14 Comments so far

1. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Ramadan in Kuwait

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa

   Muslims and Christians have something in common. Amazed? Carry on reading. Both are secularizing their religious festivities. The Christians are secularizing Christmas and Muslims are secularizing their Ramadan. How?

   Three months before Christmas, the German markets, for example, are loaded Christmas confections. Stollen and ginger biscuits are for sale everywhere. Many people are already in search of Christmas presents for their loved ones. The closer Christmas is, the more hectic people get. Marlies says, “I really don’t know what to give my son and husband for Christmas. It is so difficult to find the right present. They have got everything.” She is now shopping for ideas. Her son and husband are doing the same.

   Christmas, which marks the birth of a Prophet, Jesus Christ, who was sent by God to spread peace, mercy, and justice, is reduced to commerce, to tediously looking for suitable gifts for loved ones. The majority of Christians have forgotten the original meaning of Christmas and simply changed it into a mundane commercial practice. Many of those Christians who go to the church pray like parrots. They recite the message of Christ without pondering on its deep meaning. Maybe only the poor among Christians pray genuinely and find in Christ’s message a consolation in their miserable situation. They hope that on the Day of Judgment they would be rewarded for their endurance of hardship and deprivation. The well-off Christians have completely forgotten about Christ’s message. They are busy trying to live paradise on earth.

   How about Muslims? They are not better off. The simple message of the fasting month is also ignored. In fact, fasting is a commandment that reminds us of how it feels to starve, how the poor live. At least once a year, Muslims are called upon to live like the poor, at least in terms of food. The majority of us Muslims act completely against the message of Ramadan. We have reduced Ramadan to a food festival, to a food fair. The amount of food consumed during Ramadan in most Muslim countries is doubled. We focus on food. We prepare and eat the most delicious, the richest and most conspicuous dishes. On top of that we work less and sleep most of the time. Especially in the affluent Arab Gulf countries, government employees in particular, go to work around 9 in the morning. Around noon they leave under the pretext, they would pray. They go home and sleep until fasting-break time. Someone who stuffs his stomach with all kinds of rich food, cannot feel hungry from Fajer (dawn) to noon. In other words, the majority fast for 4-5 hours. Hence no opportunity is left to feel how the poor feel around the year.

   By the way, and because of overeating and lack of exercise, the number of stomach diseases and other diseases, especially diabetes, sky-rocket. Dr. Salem at Al Sabah Hospital says, “In Ramadan, people dump in their stomachs all kinds of food in tremendous quantities.

   In addition, how many Muslims ponder over the rest of Ramadan message like have mercy on the poor, love your fellow humans, do not be selfish, act justly, etc.? It is in reality very small. Other than over-eating, very few principles of the message of Ramadan are observed despite warnings by preachers and physicians not to spend the holy month only overeating and sleeping. But who listens?

   But of course, everybody is happy, it is Ramadan, certainly, very often, not for religious reasons. Students get shorter class schedules and government employees (90% of the Kuwaiti labour force) work fewer hours. Shortcomings and laziness are blamed on “fasting”.

   The poor in Kuwait, largely expatriates, whether Muslims or otherwise, welcome Ramadan most. It is their sole opportunity to eat a decent meal over a whole month once a year. These meals are offered for free by charity organizations.

   At the end of the day, who is the winner before Christmas and during Ramadan? Certainly manufacturers, producers, and traders. They enjoy huge amounts of profit over these “religious” festivities.

   Losers are both Muslims and Christians. Christians reach Christmas stressed out and exhausted by their search for gifts and Muslims get sick and produce less. The spiritual aspects of their festivities are simply undermined. It is a pity!

2. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   In my View (Do not be too critical if you want to get published in the Arab World)

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa

   If you want to get published in Arab countries, do not be too critical, or still better, do not be critical at all. Just say, everything is fine, and your piece will be published right away. Just say, the political system is ok, the administration is doing an excellent job, there is no corruption, all motorists are considerate, the education system is also excellent, the expatriates are receiving a divine treatment, never criticize rigid interpretations and devious practices of Islam. This might upset the Islamists and might be interpreted as blasphemy, etc. etc. If you sound positive and avoid criticizing wrongdoing then you have a great chance of getting published.

   Of course, expatriate coworkers, in whatsoever capacity and position, whether they are journalists, teachers, or even bank managers, are in an unenviable delicate position than locals in Arab countries, especially in those at the Arab/Persian Gulf. They sometimes are fired for the pettiest reasons. If an influential individual comes across a critical article, or at least that was his/her perception of the article, it suffices to call the editor in chief, or even the minister of information and complain. If that individual is powerful enough, they may cause firing the author of the article or at least the managing editor who allowed publishing the article.

   If you want your piece to be published, you have got to be very careful, extremely careful. You have got to weigh up every word like weighing gold or diamond. Using the “wrong” word or writing “improper” ideas could lead to a “catastrophe”. We Arabs and Muslims value “words” more than anything else, more than gold or diamond. Words in our culture are of paramount importance. Criticism is offensive. Words could offend easily, regardless how truthful they are. They offend small and big people, also powerful presidents. A blogger in Egypt was sentenced to a five-year jail sentence for offending the president of the nation. Four critical journalists received similar sentences.

   It is paradoxical. On the one hand, we say, no body reads, very few Arabs read. On the other hand, we have to be careful with what we say. In other words, you are ok if you do not say anything. You have peace, we all have peace, though a cemetery one. But if you say something, please say harmless things so that nobody gets offended. In conclusion, say nothing if you want to have peace.

   This “intellectual” state of affairs has become an innate trait of every Arab. We pass it on from one generation to the other. We often say, “hush up”. You can say anything, but only “between you and me”, in public, “please, be careful”. “Self-censorship” is the name of the game and is part of our day culture. That is why we have remained backward swallowing up our daily humiliation and self-deception.

   Amazingly enough, the Kuwaiti press is maybe one of the best in the Arab world. It is the freest; it is vivid and critical. Columnists criticize everything and everybody, even the prime minister. That is why, unlike stat-run papers in other Arab countries, Kuwaiti newspapers are daily sold in relatively huge numbers. People buy them and read them and discuss their contents. They are a relieving outlet of freedom of speech for all.

   Sadly, English-medium newspapers are less critical. They are extremely careful with what they publish. One of these papers is run on the basis of “copy and paste”, harmless stuff. The only product that is local in this paper is a translation of Arabic editorials written by the editor in chief of the Arabic sister paper.

   Understandably, managing editors of local English newspapers are in a delicate position. They cannot afford publishing critical articles, else they could be replaced, not to say fired.

   The truth of the matter, backed by the big amount of email columnists in Kuwait Times receive every day, is expatriates, who make up the majority of readership of this paper, love critical contributions and learn quite a lot about Kuwait and the Arab culture at large.

   But it seems that managing editors of local English papers have digested the Arabic censorship dictum: foreigners should NOT be exposed to Arab self-criticism. Our criticism must remain within the walls of our local boundaries.

   I am talking out of personal experience. I have sent to Kuwait Times several critical articles and very of them have been published, although the gist of these articles was inspired by criticism voiced and already published by numerous Kuwaiti columnists, by Ahmed Al Sarraf, Ali Al Baghli, Ahmed Al Baghdadi, Mohammed Al Saleh, Hassan Al Issa, Shamlan Al Issa, and others. The managing editor of the Kuwait Times wrote back, the pieces cannot be published.

   I wonder whether this article would ever be published.

3. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Contrasts

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa

   - We Muslims condemn Guantanamo and demand closing it, but we forget or rather ignore the “Guantanamos” we have in several Muslim countries, especially in the Arab world. Several human rights organizations have reported that all those former Guantanamo Arab detainees who were released and sent back home wish to go back to the US camp. Back home in Arab prisons in Egypt, Morocco, and Gulf Arab countries the detainees are imprisoned and tortured daily.

   - Generally speaking, if you attend a Christian or Jewish mass, you never hear a priest or a rabbi abusing or cursing Muslims. But some of our Muslim preachers do.

   - We Muslims demand building mosques everywhere in the world, but we deny other faiths building their own temples in our countries.

   - We Muslims disrespect religious symbols of other faiths. But when followers of other faiths defile our sacred symbols, we violently demonstrate, boycott their products, and burn their embassies.

   - We highlight and condemn human rights abuses in the West, but we ignore our human rights record which is the worst and most atrocious in the world.

   - When Arab men, especially those from oil countries, visit a foreign big cities like Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, Istanbul, Frankfurt, London, etc. they focus on prostitutes. When westerners visit a foreign country they mostly focus on cultural and historical sights.

   - Liberation and independence mean for Arab leaders replacing foreign powers with local despotic dictatorships.

   - Many Muslims believe that only good Muslims are eligible to enter Paradise. None Muslims, regardless how good they are, will never be able to set foot in Paradise.

   - In general, Westerners practice what they preach. Muslims do not practice what they preach. They preach mercy, but ill-treat and exploit their domestic workers.

   - We Muslims criticize discrimination in the West, but we practice it day in day out. Ask a Kuwait what he thinks of a Bangladeshi.

   - In developed countries, everybody is equal before the law. In Arab countries, some people are more equal.

   - In developed countries, “common sense” is the name of the game. In Arab countries, selfishness is the name of the game.

   - In developed countries, fairness is part of the daily culture. In the Arab world, the word does not exist. Neither does it exist in Arab dictionaries. Look it up. Bilingual dictionaries try to describe the word.

   - Being considerate is also absent in the Arab culture. Check it out when you drive on Kuwait’s streets.

   - Work ethics and delivering an orderly piece of work is not the rule in the Arab Gulf countries. Demanding salary raises is the rule.

   - Censorship hardly exist in developed countries. In the Arab world it is practiced everywhere.

   - In developed countries, many people still read. In the Arab world, very few people read. If someone says “book so and so is critical of our religious dogmas”, we demand banning it before we read it.

   - In developed countries religiosity is a private matter. In the Arab world, it is a matter of public show. We hide behind piety to cover up our wrong doing.

   - Self-criticism is part of the culture of developed societies. In the Arab culture, it is always the others to blame for wrong doing and underdevelopment. First, it was colonialism, now it is neocolonialism. If the West did not interfere with our internal affairs, we would have created paradise on earth.

   - In developed countries, people learn from their mistakes. We Arabs do not. We are defiant and stubborn. For half a century we have traded with the “Palestinian cause”. We have rejected all kinds of solution. We are unique. Therefore, the world hates us.

   - We Muslims, especially the Islamists amongst us, are hypocrites and anti-women. The Kuwaiti Health Minister Ma’asuma Mubarak had to go not because of her responsibility for the fire in Al Jahra hospital, rather because she had refused to approve medical treatment abroad for people connected to Waleed Al Tabtaba’i and his fellow Islamists in the National Assembly (parliament).

   - Our politicians speak several different languages. They tell their people something and tell the West another thing. They act like stooges to the West and at home like “lions”. Thanks to Islamist terrorism, they argue that democracy would bring fundamentalists to power.

   - Unlike developed countries, which are democratically ruled, the Arab countries, except Kuwait and Lebanon, are ruled by dictators. The two Arab democracies are, however, in a standstill shape. The majority of Kuwaiti parliamentarians rarely discuss serious development programs. Either they spend hours and weeks discussing trivial issues like enforcing gender-segregation in public places and banning music in public places, or they spend most of their time delivering Wasta services to their constituency voters. Ministers who do not meet their demands, are grilled and forced to resign. The Lebanese parliament is dominated by quasi war lords.

4. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Culture of Hatred

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Staff Columnist at Kuwait Times

   A Palestinian presenter at Al Aqsa Television asks a little girl on a program for kids, “What do you want to become when you grow up?” The girl replied, “I want to become a Mujahida (fighter), I want to liberate Palestine, I want to throw all the Jews out of beloved Palestine. I want to do it as Reem Riyashi (a suicide bomber). But before I die and join the Palestinian martyrs in Paradise, I want to kill as many Israelis as possible.”

   This is the kind of culture Hamas TV is spreading around among young Palestinians. It is also brainwashing a potential television audience of three million Palestinians, in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

   The programs of Hamas TV include shots of rescue workers carrying bodies on blood-soaked stretchers into hospital operating rooms, and painful close-ups of dead children wrapped in bloody sheets. The programs also broadcast strident religious lessons by bearded sheikhs. They urge women to wear the Hijab (headscarf), it is a must, how to deal with polygamy, and men have the right to kill women who commit adultery, they fulfill Allah’s dictum. They also cite Suras (verses) from the Quran and Hadeeth (Prophet Mohammed’s comments) to justify killing civilian and military Israelis. The “sermons” are footaged by images of shots by masked men with guns and Qassam rockets. “They are occupying our land. Hence, every Israeli is a legitimate target. The Zionists must go back to where they have come from.” Sheikh Ibraheem Mudiris keeps saying.

   Hamas TV is bankrolled by Hamas’s leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal and financed by suitcases of cash, filled with money from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria, and smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt.

   Secular and moderate Palestinians are appalled by the extremist propaganda of Hamas TV. Iyad Barghouthi, the director of Ramallah Human Rights Center, says Al Aqsa TV is a disturbing milestone in the rise of Islamist forces since Hamas came to power. Hamas’s practices are reminiscent of those of the Talibans. Al Barghouthi told Spiegel on-line, “Al Aqsa TV is not only encouraging violence, it is also spreading fanatic Islamism and racism.”

   To add insult to injury, Mohammed Shtaiwi, the director of Al Aqsa’s West Bank office in Ramallah, told BBC “We want to send a message of people under occupation to the world. And we want to do it in a professional manner.”

   “If Al Aqsa is targeting international audience, this will be a very bad message – showing masked people, firing Qassams, firing guns.” Said Nashat Aqrash, a media studies professor at Beer Zeit University.

   The anti-Israel media landscape throughout the Arab world is not better off. In particular, the Syrian, the Saudi, and the Egyptian media are hawkish and propagandistic. Fair and objective analyses and information are non existent. The message is clear: Israel is to blame for the misery of Palestinians.

   The Syrian Minister of Tourism, Saadalla Agha al-Qalaa, told the newspaper Tishreen, “The Zionists are spreading bad propaganda about Syria to prevent tourists from visiting our country.” So, that is the reason why few tourists, especially Westerners, come to Syria to spend their holidays, not the bad services which the country is offering tourists. When I was in Damascus last year, I could watch how tourists had to change queues several times before their passports were processed at the airport police control. You have to wait for at least one hour to get your passport processed. Besides, there are only two categories of hotels, either first class or no class at all. The beaches are occupied by influential supporters of the Baath regime.

