Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Excellent short analysis of Egypt/Saudi Arabia spat. After years of clientelism under Mubarak, Egypt is now an unruly place; Saudis use financial arm-twisting to try to maintain old ways. But the old ways of the region are gone
Comment on Mona Eltahawy's polemic (linked to below) on the treatment of women in the Arab world. Yes, the problems are real but they need putting in a wider context where wholesale reform is needed. It's not just about gender
Saudi school textbooks became a subject of international interest after 9/11. The education ministry promised reform. But schoolchildren are still instructed not to greet infidels and to beware the West's threat to Islam
A call to arms. "Arab societies hate women. Name me an Arab country, and I'll recite a litany of abuses fueled by a toxic mix of culture and religion that few seem willing or able to disentangle lest they blaspheme or offend"
"Why do oil prices remain stubbornly high? The reason is simply that Saudi Arabia deliberately refrains from using the market power that it might command." So here is what it should do, and what it would mean
Will the revolutions sweeping the Arab world some day reach Saudi Arabia? Do the math: 30% unemployment, dictatorship, jails full of political prisoners, ubiquitous corruption, distrust of church and state. Fasten your seatbelt
The Saudi authorities speak sternly about violence used against protesters in Syria. Yet they are confronting their own unrest in Qatif, in the east of the country. Little sign that they have dialogue or reform in mind
Pity poor Hamza Kashgari. He made some injudicious comments on Twitter and now he's a pawn about to be sacrificed by the Saudi ruling family. This has little to do with the sanctity of Islam; everything to do with power politics
The only organised groups in Saudi Arabia are religious, and from the extremist end of the spectrum. Kashgari's appalling case prompts questions of whether giving more power to the people would be wise, and where it might lead
On the importance of tribalism in the Arab Gulf states. Usually used by those in power to create bonds of loyalty; occasionally used by tribal alliances against rulers. Either way it's antithetical to a civil, democratic state
One of our favourite Middle East commentators. His own book on the Arab uprisings comes out soon, but until then chew on Lynch's assessment of the most impressive and/or interesting accounts from the region in 2011
The contrast between the deaths, within two days of each other, of Gaddafi and Saudi Crown Prince Sultan is one of terminal buffoonery versus decadent gerontocracy. But Libyans may get their freedom; Saudis are heading the other way
