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Tag: Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Ghilan the Saudi Arabia born Canadian Muslim who writes articles relating to Islamic topics, theology, and philosophy of religion and science, has published an article on Aljareera titled ‘To Sharia or not to Sharia: The question of Islamopolitics’ in which he states “The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently released their latest results from a survey of Muslims around the world on religion, politics and society. Although there is wide variability, it seems that most Muslims want Sharia (Islamic Law) to be the governing law of their countries and to play an important role in the political process. However, although the majority of Muslims agree on the general principle of applying Sharia, they do not seem to agree on what that term means. Given the diversity of understanding and sources one can be exposed to in the Islamic tradition, this disagreement should not come as a surprise. …The human element must be brought to the forefront of this conversation. The way in which Islam is being considered the driving force behind Islamopolitical movements as if it is an autonomous agent removes accountability from the people within those movements. While their desire for economic and social reform is commendable, their approach is highly questionable. ...The current struggle is between rationalist Muslims who want to bring forth the Islamic tradition in its complete spectrum and dogmatist Muslims who think classical political works written in completely different contextual realities have some divine quality or sanctity to them. More importantly, Muslims need to come to terms with the fact that progress is not going to come from political parties that exploit the population's emotional connection with Islam as a means to gain power.”  Inspired by Mohamed Ghilan, Aljazeera ow.ly/lMHfv Image source Mohamed Ghilan ow.ly/lMH8Z To Sharia or not to Sharia (June 30 2013)

 

Mohamed Ghilan the Saudi Arabia born Canadian Muslim who writes articles relating to Islamic topics, theology, and philosophy of religion and science, has published an article on Aljareera titled ‘To Sharia or not to Sharia: The question of Islamopolitics’ in which he states “The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently released their latest results from a survey of Muslims around the world on religion, politics and society. Although there is wide variability, it seems that most Muslims want Sharia (Islamic Law) to be the governing law of their countries and to play an important role in the political process. However, although the majority of Muslims agree on the general principle of applying Sharia, they do not seem to agree on what that term means. Given the diversity of understanding and sources one can be exposed to in the Islamic tradition, this disagreement should not come as a surprise. …The human element must be brought to the forefront of this conversation. The way in which Islam is being considered the driving force behind Islamopolitical movements as if it is an autonomous agent removes accountability from the people within those movements. While their desire for economic and social reform is commendable, their approach is highly questionable. …The current struggle is between rationalist Muslims who want to bring forth the Islamic tradition in its complete spectrum and dogmatist Muslims who think classical political works written in completely different contextual realities have some divine quality or sanctity to them. More importantly, Muslims need to come to terms with the fact that progress is not going to come from political parties that exploit the population’s emotional connection with Islam as a means to gain power.”

 

Inspired by Mohamed Ghilan, Aljazeera ow.ly/lMHfv Image source Mohamed Ghilan ow.ly/lMH8Z

Noah Shachtman the American contributing editor at Wired magazine, and the editor of its national security blog, "Danger Room,"  who before turning to journalism, Shachtman worked as a professional bass player, book editor, and campaign staffer on Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, has published an article titled ‘Is This the Secret U.S. Drone Base in Saudi Arabia?’. Shachtman states “…satellite images show a remote airstrip deep in the desert of Saudi Arabia …the base’s hangars bear a remarkable resemblance to similar structures found on other American drone outposts. And its remote location — dozens of miles from the nearest highway, and farther still to the nearest town – suggests that this may be more than the average civilian airstrip. …the U.S. built its secret Saudi base approximately two years ago. Its first lethal mission was in September of 2011: a strike on Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born propagandist for al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia. Since then, the U.S. has launched dozens of drone attacks on Yemeni targets. News organizations eventually found out about the base. But they agreed to keep it out of their pages — part of an informal arrangement with the Obama administration, which claimed that the disclosure of the base’s location, even in a general way, might jeopardize national security. …The drone base’s exposure is part of a series of revelations about the American target killing campaign that have accompanied John Brennan’s nomination to be the director of the CIA. Brennan currently oversees targeted killing operations from his perch as White House counterterrorism adviser, and would be responsible for executing many of the remotely piloted missions as CIA chief. …In their hours of questioning Brennan, however, the Senators didn’t once ask the CIA nominee about the secret Saudi drone base.”  Inspired by Noah Shachtman, Wired ow.ly/i0Vtx Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/i0VY8 Remote drone airstrip deep in Saudi Arabia (March 12 2013)

 

Noah Shachtman the American contributing editor at Wired magazine, and the editor of its national security blog, “Danger Room,”  who before turning to journalism, Shachtman worked as a professional bass player, book editor, and campaign staffer on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, has published an article titled ‘Is This the Secret U.S. Drone Base in Saudi Arabia?’. Shachtman states “…satellite images show a remote airstrip deep in the desert of Saudi Arabia …the base’s hangars bear a remarkable resemblance to similar structures found on other American drone outposts. And its remote location — dozens of miles from the nearest highway, and farther still to the nearest town – suggests that this may be more than the average civilian airstrip. …the U.S. built its secret Saudi base approximately two years ago. Its first lethal mission was in September of 2011: a strike on Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born propagandist for al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia. Since then, the U.S. has launched dozens of drone attacks on Yemeni targets. News organizations eventually found out about the base. But they agreed to keep it out of their pages — part of an informal arrangement with the Obama administration, which claimed that the disclosure of the base’s location, even in a general way, might jeopardize national security. …The drone base’s exposure is part of a series of revelations about the American target killing campaign that have accompanied John Brennan’s nomination to be the director of the CIA. Brennan currently oversees targeted killing operations from his perch as White House counterterrorism adviser, and would be responsible for executing many of the remotely piloted missions as CIA chief. …In their hours of questioning Brennan, however, the Senators didn’t once ask the CIA nominee about the secret Saudi drone base.”