   Why is all that. The Baath regime is not interested in tourism. Tourists could infect the local population with ideas about democracy and human rights. Tourists would also tell the Syrians another story about the “decadent” and “unfair” West. No, no, it is Israel to blame for the small number of tourists who visit Syria. This is typical of Arab regimes: just blame it on the Israelis and Zionists and you are free of responsibility. If Israel did not exist, the whole Arab world would be a prosperous region!

   As I visited the southern border of Syria with Israel two years ago, I told my companion, a member of the Baath party, “Look how green the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.” He interrupted, “It is all propaganda. With the help of the Americans, the Israelis have made it green, just to show off.” I counter-argued, “Why don’t you allow the locals who were displaced during the 1973 war to return to their homes and make this part of Syrian also green.” He said, “It’s dangerous. The Israelis could attack us any time.” He defeated me with his brilliant argument. I was speechless.

   Not only the media blame Israel for all the problems the Arab world has. The school text books in all Arab countries depict an aggressive and absolutistic image of Israel. The gist of this image goes like this: Israel is an alien limb in the heart of the Arab nation. It is occupying Palestine. Palestine must be liberated from the Zionists as Salah Deen liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders.

   The culture of hatred must stop. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech like narcotics have nothing to do with free market practices.

   Western governments have got to pressure Arab countries to introduce genuine freedom of speech, i.e. free media. Arab journalists and writers who deliver balanced articles on the Arab-Israeli conflict are banned from publishing. Arab regimes are suspicious of these people and more often than not, they are arbitrarily put behind bars and accused of spying for the arch enemy, Israel.

   I am one of those who have tried to publish articles in the Arab press about the Arab-Israeli conflict telling readers that the Israel-image as presented in the belligerent Arab discourse is distorted and fabricated. I have also stressed that if the Arab countries were as democratic as Israel, the conflict would disappear and Israelis and Arabs would live in peace, side by side. If Arabs were objectively informed, they would choose to co-exist with their Israeli neighbors. Ethnic and religious minorities are integrated in the Israeli society and enjoy the same political rights the Jews do. Muslim and Christian Arabs, for example, sit in the Israeli parliament (Keneset) and say whatever they want. A Muslim Arab sits also in the Israeli cabinet. My articles have never been published, and they will never. Arabs are not allowed to know the truth.

   Western governments have to re-educate, at least, their Arab allies, as the Allies did with the Germans after the World War II. The war on terror does not make any sense unless the root causes of extremism are uprooted, in the media and at school.

5. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   How the Mutawas (Morality Police) Keep the Saudi Society Clean from Vice

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

   Two months ago Salaman Al Huraisi, a 28-year old hotel security guard was tortured to death in the headquarters of the Saudi Commission for the Protection of Virtue and Suppression of Vice. Its 10.000 men are known as the “Mutawas” (pious men). Maher Al Hamizi, the lawyer of the Huraisi family said, an autopsy has shown that Salman’s skull was split open and his eyes were dislodged from their sockets. After midnight of a humid hot day, a GMC loaded with Mutawas stormed into Al Huraisi’s house in a poor area of Riyadh. While shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) they broke down the house’s doors and tore personal belongings looking for alcohol. His alleged crime: he drank beer.

   Human Rights Watch reported, Sina, 25-years old Mongolian girl, who was shopping in a glitzy Riyadh mall was spotted by two Mutawas. They canned her and shoved her into their GMC because she did not cover her face. They denounced her as Filipina Gahba (Filipina whore), drove her to their office where they raped her and sent her to prison.

   Muhammed Sadeeq, a Bangladeshi, told Spiegel On-Line, his brother Ahmed died after being hauled into a local Commission headquarters for being in a car with a woman who was not his close relative. The Mutawas did not believe that Ahmed was employed as the family’s driver. Ahmed was a diabetic. The Mutawas refused to allow him get his medication.

   Recently, a former colleague of mine at King Saud University told me on the phone, his neighbor Ameera, a young Saudi woman endured a harrowing evening at the hands of some Mutawas after arriving in her car to pick up her children from an amusement park. Because she was laughing with her driver, the Mutawas accused her of indecency . They ejected her driver, drove Umm Ali outside Riyadh, crushed her car and dashed off.

   George who is now living in the USA and years back he used to work for a big restaurant in Riyadh told me, “One day, it was difficult to push out our customers before Asr-prayers. We were 2 or 3 minutes late. All of a sudden a squad of Mutawas stormed into the restaurant and arrested all of us, 13 employees, and drove us to their headquarters. There, we had to wash and pray. Although I’m Christian I prayed like a Muslim, I knew how to do it, I just followed what the others did. As one of the Mutawas saw my Saudi-issued identity card, he shouted, ‘hold on! You’re damned ‘Nassrani’ (Christian). Have you formally converted?’ I said, ‘Sort of.’ He said, ‘No, no, you have to do it formally.’ That meant I had to do all my Iqama (residency) paper work all over again und use a Muslim name. I had to replace ‘George’ with ‘Mohammed’.”

   “Marcus, a Filipino, who arrived for the first time in Saudi Arabia, was arrested by two Mutawas as he was leaving Riyadh Airport. His alleged crime: he was carrying a cross around his neck. He was accused of proselytizing. The man has been in prison for three years now.” Said Helene Berger from Amnesty International/Germany.

   Even diplomats are not spared by the Mutawas. In March 2006, Ingrid Krueger, then the German press attaché at the German Embassy experienced the wrath of the morality police while entering a restaurant in Riyadh. She was conservatively dressed but she did not have her Abaya (Islamic robe) on. As she was harangued by a Mutawa, she pulled out her Saudi-issued diplomatic identity card. The Mutawa threw the card on the ground and grind it into the pavement with the sole of his shoes. Some Saudis who happened to be in the restaurant managed eventually to convince the Mutawas that what they did was wrong and the pit dogs left.

   Sheikh Ibraheem Al Ghaith, the director of the Commission for the Protection of Virtue and Suppression of Vice, on a minister salary, told the reporter of the German newspaper Die Welt “The women’s body in holy Saudi Arabia must be covered from head to toe lest it drives society into Vice.” Al Ghaith declined to comment on the above cases and victims of similar ones. He simply said, “We are acting in accordance with the Shari’a. This is the law of God. The Commission is doing a great job. My people have corrected the un-Islamic behavior of over a million people last year.” Before saying good bye, Al Ghaith “gave the reporter a bunch of publications in Arabic: A collection of Fatwas (religious rulings) and an Islamic calendar.

   The Mutawas, whom some Saudis derisively refer to as the “Talibans”, are notorious for committing excesses in their zeal for enforcing a puritan brand of Islam. The Mutawas, typically, beefy men in short robes with untrimmed bushes of beards springing from their chins, patrol in squads the Kingdom’s streets and shopping malls, day and night. They can shopkeepers for not shutting down their shops in time for prayer, and severely rebuke women and even little girls for allowing flesh to show from under their Abayas (mandatory black gowns). They make sure that the Saudi society is strictly segregated: From university campuses, restaurants, to kindergartens. The genders live corralled existence.

   The public backlash against the Mutawas is growing, not only among liberal Saudis but also among ordinary, conservative, religious, middle class folks. A former colleague at King Saud University said, “Saudis are religious and traditionalists by nature. They have no problem with the Commission per se. The problem is the license that the Mutawas have to interfere in the smallest details of everyday life and to effectively act as though they were above the law.”

