially, the world is divided into Dar al-Islam, where Islam dominates and Muslims rule, and Dar al-Harb, the House of War, where Unbelievers still manage to dominate. Temporally, Muslims see the world as divided into the period after the message of Islam was […]
Saudis expel Canadian ambassador for calling for release of women’s rights activists
Here is yet another sign that the “modernization” of Saudi Arabia is more appearance than reality. “Saudi Arabia expels Canadian ambassador and freezes all trade after Ottawa calls for jailed activists to be freed,” by Khaleda Rahman, Mailonline, August 6, 2018: Saudi Arabia said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and had recalled its envoy […]
Saudis buy former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for $12,000,000
In 2016, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that “many millions” of Muslims held a viewpoint that is “fundamentally incompatible with the modern world.” Now the Saudis have reportedly paid Blair’s organization, the Institute for Global Change, $12,000,000 — after sending out a message to the world that it was pursuing modernization. Despite the millions being given […]
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: At Last, Women Can Drive in Saudi Arabia, But Don’t Get Too Excited
Has moderate Islam prevailed? Not really. My latest in FrontPage: As of Sunday, women can finally get into the driver’s seat of automobiles in Saudi Arabia, as the most visible aspect of the much-heralded reforms initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) finally took effect. So now moderate Islam has prevailed in the Kingdom […]
Saudi Arabia detains activists who pushed to end ban on women driving
This one goes out to all you MBS fans who thought that the Crown Prince was finally ushering in the dawn of “moderate Islam” in Saudi Arabia. In reality, he is overseeing reforms to a certain extent, as he wants to attract foreign investment and secure President Trump’s support against the Islamic Republic of Iran. […]
Saudi women’s fitness center shut down by adviser to “reformer” Crown Prince over “indecent” workout video
Reform and moderation are coming to Saudi Arabia! “Extremist” Islam is in retreat! Isn’t it? “Saudi women fitness centre shut over ‘indecent’ workout video,” AFP, April 21, 2018 (thanks to The Religion of Peace): Saudi sports authorities shut down a female fitness centre in Riyadh Friday over a contentious promotional video that appeared to show […]
Coup attempt in Saudi Arabia, or just an incident with a toy plane?
Conflicting reports coming out of Saudi Arabia. A coup is plausible, given the opposition of Wahhabi hardliners to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attempts to modernize the Kingdom a bit. But there doesn’t seem to be a coup taking place, at least as far as we know now. No coup attempt in Riyadh. A […]
Saudi crown prince: Islam “was not about conquering, it was about peacefully spreading the word”
“Islam is a religion of peace. This is the translation of Islam.” No, the translation of “Islam” is “submission.” “For 1,400 years, Muslims have been trying to spread the word of God. In the Middle East, in North Africa, in Europe, they weren’t allowed to spread the word. That’s why they fought to spread the […]
Trump tells Saudi crown prince US has ‘zero tolerance’ for terrorist funding
The test of whether or not this vaunted Saudi reform is real will be if they really cut off funding not only for terror groups, but for Muslim Brotherhood mosques and organizations in the United States. “Trump tells Saudi crown prince US has ‘zero tolerance’ for terrorist funding,” by Steven Nelson, Washington Examiner, March 20, […]
Foreign Policy, in touting Saudi Arabia’s reforms, shows how little has really been done
“War is deceit,” said Muhammad (Bukhari 4.52.268), and Mohammed bin Salman is a knowledgeable and devout believer, but of course even to raise the question of whether Saudi Arabia is trying to deceive the West in order to gain its support against Iran would be “Islamophobic.” Deceive us? Inconceivable! Nonetheless, in enthusiastically cheerleading for Mohammed […]
Saudi Arabia, promoting image of reform, to open its first cinemas
Cinemas will open to the public in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia in 2018, the kingdom’s culture ministry has announced. The lifting of the ban follows several other steps by the Saudi Crown Prince touted as liberalization of the country. This is good news, at least on the surface, as fun in Islam is generally regarded as […]
Saudis arrest Prince Alwaleed, benefactor of Georgetown’s “Islamophobia” program
It’s hard to tell what exactly is happening in Saudi Arabia. The New York Times presents it as a genuine relaxation of Islamic strictures, which, as is clear from the Times article itself, is not the same thing as reform of Islam: Muslim clerics who know full well what the contents of Islamic law are […]
Saudi Crown Prince: Saudi Arabia will “return” to “moderate Islam”
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to restore “moderate” Islam that is open to all religions in the world. In his own words: “We are returning to what we were before – a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world…….We will end extremism very […]