SAUDI ARABIA: Stopping militant passions

Why do young Saudi men keep popping up to do bad things in dangerous places?

Saudi militants are instigating terror and death from Yemen to Europe and from Iraq to Pakistan. The Saudi government has been attempting to calm jihadist passions by enrolling extremists in reform schools and silencing radical preachers. There has been progress, but the kingdom’s ultra-conservative brand of Wahhabi Islam keeps churning out those with masked faces and crisscrossed bandoliers.

Tariq Alhomayed, editor of the English-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat, explored the problem Saudi Arabia and the Arab world face in an opinion piece headlined: "Saudi Youth and Terrorism: When Will It End?"

“The ideological war in Saudi Arabia [against extremism] continues to be fought but below the expected level, even though the Saudi media is fiercely in opposition to extremism and the extremists, and there is a social aversion to Al Qaeda, the takfiris, and those who support them,” writes Alhomayed. “But despite this we continue to witness the destruction of our youth.”

He adds: “We should blame ourselves.”

Read the rest of the story here.

-- Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo

Photo: The aftermath of a suicide bombing in Baghdad. Credit: Reuters

KUWAIT: In a first, four women elected to parliament

Some great news for women in the conservative Persian Gulf: Kuwaitis elected their first-ever women lawmakers [second item] to parliament. 

Voters in four districts elevated women into parliamentary jobs. It's believed to be the first time women have been elected to serve as lawmakers in any of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies.

Kuwaiti women were only granted the right to vote in 2005.

"It's a victory for Kuwaiti women and a victory for Kuwaiti democracy," lawmaker Aseel Awadhi, a philosophy professor, said after winning a seat. 

DUBAI: Police announce arrests of thousands of pimps, prostitutes

In a city-state that imports most of its human capital, from upper management to unskilled labor, it's no surprise that sex trafficking and forced prostitution have also flourished alongside (and sometimes inside) Dubai's luxury hotels and glittering skyscrapers.

In December 2007, however, the Dubai police responded by raiding two dozen brothels and detaining hundreds of suspects in the biggest prostitution sting to date.

At the time, Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim told the Associated Press that the Dubai government had "declared war on human trafficking."

Since then, police in Dubai have arrested 2,713 sex workers and 107 female pimps as part of an ongoing campaign against vice, according to a recent report in the Saudi-based Arab News.

UAE: Torture video threatens to sour relations with Washington

A videotape allegedly showing an Afghan grain dealer being savagely tortured by a member of the United Arab Emirates’ royal family is apparently casting a gloom over relations between the United States and its oil-rich ally.

The release of the 45-minute tape last week by the U.S. network ABC was met with condemnation by international human rights groups, especially after authorities in the Persian Gulf nation tried to suppress the incident. CNN, quoting senior U.S. officials, reported Wednesday that the tape was slowing down the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between Washington and Abu Dhabi.

According to CNN, the U.S. administration has judged that “sensitivities over the story can hurt” the closing of the deal. 

Excerpts from the tape, which reportedly involves Sheik Issa bin Zayed al-Nuhayyan, a brother of the UAE crown prince, showed a man being beaten with whips and a plank of wood with nails, assaulted with an electric cattle prod, having sand shoved into his mouth and salt poured on his wounds and finally being run over by a car.

The 2004 incident, which allegedly involved a policeman, was said to have taken place in the desert at the prince’s ranch in Abu Dhabi. The prince allegedly sought revenge against the Afghan dealer for cheating him of more than $5,000 in a grain deal.

Judicial officials in the UAE said Wednesday that an investigation into the tape had been launched. A statement by the Abu Dhabi Justice Department said that the government “unequivocally condemns the actions depicted on the video.”

Human Rights Watch denounced the alleged torture. The international watchdog said that the UAE would be considered as the entity torturing individuals if those responsible for the incident and those commanding them were not prosecuted.

The tape was leaked to the media by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. national and a former business associate of Sheik Issa. Nabulsi, who said he was also detained and tortured by police in the UAE under orders from the prince, has filed a lawsuit in Texas, citing the video as evidence of the royal’s brutality.

The Afghan man has reportedly survived the torture after spending months in a hospital recovering from serious injuries and bone fractures. According to local officials, the case was closed in 2004 after the dealer and the prince had settled the matter privately with no charges pressed on either side.

The question remains whether UAE’s rulers will conduct a serious investigation of the case so as to save the reputation of the nation depicted in brochures and ads as a haven for business and tourism.

The incident pries open a window on the abuses and the harsh conditions to which laborers, especially those from poor Asian countries, are subjected in the Arab state. 

-- Raed Rafei in Beirut 

KUWAIT: Political dissidents accused of slamming ruling family released

                

Kuwaiti authorities released two political dissidents after holding them for several days for criticizing the ruling family in public, according to media reports. The two, former member of parliament Daifallah Buramia and municipal council member Khalifa al Kharafi, were running as candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The arrests reflect the crisis in democracy that Kuwait is facing these days. This small, oil-rich nation is often hailed for having an elected parliament, a rarity among autocratic Persian Gulf kingdoms. But tolerance toward political dissidents apparently has limits, especially when the ruling family is attacked. 