   What are Western governments, including America, which claim that human rights are universal, what are they doing against the abuses of the Mutawas? Nothing, literally nothing. Megan Stack writes in Los Angels Times, June 6, 2007, “The same US government that heightened public outrage against the Taliban by decrying the mistreatment of Afghan women prizes the oil-slicked Saudi friendship and even offers wan praise for Saudi elections in which women are banned from voting. All US fast-food franchises operating here, not just Starbucks, make women stand in separate lines. US-owned hotels don’t let women check-in without a letter from a company vouching for her ability to pay.”

6. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Roots of Political Islam (Islamism)

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

   When Mirza Abu Talib, a Muslim trader, traveled to England and visited the House of Commons in the late 18th century, he was astonished to discover that it debated and passed laws set for penalties and criminals. He wrote back to his Muslim brethren back home and told them that the poor English had to make their own laws because Islam and the divine law of Allah did not yet reach them.

   In modern history, my fellow Muslims have not yet been able to reconcile religion and freedom. Doubt and self-criticism are not permitted. They believe that there is a set of moral rules superior to all others. They are laid down by Allah and his Prophet Mohammed enforced by the fear of eternal punishment. Disobeying these rules means repudiating the divine law. The challenge of competing ideas tested by standards of objective evidence does not exist.

   This was the case in Christian Europe until the 19th century. Pope Leo XIII said in 1888, “Men find freedom in obedience to the authority of God.” People who opposed this dictum were persecuted. Queen Mary (1516-1558) executed 300 Protestants. England and France expelled Jews. The Spanish Inquisition tortured and executed thousands of alleged heretics. Books were burned and scholars were threatened for practicing or demanding religious freedom.

   Galileo (1564-1642) was sentenced to house arrest by the Roman Inquisition for believing that the Earth moved around the Sun.

   However, the Industrial Revolution, commercial success, and discovery of the Americas enhanced tolerance in Europe and northern America and moved many people away from the hegemony of the Church.

   Arab countries today are about where Europe was in the 16th century, lacking much in the way of a clear national history or stable government. Arab states hardly existed in this world until European colonial powers created them by drawing somewhat arbitrary border lines.

   With the exception of Turkey and to some extent Lebanon, states of the Middle East and northern Africa have been ruled, since independence over the past half a century, either by family clans and traditional tribal chieftains, like in Saudi Arabia and the other Arab Gulf states, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, by Mullas in Iran, or by autocrats who have used military power to enforce their authority. The legislature in all these states is an amplification of the orders of the ruler, whose power comes from both the barrel of a gun and from bits and pieces of Islam when these prove convenient for ruling.

   Since the end of the Cold war by early 1990s, the number of Islamists has greatly increased. The fall of the Shah of Iran, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, Hamas victory in Palestine, have invigorated political Islam. All claim: Islam is the solution.

   Day in day out, the Islamists blame the West, the infidels, for failures in the Muslim world. Muslims are fighting a diabolic enemy like Mohammed fought the Christians and the Jews in the 7th century. Muslims also fail because they failed their faith. When Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait, the Islamists blamed the invasion on the Kuwaitis. They had failed their faith. After the liberation of Kuwait, Kuwaitis became more religious. Now 90% of all Kuwaiti women wear the Hijab (scarf), over 60% wear the face veil, gender-segregation is everywhere, music in public places is forbidden, and critical books are forbidden. The list of Islamization is long.

   Yousef Al Qaradhawi, a leading Islamist, insists that Islam is a perfect, full-fledged system. It regulates both the religious and the mundane life of people, all people of the world. When he was asked if reform is possible in Islam, he got furious and said, “How dare you reform the words of Allah. You cannot do that. The Quran, the Hadeeth (Mohammed’s teachings), and the Shari’a are the message of Allah. You cannot fiddle with all that.”

   But is Islam compatible with a modern style of life? Here are some examples. The Quran urges Muslims to fight and slay pagans. Muslims who turn their back to Islam (apostasy) must be killed. Women who do not obey their husbands can be incarcerated in their homes until they obey or die. The Islamists are forcing states and people to literally adhere to a Middle-Ages doctrine.

   The Islamists do not have a viable sustainable socio-economic program. They claim that if the Shari’a is applied, all will be fine. Experience shows, however, that those states which applied Shari’a in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Sudan have enticed society back into the stone-ages.

   Is it possible to introduce reforms in Islam and modernize it? Al Qaradhawi has already answered the question. The Islamists, the rigid interpreters of Islam have gained the upper hand in most Muslim countries around the globe. Everyone is scared by them. Nobody dare oppose them. They are determined to muzzle reformers, if need be by force

   In order to shorten up the way to modernization, to separating the state form religion, which took the West a whole millennium to achieve, the Arab countries need a strong charismatic leader like Mustafa Kemal, known as Atatürk. By the beginning of the 20th century he proclaimed a new modern constitution, abolished religious courts and schools, banned the wearing of Hijab (scarf) for women and the fez for men. In other words, he followed in the footsteps of western democracies.

   As long as the Arab regimes, all of them, give in to Islamists and deny people religious freedom and public competition of thoughts, and submit individuals to an oppressive anachronistic form of Islam, Arab societies will remain backward and police states in the name of Islam.

   Islamism is fanaticism per excellence, it is the worst evil after Brown Fascism in modern history. If the war on terror has ever any chance to succeed, it must also be coupled with pressure on the Arab states to enact modern constitutions that are Shari’a-free. The Arab states must also be pressurized to respect universal human rights, religious pluralism, and freedom of speech which they ratified at the UN. Without establishing these principles and practicing them, the war on terror will remain in a shambles and senseless.

7. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   The Price of Sins

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

   Several Kuwaiti columnists; Ahmed al Baghdadi, Abdullateef Al Du’auj, Ali Al Baghli, and Fouad Al Obaid discuss the pros and cons of the TV serial “The Price of Sins” that the government has banned.

   Except Al Baghli, none of the above has watched the serial. All of them, however, highlight two topics that are allegedly dealt with in the serial, namely Zawaj Al Mut’a (temporary marriage, an old Shiite tradition) and tribalism in the Kuwaiti society.

   Al Baghdadi writes in Al Siyassa (12 Sept), he cannot fathom banning a story that deals with two major phenomena in Kuwaiti society; Zawaj Al Mut’a and tribalism. He asserts that tribalism exists and is practiced day in and day out in Kuwait, whether we like of not. And Zawaj Al Mut’a is vanishing and is being replaced with illegal prostitution.. Al Baghdadi adds, people depend more heavily on influential people in their tribes than on legal procedures. Their allegiance to the tribe outweighs theirs to the state. In addition, prostitution is cheaper than any kind of legal marriage. Al Baghdadi also argues that banning the serial would not discourage people from watching it. It would make them more curious. They would watch it either over satellite or pirate CDs. Hence banning it is useless.

   Al Du’ayj calls on Members of Parliament like Jamal Al Omer, Khaled Al Adwah, and Mubarak Al Khrenej to respect “our intelligence”. The real reason, Al Du’ayj argues, why such people and the government called for banning the serial is not fear of defiling Shiitism and eschewing sectarianism, but rather denying people to see how tribalism is working in Kuwait and why the youth are revolting against archaic norms. “Banning the serial is a war on freedom of speech and on debating vital issues.” Al Du’ayj adds.

   Al Baghli, a usually liberal columnist, supports the ban. He claims that he read the script of the serial and argues that it is making a mockery of an old mode of marriage (Zawaj Al mut’a) by the Shiites, the second largest Muslim faith in the world. Al Baghli fears that the serial would fan the fire in a volatile region, especially in Iraq and Lebanon. The “big brother” Iran might misinterpret the serial which may have dire consequences for a small country like Kuwait. The serial is an unnecessary provocation, Al Baghli concludes.