 

Inspired by Noah Shachtman, Wired ow.ly/i0Vtx Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/i0VY8

Ashfaq Yusufzai the Pakistani journalist for IPS News has published an article titled ‘Remittances Soothe the Scourge of Militancy’ in which he states “A majority of the 5.5 million people living in FATA have been … affected by the decade-old militancy, which began in earnest in 2001 when U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in Kabul, forcing the militants to cross over to Pakistan and establish sanctuaries along the 2,400-kilometre-long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. FATA soon became infested with Taliban cells. As Pakistan emerged as a frontline state in the U.S.’ ‘war on terror’, armed forces poured into FATA in a full-scale military offensive in 2005 designed to root out the Taliban. The army offensive, coupled with the militants’ resistance, made it impossible for civilians to carry on with everyday life. Now, for the first time in years, people … are finally starting to see improvements in their lives, as remittances from a younger generation of migrants who fled the region in search of employment abroad streams into FATA, easing the financial burden of unrelenting militancy. …Abu Zar, an official at the FATA Secretariat, told IPS that the militarisation of the region has brought misery to many residents but has also fuelled a wave of migration to Gulf states like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, which is now helping people get back on their feet. “Currently, more than 400,000 FATA residents are living and working in foreign countries”, up from less than 100,000 prior to 2005, …The younger generation has been going abroad in droves because of the prolonged insurgency”, in order to escape a sharp decline in trade, business opportunities and income in FATA, he added.” Inspired by Inter Press Service ow.ly/gwWbA image source WFSJ ow.ly/gwWb7 Remittances soothe the scourge of militancy (January 12 2013)

Ashfaq Yusufzai the Pakistani journalist for IPS News has published an article titled ‘Remittances Soothe the Scourge of Militancy’ in which he states “A majority of the 5.5 million people living in FATA have been … affected by the decade-old militancy, which began in earnest in 2001 when U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in Kabul, forcing the militants to cross over to Pakistan and establish sanctuaries along the 2,400-kilometre-long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. FATA soon became infested with Taliban cells. As Pakistan emerged as a frontline state in the U.S.’ ‘war on terror’, armed forces poured into FATA in a full-scale military offensive in 2005 designed to root out the Taliban. The army offensive, coupled with the militants’ resistance, made it impossible for civilians to carry on with everyday life. Now, for the first time in years, people … are finally starting to see improvements in their lives, as remittances from a younger generation of migrants who fled the region in search of employment abroad streams into FATA, easing the financial burden of unrelenting militancy. …Abu Zar, an official at the FATA Secretariat, told IPS that the militarisation of the region has brought misery to many residents but has also fuelled a wave of migration to Gulf states like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, which is now helping people get back on their feet. “Currently, more than 400,000 FATA residents are living and working in foreign countries”, up from less than 100,000 prior to 2005, …The younger generation has been going abroad in droves because of the prolonged insurgency”, in order to escape a sharp decline in trade, business opportunities and income in FATA, he added.”

 

Inspired by Inter Press Service ow.ly/gwWbA image source WFSJ ow.ly/gwWb7

Ahmed Mater Al-Ziad Aseeri the 32 year old Saudi Arabian medical practitioner and artist, a prominent member of a contemporary artist group known as ‘Edge of Arabia”, has overseen the opening of an exhibition in Jeddah titled “We need to talk” curated by fellow artists Mohammed Hafiz and Stephen Stapleton. Edge of Arabia a nonprofit organization to support middle eastern artists, was launched to record breaking attendances with a major exhibition in London 2008 showcasing 17 Saudi Arabia artists. Mater claims prognosis is a central theme in his work, stating “from this knowledge of both loss and enlightenment [Mater] appears to have the ability to move from expressing sadness and anger to sharing … insights with a sense of humor and lifegiving lightness.” Reid Singer in an article published on Artinfo.com states “Though Saudi Arabia was largely unaffected by the wave of popular uprisings that took place across the Middle East during 2011’s Arab Spring, the political environment in the country remains tense. In this atmosphere, many forward-thinking Saudi artists have downplayed the political significance of their work and couched it in conservative terms.”

 

Inspired by Reid Singer http://ow.ly/8ZpGU image source Twitter http://ow.ly/8ZqzW

David Kennedy an Australian archaeologist Professor from the University of Western Australia has unearthed 1977 potential archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia One of the least explored countries archaeologically (February 12 2011)

David Kennedy an Australian archaeologist Professor from the University of Western Australia has unearthed 1977 potential archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia using high resolution photographs from Google Maps. Kennedy scanned 1240 square kilometres of the country to reveal 1082 potential ancient tombs that are shaped like tear drops, and has been able to confirm two of these sites after having a friend in Saudi Arabia drive out to the sites and photograph them. Kennedy believes the sites may be pre-islamic up to 9 -10 thousand years old, however acknowledges that some may be more recent perhaps within the past two centuries and hence will need further investigation to verify. Technology and its ease of access is now permitting research previously inconceivable.

 

Inspired by Asher Moses of the SMH ow.ly/3TKZc image source ow.ly/3TKVC

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