On Sunday, Kharafi was arrested by state security. Local media reported that Kharafi was being questioned for saying that the Sabah family was incapable of running the country. Nevertheless, Kharafi was then allowed from behind prison bars to sign up as a candidate in the new elections scheduled for May.

Buramia, who was a member in the previous Islamist parliamentary bloc, was also arrested last week for reportedly saying during an election rally recently that Defense Minister Sheik Jabar al Hamad al Sabah, a close relative of the nation’s ruler, was “not fit” to become prime minister.

The arrests may be a sign that the Kuwaiti ruling family is toughening its stance against political opponents at the height of electoral campaigning.

Democracy in Kuwait often suffers from bickering between the legislative powers and the Cabinet, which is partly a reflection of persisting feudal mentalities. In March, for the second time in less than a year -- and after yet another political crisis in the country -- Kuwait’s emir, Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Jabar al Sabah, who holds wide powers, disbanded the parliament and called for anticipated elections next month.

The standoff between Islamist legislators and members of the Sabah clan who usually dominate Kuwaiti cabinets is expected to persist after the elections on May 16.

Many fear that ongoing political tensions will hinder the implementation of economic reforms in the country, which has been  hit by the international financial crunch and falling oil prices. 

-- Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: Kuwaiti former Islamist opposition lawmaker Daifallah Buramia, center, speaks to the media as security forces arrive to arrest him in Kuwait City last week. Buramia was released today,  according to media reports. Credit: Yasser al Zayyat / AFP 

PERSIAN GULF: Navy Admiral fires skipper of submarine in collision

The commander of the submarine that collided with an amphibious assault ship in the Persian Gulf has been relieved of duty after the admiral of the submarine group "lost confidence in his ability to command," the Navy announced Tuesday.

Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart has been reassigned to desk duty in Bahrain. His submarine, the Hartford, collided with the New Orleans on March 20 in the Strait of Hormuz.

Both vessels are in Bahrain for repairs.

"Although the investigations into the accident are not complete, [Rear Adm. Michael J.] O'Connor determined that there was enough information to make the leadership change," the Navy said.

Brookhart was replaced by Cmdr. Chris Harkins, a veteran submariner. 

Brookhart, a 1989 graduate of Iowa State University, took command of the Hartford on October 2006.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: The submarine Hartford pulling into Mina Salman pier in Bahrain the day after the collision. Credit: U.S. Navy

QATAR: Egypt gives Qatar the cold shoulder

One could call it a cold-shoulder war.

With his decision not to show up at the Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak furthered the ongoing mutual hostility between his country and the Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar.

“There won't be any reconciliation between Qatar and Egypt soon,” wrote Ahmed Moussa, a staunch spokesman of Mubarak’s regime, in today’s issue of the semi-official Al Ahram daily. “Egypt sent a message to the Qataris and reduced the level of representation, which shows that Qatar should revise all its positions toward Egypt.”

It was announced Saturday that Mubarak would not attend the summit. But Egypt will be represented by a delegation headed by the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Moufid Shehab.

PERSIAN GULF: Navy probes Strait of Hormuz collision.

The two Navy ships that collided in the Strait of Hormuz are in Bahrain while damage inspections are conducted and an investigation begins to determine who was at fault in the collision.

The amphibious assault ship New Orleans and submarine Hartford collided March 20 under conditions that have yet to be publicly explained.

Investigators believe the Hartford rolled 85 degrees during the collision, the Navy said. The New Orleans had a hole 16 feet by 18 feet ripped in a fuel tank, and two ballast tanks also were damaged.

The investigations have a 30-day deadline. The investigation into the cause includes a veteran submariner, veteran surface-warfare officer and Navy lawyers.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Diver enters water at Bahrain to inspect damage. Credit: U.S. Navy

IRAQ: Navy ship stays overnight at Iraqi port for first time

For six decades, the U.S. Navy has operated in the Persian Gulf.

This week marked the first-ever overnight port visit by a U.S. ship to an Iraqi port. The Chinook, a coastal patrol ship, took on supplies and fuel at Umm Qasr.

Chinook crew members talked with Iraqi officers. More visits are planned by Navy and Coast Guard vessels.

Protocol is important during these visits. To most of the world, that large body of water is known as the Persian Gulf.

The Iraqis, with hard-set feelings against their Iranian (Persian) neighbors, prefer the term North Arabian Gulf. That was the term used by the U.S. in announcing the visit.

-- Tony Perry, San Diego

Photo: The Chinook approaches Umm Qasr port. Credit: U.S. Navy

SAUDI ARABIA: Modernists vs. Islamic fundamentalists

A verbal row between reformers and hardliners is raging in Saudi Arabia.

The king’s recent efforts toward  modernization of this oil-rich, ultra-conservative nation have ruffled the feathers of some uncompromising Saudi clerics. 

On Sunday, a group of hard-line clerics exhorted authorities to ban women from appearing on television, newspapers or magazines in a blunt statement that has been catching the public eye today.

On the same day, in an unusually bold move, Saudi human-rights groups criticized the country’s religious police, who enjoy wide powers in the kingdom to ensure the application of the strict Wahabi strain of Islam.