   In his column in Kuwait Times (12 Sept.), Fouad Al Obaid wonders, “what is worse, the fact that the series is projecting a custom that is practiced or that the practice of the custom is shameful and hence to be kept behind closed doors?

   We Arabs and Muslims still hate to publicly discuss a whole range of local problems and concerns. We prefer to sweep them under the carpet and claim everything is ok. We often use the word “’Eb” (shameful). We also often use the phrase, “This or that is not part of our customs and traditions.” This and that collides with old traditions. We see the problem or the phenomenon, but we pretend as if it did not exist. People who discuss problematic issues, old or new, are stigmatized and excoriated. We have lots of taboos. Deep down, we wish they did not exist, but in public we foster them and cherish their stay. This dilemma is enforcing our schizophrenia in all walks of life. We are oppressed in the family, at school, and on the job. We recognize the problem, but we dare not talk about it in public. It is ‘Eb, it is taboo, regardless how irrational it is.

   I think, we Arabs, mix debating something with approving of it. Debating something is one thing and approving of it is another thing. When are we going to learn debating fearlessly and compete for the best ideas and best practices and traditions? When are we going to be self-confident enough and tolerate debates of nay kind and let people air their views? A debate is not the end of the world. On the contrary, it can be enriching and stimulating. I believe that the majority of us, even those illiterate amongst us, are mature enough and are able to build their own views about a range of issues. Let people debate and choose. Do not muzzle them. Developed societies have not got to where they are before going through a long and tedious process of debating. Everybody is entitled to his/her opinion. Live and let live.

   In Arab societies, the way to tolerance is still long, very long. I wish we would mimic the developed societies not only in terms of fashion, but also in terms of tolerance and open-mindedness. We must one day understand that unless we debate our concerns, we will never be able to find solutions to them. Preaching alone is not enough. People have the right to debate their concerns and no body has the right to impose his/her views on the others. Besides, in an atmosphere of freedom of speech genuine democrats run the state better and legitimately.

8. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Kuwaitis and Germans

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

   I accidentally met an old German friend who used to teach at one of those private universities in Kuwait.

   “Welcome back home! Are you on holiday?” I asked Birgit (that is not her real name). “Oh, no. My contract has not been renewed. When I asked, why? The President told me, ‘student were complaining about you.’ As someone who taught back in Kuwait, you know what that means. Students complain about their low grades. They demand high ones for little work, or for doing nothing. Private universities want to please students at all costs. The Egyptians are very good at wooing both students and administration. Two Egyptian colleagues who can hardly speak English have a secure job.”

   This made me compare Kuwaitis to Germans.

   - Hard work, discipline, and fairness are great values in the German society. They are cherished and practiced almost by everybody. In Kuwait? You all know how it is.
   - Not every German school student aspires to go to university. The majority of German students opt for learning a profession. All in all, the Germans are practical people. “Early enough, I have realized that my son Oliver (15) is not apt for university. He is a boy of practice. He loves cars and want to become a mechanic. That is the right job for him.” Beate said. How about Kuwaitis? The majority of parents want their children to study at university, whether they are apt or not. By hook or by crook, the kids have got to acquire a degree. It paves the way to a lavish job at the government. It is socially more presentable than a manual profession. Socially, it is a prestigious “business card.”
   - Discrimination is still around everywhere although it is socially and politically incorrect. But almost everybody is practicing it. The Germans divide the world into north and south. For many Germans people who come from the northern sphere are better people; more competent and deliver better work. The southerners are sloppy and incompetent. It is extremely difficult for an expat, regardless of how highly qualified they are, to find a managerial job or one in academia or the media. Hamed (35), the son to Iranian immigrants, studied IT. The only job he could get is in an information center at telecommunication agency. “As I was looking for a job and said my name, I could predict a ‘No’ in my mail box.” Hamed said.
   - While Kuwaitis have an inferiority complex towards Westerners, they look down at Asians, Africans, and fellow Arabs. Southerners would do what Kuwaitis ask them to do, also granting undeserved good grades. Mohammed, an Egyptian language instructor said, “What do you want me to do? Back in Cairo I would earn one tenth of what I earn here in Kuwait. Westerners in general would not do what Mohammed does. They have better job chances elsewhere.
   - It is extremely difficult to fire a coworker in Germany. The employer must present a palpable reason for dismissing an employee. How about Kuwaiti employers? You know how easy it is to get rid of a coworker. A Kuwaiti, in general, is quite arbitrary. He/she is backed by an unpractical labor law. Salwa, a Lebanese who is now living with her husband in Germany, said, “I used to work as a teacher in Kuwait. My supervisor flooded me with translations for her husband, for free. As one day I complained and said that that was too much. She fired on the spot.”
   - A German would not brag that he is a good Christian. He/she would not expose his religiosity in public. How about a Kuwaiti? He/she would pray five times a day and the same time exploit or fire his employees for no reason, or for egoistic reasons. Salwa said, her supervisor prayed five times a day and wanted everybody to do the same.
   - An expat in Gemany gets the same salary a German would get for doing the same job . How about Kuwaitis? A Kuwaiti school teacher at a public school gets three times or more the amount an expat gets.
   - In Germany, children, in general, are trained on independence and putting hand on work; they go school by using public transport, tidy up their room, help with setting the table for meals. Some families give their kids pocket money in return for carrying the waste to the garbage container in the backyard. Kuwaiti children are driven to school in luxury cars. The maid is supposed to do the household work. Some kids are even helped to blow their nose by the maid.
   - Children in Germany are allowed to watch TV only for half or one hour a day. Sadly, the majority of Kuwaiti children are allowed to watch TV for hours. In some households, the TV is on the whole day. Despite abundant availability of electricity and water, children in Germany are urged to use these resources thriftily. In Kuwait, some people leave on lights and the AC on 24 hours.
   - “At a very early age, I urged my kids to brush their teeth before they go to bed. I showed them how to do it” Ilke said to me. Which Kuwaiti brushes his/her teeth? Very few. “Besides,” Ilke said, children go to bed around 8 p.m. They need enough sleep to be fit for school.” When do Kuwaiti children go to bed? They stay up until midnight watching TV.
   - In addition, which Kuwaiti parents check on their children’s homework? Very few. Which Kuwait parents read and set an example of reading for their children? Very few.

   As you can see, Kuwait and Germany are two different worlds on two different planets.

9. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

   Some Kuwaitis Act above the Law

   Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

   The Kuwaiti newspaper, Alqabas reported on August 4, Khudhair Al Enezi, a member of the National Assembly (parliament) made public the ordeal of Khaled Al Zabat, a Jordanian businessman in Kuwait.

   What happened to Al Zabat?

   The Kuwaiti business partner of Al Zabat urged a friend, an intelligence officer at the Jileeb Al Shiyukh police department to pressure Al Zabat to transfer all his money to the Kuwaiti businessman, allegedly more than one and a half million KD. One night, the officer, backed by an armed squad, stormed into the house of Al Zabat. They arrested him and took him hand-cuffed to the police department. The man refused to transfer the money and insisted that if his partner had any financial claims, he should demand the money over the court. Al Zabat was physically and psychologically tortured and abused, but he refused to transfer the money. He was put behind bars. The following night, the intelligence officer stormed again into Al Zabat’s house. This time he arrested Al Zabat’s wife under the tears and cries of her children. At the police station, the officer told Al Zabat that he had a surprise for him. He was taken into the cell where his wife was held. She was in tears wearing a night gown.

