A Saudi Awakening?
UN conference rejects religious terrorism
Saudi Hypocrisy or Saudi Tolerance?
"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read the declaration near the end of the two-day meeting which was initiated by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and brought 14 world leaders to New York including President Bush, the heads of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Israel's president.This is interesting, but excuse me for being skeptical. After all, Saudi Arabia supplies textbooks to Mosque run schools around the world, which teach that Jews and Christians are "apes and pigs". If it is genuine, it is in large part because of George Bush's courageous and farsighted vision concerning democratizing the Middle East and the brutality shown to the entire world by those within Islam who reject democracy. Compare his words, delivered at the same conference to the textbooks' message:
"King Abdullah's initiative has come at a time when the need for dialogue among religions, cultures and civilizations has never been greater," Ban told a news conference. "The challenge now is to go beyond the powerful, positive words we have heard."
"We believe God calls us to live in peace — and to oppose all those who use His name to justify violence and murder."[---]
"People who are free to express their opinions can challenge the ideologies of hate," he said. "They can defend their religious beliefs and speak out against those seeking to twist them to evil ends. They can prevent their children from falling under the sway of extremists by giving them a more hopeful alternative."Since it was said at the United Nations, and convened at the behest of the birthplace of Salafi extremism, I'm more inclined to suspect it was just so much hot air, as is just about everything else in that organization and as the article shows, everyone knows how to mimic the age old platitudes of the United Nations founding principles, especially those, such as the House of Saud, who have no history or intention of ever living up to them. However, there is one small sliver of hope. I would like to believe Eboo Patel's take on this one:
Saudi Hypocrisy or Saudi Tolerance?
"Sometimes the external articulation of a message sets of(sic) a string of internal changes.He could be right, and if he is, I'm betting that was part of the strategy. After all, given the times, with our shrinking planet, criss-crossed as it is with global communications technology, if the Saudi King can use the exalted United Nations to proclaim his supposed "tolerance" of other faiths, he has surely released the genie from the bottle and there is no putting it back. Remember what Condi Rice said about the meaning of diplomacy.
Consider America during World War II, fighting across Europe to free the Jews while its own swimming pools and water fountains were segregated. Americans were too smart to stomach their government's hypocrisy for long. The American external message of freedom during World War II played a crucial role in catalyzing our internal Civil Rights Movement.
Maybe King Abdullah, by articulating the central Muslim value of religious pluralism on the world stage, will find the citizens of his Kingdom demanding that he implement it at home."
“Diplomacy is not a synonym for talking. True diplomacy means structuring a set of incentives and disincentives to produce change in behavior.”And just maybe, it has something to do with isolating Iran, the worst bastion of religious intolerance on the planet.
posted by Louise at 10:25 am
3 Comments:
Saudi Arabia is, in fact, reforming. This conference is only one example of the changes taking place to both decrease extremism and increase religious tolerance.
King Abdullah's attendance at the conference was not a PR stunt for the world's approval. It was an example he is trying to make to Saudis. It goes along with his meeting the Pope, the Madrid Conference, and the series of National Dialogues he's instituted within Saudi Arabia.
If you're actually interested in what changes are going on in the KSA, you might want to look at my blog, Crossroad Arabia. I base my writing on my experience of having lived and worked there as part of my 25-year career as a US Foreign Service Officer, with most of that career spent in the Middle East
Thank you. I'll take a look through your blog. I remain skeptical, though. I think the "reform" in the house of Saud is inspired by fear of the growing power of Iran and the fact that Western powers are fast looking for alternative sources of power. It's good to hear from someone who isn't as jaded as I am about the land everyone knows is the fountain of Islamofascism.
I have Middle East connections myself, BTW. I was married to an Baghdadi Arab immigrant to Canada for several years. I'd be very happy to see democracy continue to dig roots in that region, and I still maintain that Bush's decision to remove the tyrant will prove to be one of the pivotal events that lead to that reform. I'd be interested in your views on that.
"...Iran, the worst bastion of religious intolerance on the planet."
Give me a break. Certainly not compared to Saudi Arabia. I have lived in Saudi Arabia- there are no churches... at all. Sure congregations are allowed among the expatriate communities- Western, Filipino, Christian Arabs etc. but no citizen of Saudi Arabia is allowed to be a Christian. Unless they have changed it recently- Jews aren't allowed into the country. Companies don't hire western (or Arab) Jews and American companies who work there sign no-Jew clauses all the time. The Shia muslins are not exactly in a great position either.
Compare this to Iran- churches (check), synagouges (check), Jewish schools/ hospitals/ butchers/ restaurants (check), Jewish member of Parliament (check), 3 Christian members of parliament (check), Zorastorian (even though not a 'people of the Book') member of parliament (check).
Sure the Bha'ai guys are severely discriminated against since they are viewed as a heretic sect of Islam.
Is religious freedom in Iran comparable to Canada- not really. Is there more religious freedom and tolerance in Iran then in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States- for sure. Is Iran, the worst bastion of religious intolerance on the planet- fuck no.
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