   “Now, do you want to relinquish the money, or shall we…….?” The officer demanded. Al Zabat conceded. He was driven to a bank branch in Al Mirqab. As the bank was already closed, the influential business partner called the director of the bank and asked him to open the branch and the money was transferred. That was not enough. Al Zabat had to transfer the money his wife had on an account at another bank. Here, as the director of that bank branch realized that the transfer was illegal, she refused the transaction and demanded a legal document, i.e. court order.

   After Al Zabat was released, he filed a lawsuit (# 2006/560) against the officer and his business partner. The general prosecutor questioned police officers at Jileeb Al Shiyukh and found out that their statements were identical with those of Al Zabat. The business partner managed to have the prosecutor be replaced by another one. Under his influential interference, the prosecutor was changed three times.

   The lawyer of the Kuwaiti business partner threatened Al Zabat, “If you do not drop your charges, you’ll experience something extremely bad which you’ll certainly regret.”

   A month ago the story of Al Bayan Bilingual School in Kuwait, Katherine Phillips, made the rounds. She was also exposed to abuse of power and a nasty illegal treatment.

   Here is the story of Ms. Phillips as she told it:

   “I have been employed in Kuwait for 6 years at the same school. One of my primary
   responsibilities is student discipline. On March 8, 2006, three boys in grade 5
   were suspended for fighting. I interviewed the boys, met with my principal and
   followed normal procedure. There is no stigma here regarding suspension. Students spend the day in the office where they study, are visited by teachers, and are taken to the canteen, etc. It’s a normal consequence for fighting; all students are aware of this and the procedure is clearly defined in our Parent Handbook.

   In the afternoon of March 8th, I received a phone call from one of the boys’ fathers, |Mr. Fawaz Khalid Al Marzouq, who is a powerful man in Kuwait. He called to inform me that this situation was personal that he is friends with His Highness the Amir, and that he planned to destroy me. This conversation, which last about 9 minutes, was littered with profanities and threats.

   On March 11, 2006, the parents met with me, my principal and our director, Dr.
   Brian McCauley, to discuss the suspension. The father requested that if there was an issue involving his child that I would call him immediately.

   On April 27, 2006, I was requested to write a synopsis of events and to visit the Ministry of Education to answer questions regarding the suspension, describe the room in which the boys spent the school day and provide a copy of our handbook. In June 2006, the father transferred his children to a different private school in Kuwait. Also, we received notification from the Ministry of Education that in-school suspensions were no longer to be applied; instead, parents must be contacted to take their children home. In February 2007, I learned that a case had been filed against me at the Jabriya Police Department in Kuwait; the charge was illegal detainment of his son on March 8, 2006. I answered questions in my director presence and the Consul from the US Embassy, Mr. Sonny Busa. My lawyer was also present. The police did not suggest that there was any reason for me to be concerned as all of the questions were answered to the apparent satisfaction.

   On June 13, 2007, I was at the Kuwait International Airport intending to fly to Bahrain. I was stopped at immigration where I was informed that there was a case against me, pending further investigation and that a travel ban had been placed on me. I had not been informed. My lawyer had not been informed. This travel ban was placed upon me 15 months after the boy was suspended. The parent said that he would make this personal and this seems to be what he is intent upon doing.

   On Saturday, June 16, 2007, I visited the American Embassy where I met with the
   Vice Consul, Mr. Jared Caplan, who informed me that he sympathized but could do
   nothing to lift the travel ban. He suggested that I get an older Kuwaiti man to appeal to Mr. Marzouq. I was told on Wednesday that my file would be transferred to another agency for review so the ban could be lifted. Five working days later, the whereabouts of my file are uncertain. I have been told that my file is in 2 different places; this seems to be a delay tactic. Why?

   Because I angered an influential Kuwaiti national who is at the top of the social register both locally and at the US Embassy? On I visited the office of a police inspector named Falah Al Otaibi, whose office is in Salmiya. He is a police official who was to evaluate my file and determine if I could leave or not. He stated that he didn’t have my file. I visited him on June 17th and 18th. On June 18th, not five minutes after I left his office with my director, the Business Officer of my school and another school representative, I called Mr. Jared Caplan, Vice-Consul at the US Embassy to gain his insight into the situation and to see if any progress had been made to help me leave. He was completely aware of my visit to Mr. Al Otaibi’s office and instructed that I not return as it interfered.

   Several Kuwaiti families are aware of my situation but they are not in a position to help or they don’t want to get involved. They have ALL said that I should go to my embassy because my embassy can help me. The fact that the embassy seems shocking to everyone. Many people also question why this |accusation from Mr. Marzouk is placed solely on me not the school, not the principal, not the director of school. I feel that I am being used as an example because I am a single, American woman and he wants to show others that
   he can do what he said which is to destroy me.

   On June 20, 2007, I received a paper from Mr. Al Otaibi’s office in Salmiya which lifted the travel ban. This waiver had been granted by the Kuwait Minister of the Interior. Not long after the Minister released me, he reverted his decision at the request of the Marzouq family or his representatives. I went to the airport last night, only to learn that I couldn’t leave. I am in fear for my safety. If the Embassy can not help me, then who can? I contacted the FBI in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia yesterday and talked to Mike who couldn’t give me his last name. He was non-committal but did suggest that he thought the embassy should be able to get me out. Mr. Sonny Busa has informed me that they are working on it. That seems a little vague and I am not sure if the US Embassy completely realizes the level of danger that I feel that I am in. Why does Mr. Marzouq want me in Kuwait during the summer when no one from my school will be in country to offer their support? To make me feel vulnerable? He is well-connected and his friends are supporting his mission to damage me in any way that he can. What is next? I do not feel safe. I am not safe. I need someone from the US to acknowledge the urgency of my situation and coordinate my release. I committed no crime. I am simply the victim of wasta which roughly translates into influence/pressure at a high level.

   Thank God, there is freedom of press in Kuwait, otherwise such atrocities would go untold. And hat off for Mr. Khudhair El Enezi for publicizing the story of Mr. Al Zabat.

   There is parliamentarian democracy in Kuwait, but influential Kuwaitis bypass both the parliament and the judiciary system.

   Have you ever heard of such stories in the country of the “Arabs’ arch enemy”, Israel? I have not. All people living in Israel; Palestinians and ethnic minorities (e.g. the Druze) enjoy genuine democracy where no body is allowed act above the law, not even the President of the nation.

10. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

    Peace among People is also required

    Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

    Amr Waked is an Egyptian film actor who has recently played the son-in-law of Saddam Hussein in a British Broadcasting drama. Until now the news is normal. But because he has acted with an Israeli, Yigal Naor in the drama, the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior issued an arrest warrant against Waked and the Egyptian Actors Union expelled him.

    Waked, who also performed alongside Hollywood star George Clooney in the 2005 blockbuster “Syriana”, was flabbergasted. He told several newspapers, “I thought we had peace with Israel.” He also said that the film was pro-Arab, and criticizes the US Middle Eastern foreign policies.

    Let’s remember. In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel, but both the Egyptian government and the media have been adamantly opposed to establishing normal relations with the Jewish state.

    In his book, “Culture and Conflict is Egyptian-Israeli Relations: A Dialogue of the Deaf”, Raymond Cohen argues that the main problem between Egyptians and Israelis is a “cultural chasm”. Cohen uses several contrasts. While the Israelis use a direct language, the Egyptians use an indirect one. While the Israelis act in a pragmatic and practical manner, the Egyptians act defiantly, anti-peace, and propagandistic. Despite the animus atmosphere prevailing in Egypt towards Israel and Israelis, thousands of Israeli tourists visited Egypt. The few Egyptians who establish any contact with Israel as tourists or business people are alienated and stigmatized. On the official level, the relations are scanty. Contacts between the Egyptian and Israeli governments are confined to ministerial level. The Egyptian Ambassador to Israel has been withdrawn and never returned.

    Cairo has been putting pressure on the Egyptian business community not to have relations business with Israelis. A bilateral committee for the promotion of economic ties between Egyptians and Israelis, which was formed a couple of years back, is idle.

    Since the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak grabbed power in 1981 he has avoided visiting Israel. The only time Mubarak has visited Israel was in 1995. He attended the funeral of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzak Rabin.

    Mubarak has repeatedly said he would visit Israel only if it serves promoting a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Is that really so? Or is Mubarak scared to face the same fate his predecessor Anwar Sadat faced? The Muslim Brotherhood and other Egyptian Islamist fanatic organizations have issued several Fatwas (rulings) condemning the Jews and the Jewish state. They claim that the Prophet Mohammed hated the Jews and fought them. Even the Quran condemns the Jews. Hence, peace with Israel is impossible, the Islamists preach day in day out.

    Official peace is no real peace. A formal peace treaty has got to be filled with life. It has got to be translated into real peace. It has got to be flanked with practical steps, regardless how tiny they are. Former and present enemies have got to know each other face to face. Peace has got to be promoted on the ground. Joint ventures between Egyptians and Israelis have got to be encouraged and expanded. Peace between people is what matters at the end of the day.

    Mr. President Mubarak, it is not enough to sit in your palace and receive Israeli officials. Your people have got to be re-educated in peace matters. Your apparatus has got to work on changing the culture of war and hatred into peace and coexistence. Waked must be rewarded for acting with an Israeli and not persecuted as your apparatus is doing. Do not listen to a fanatic minority. Listen to the majority of Egyptians. They want to live in peace with Israel. According to a study by the American University in Cairo, over 60% of Egyptians want to live in peace with Israel.

    As Cohen says, the Egyptians are using the wrong the discourse vis a vis translating the Camp David peace treaty into reality. Maher, the former Egyptian foreign minister said in Al Sharq Al Awsat (27.8.2007), “We want good relations with Israel. We pursued peace over 25 years ago because this is the right thing to do. And today we are still keen to work on our relations with Israel, but we believe that for this to happen Israel has to reconsider its attitudes towards the Palestinians. When things start working in the right direction of peace, this will be reflected on Egyptian-Israeli relations.”

    It is very easy to refute this argument. Palestinians are fighting Palestinians. The Palestinians do not know what thy want. Improving public practical relations between Egyptians and Israelis would reflect positively on the Palestinian-Israeli relations. You cannot postpone good Egyptian-Israeli relations until good ones are established between Palestinians and Israelis. This would be like promising paradise on earth for all mankind. Peace should not be delayed. All, Arabs and Israelis, are sick and tired of war, killing and destruction.

    Joint ventures and economic ties between poor Egypt and affluent Israel would create numerous job opportunities for both Egyptians and Israelis. Jamal, an American Egyptian who used to work in the US and now is working in Israel a German TV channel, “I’ve got a great job here in Israel, a far better one than the one I had in the States. Unlike my brother who works in Saudi Arabia where he is subject to daily humiliation and earns little money, I earn good money and people respect me.”

    Peace is only sustainable when people feel the benefits of peace. A formal peace treaty without public participation is just a useless piece of paper.

11. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

    Wasta (Connections): A Life Style in the Arab World

    Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

    Ali is sitting in a crowded Diwaniya (guest house where Kuwaitis gather to socialize). He calls up one of his friend, Ghazi. As usual, after a long obligatory greeting introduction. “How are you? How are you doing? I’ve not seen you for ages, where have you hidden? How is your family? How, how, how ….. “ Then Ali turns to the reason why he is calling. “By the way, could you please ring up one of your friends at the Traffic Department/Hawalli. My sister got a ticket for illegal parking.”

    “Absher” Ghazi promptly replied, “Consider it done!” After that Ali calls Ahmed. Ali’s sister failed to pass some courses at a private university. Also “Absher!”. Ahmed calls his friend, the rector of that university and the latter promised to “rectify the error”. Indeed, Ali’s sister passed all her failed courses. Ali thanks profusely his Wasta friends and offered them his Wasta as a hospital supervisor. Wasta. This is Wasta. You contact somebody to help do something illegal, unfair, and unlawful.

    Wasta is widespread all over the world, but it is not shamelessly so severe as it is in Kuwait and in other Arab countries.

    In light of lack of accountability and law enforcement, people resort to this kind of illegal transaction. It is a way of life. Sociologists call it “Social Capital”. It is a priceless asset which sometimes you cannot buy even for much money. If you want to get things done without queuing up and waiting for your turn, just use Wasta.

    How does it work? Like most Kuwaitis, Ali and Ghazi have a long list of telephone numbers of people working in all government departments and institutions, in the Traffic Department, in the Immigration Department, Municipality, Justice Department, schools, universities, etc. Just name it.

    However, you have diligently to invest in your “Wasta” network to accumulate an influential “Wasta capital”. You should be in a position to pay back Wastas. You have constantly to update and invigorate your “network” of Wasta. Once in a while you have to call your Wasta partners just to say hello and exchange pleasantries. You have to give them the impression that you care about them, you think of them, you are grateful to them. Almost every conversation between two Kuwaitis end by the question: “Do you need anything?” “Can I do something for you?” You have to congratulate your Wasta “friends” on all kinds of occasion; wedding, death, promotion, recuperation, etc. You also invite them to social events. The “tree of Wasta” has got to be taken care of.

    Most people in Kuwait use Wasta, big ones and small ones. The Diwaniya is not only a place to get together, it is also a place where Wastas are conducted and traded, like a stock exchange market. The mobile phone has made accessing Wasta very easily. You can save hundreds of phone numbers. You push a button and the whole world of Wasta is at your finger tip.

    Newspaper columnists more often than not use their columns to facilitate Wasta. Fouad Al Hashem in Al Watan is very good at that. A coworker at this paper told me that Al Hashem gets tons of letters and visits by people who claim that some wrongdoing has been inflicted on them. Without verifying, Al Hashem appeals in his columns to the “tender heart” of the people in charge to help out. The reply is often prompt and positive. Try it, especially if you are an attractive woman.

    Mohammed Al Saleh, a columnist at Al Qabas, openly and honestly admits that he, like most Kuwaitis, uses Wasta to get any transaction in government departments done. “I simply send my driver to any department with a nice letter to the person in charge. I usually get what I want. Otherwise, and they know that very well, I would write negative things about their department. Long queues and abiding by the law are designed for expats, not for Kuwaitis. Our laws are the best in the world, but no Kuwaiti abides by them.” Al Saleh said in Al Qabas, May 21.

    Expats in Kuwait are not less corrupt than their local counterparts. Mohammed, an Egyptian English language teacher mentions, “in passing”, in one of his male classes that his wife needs a driver’s license. After class one of the “F” students approaches Mohammed and offered his Wasta services. “Don’t worry, Doctor. A cousin of mine works for the Traffic Department. Just give me the papers and he’ll do it.” One week later Mohammed got a driver’s license for his wife. In return, the student got an “A” grade.

    Western women are also abused for Wasta. Sameer usually takes his tall, blond Canadian girl friend with him to deal with government departments. He directly goes with her to the “Mas’ul” (person in charge) and introduces himself as Dr. Sameer from Kuwait University, though he doses not work for this university. He and his wife (the Canadian Doctor, although she does not possess a Ph.D.) are quite busy and they cannot wait. “Do not worry!” The officer reassures. After a while they get fresh tea. While they are sipping it, the papers are done.

    In Syria, Jordan, and Egypt people build up their Wastas with people in the Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat/Mabaheth), in the army, and in the ruling Baath party. Fadi, a Syrian physician has a customer, Waleed, who works for the Nation Security Intelligence. Fadi called Waleed and asked him to help stop a neighbor from building a room adjacent to his garden. On the spot, Waleed sent three of his men with a bulldozer. They demolished the room, the neighbor was handcuffed, and put behind bars.

    Faris, a customs officer at Damascus Airport, allows tons of sample medications reach his physician friends all over Damascus without imposing any customs duties. In return, his medical friends treat him, all his family, and friends for free.

    Magdi, an Egyptian professor at Cairo University carries a Mukhabarat, Intelligence Service identity card. With the card, he has easy access to all government departments. Who dare ask a Mukhabarat man, if he is real or fake?

    Yousef, a Palestinian-Jordanian has also such a card. He even uses it to dine with his friends in the best restaurants in Amman for free.

12. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

    Corruption

    Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

    A pamphlet on the Internet says about Kuwait the following:

    - What country is this where you need “wasta” (connections) everywhere? If you need good medical treatment, you need a “wasta”. If you want to be medically treated abroad, you also need one. If you want to have a job, you also need “waste”.
    - What country is this where people complain about their Members of Parliament? Who voted for them? All of us.
    - What kind of country is this where medical staff are abused and beaten if they do not do what we want?
    - What kind of country is this where people leave their garbage everywhere, but not where it belongs?
    - What kind of country is this where locals hardly do anything, but always demand a salary raise?
    - What kind of country is this where books are cheap, but no body reads them?
    - What kind of country is this that has problems of the world and people still say: “May God not change anything.”?

    By the way, we humans, all humans are corrupt by nature. There is corruption everywhere, also in Germany and in the USA. Think of Siemens, for example, which has spent millions of dollars on bribes to gain lucrative bids in developing countries. Unless we are penalized for corruption, we humans tend to commit acts of corruption. Humans in Germany and Europe at large are less corrupt, not because they are better human beings. It is because the law is applied and enforced.

    Arab regimes are masters in using corruption as an effective means to buy loyalty of the state apparatus, in particular the intelligence service, police, and the army. A big number of insurgents in Iraq enjoyed corruption under Saddam. With his removal, Iraqis who lived on corruption lost a big source of income and privileges.

    Corrupt regime followers hate democracy. It strips them off privileges and makes them jobless.

    Al Seyassa reported last week, the Algerian engineer, Shareef Shakran, came up with a unique invention. He invented a machine. It is a very sophisticated machine. You pour three liters of water in the machine. Wait for a couple of minutes. After a while, the machine starts reciting Verses from the holy Koran. After that, the machine asks you to drink the blessed water slowly and after every sip you must thank Allah. Shakran claims that the machine helps people cleanse their souls and minds. People who used the machine say that after they drank the blessed water they felt like newly born. They felt great.

    I’m going to buy this machine. And I urge everybody to do so. We Arabs and Muslims need such a machine.

13. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

    Arab Hypocrisy

    Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

    Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahd, Head of the Kuwaiti National Security stressed, April 21, Kuwait would be the last Arab country to recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations with it. This is fine. For over half a century, Kuwait foreign policy has complied with decisions and resolutions of the Arab League. Kuwaiti officials have implemented whatever they have told to by their Arab “brothers”, in particular vis-à-vis the “Palestinian issue”. Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas received millions of dollars in aid from Kuwait for the Palestinians, or as Arabs call it, for the “Palestinian cause”.

    Unlike Qatar, Morocco, and Mauritania, Kuwait has not acted in a schizophrenic manner towards the Palestinian Issue. It abode by all Arab resolutions. While officials from Qatar, Morocco, and Mauritania brag that they would never recognize the Jewish state until a Palestinian state is established in occupied Palestine, they stealthily maintain all kinds of relations with Israel. Unlike the commercial media in Kuwait which discuss both the cons and pros of the Palestinian Issue, the media in most Arab countries drum the machine of war against Israel. They use a polemic aggressive discourse. In a few words, Kuwait has followed an honest attitude towards the Palestinian Issue.

    Thus far, the majority of Arab regimes have used the Palestinian Issue to evade introducing political and economic reforms. Every year on April 17, the Baath regime in Damascus celebrates the Independence Day, the end of French occupation in 1946. On this same day, the regime also mourns the loss of the Golan Heights to Israel during the 1967 war.

    Hamza who lives on the Israeli side of Golan Heights told the German weekly news magazine, Der Spiegel last week, “I have not seen my three brothers and two sisters since 1967, for 40 years now. The Syrian authorities have reused to give my brothers an exit visa to Cyprus so that I could see them.”

    The question is, is the Baath regime in Syria really interested in having the Golan Heights back in return for peace with Israel. Some political analysts, including myself, doubt it very much. The Syrian regime is not seriously interested in peace in the Middle East. Then the next step would be democracy. And that would mean the end of this regime.

    The Syrian regime is prolonging its life by fanning the fire in various parts of the Middle East, notably in Iraq and in Lebanon. The authoritarian regime in Damascus does not permit the approximately 500.000 Syrian refugees, displaced during the 1967 war, to return to their homes in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights. Only on April 17, some of them are allowed to take a bittersweet glimpse of their old homes.

    Everybody knows, including the Syrian regime that the Syrian army is incapable of risking a conventional head-to-head clash with the overwhelmingly superior arms of the Israeli Defense Force.

    The Syrian state-controlled media depicts Israel as a “Zionist entity” that is aggressive, defiant, and inherently not interested in peace. Syrian columnists like Buthaina Shaaban portrait the Arab world as a victim of a Western conspiracy. “The West is not interested in peace in the Middle East. It is only interested in our oil and natural resources.” Shaaban wrote last week in Al Sharq Al Awsat.
    The Arab media have ignored the appointment of an Arab as Minister of Sports in Israel. The appointment of Raleb Majadele has been billed by the Israeli government as a step towards equality for Muslim Arabs, Israel’s largest minority.” This is unthinkable in the Arab world. Arab journalists who write positively about Israel are jailed and tortured.
    To polish its Pan-Arabist image and most recently Islamic, the Syrian regime supports extremists in the Middle East; Hamas in Palestine, Hizbollah in Lebanon, and insurgents in Iraq. The strategy is working for the time being. As long as the flame of war is on, the regime can survive.

    The West, America and Europe, have failed to produce a strategy which would put an end to the regime in Damascus. Europe flirts with the Syrian regime and America is too blunt and confrontational. The result is change-free and standstill. The Syrian opposition is ignored by both Europe and the USA. The last visit of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to Syria is maybe a good beginning to intelligently infiltrate the Baath regime in Damascus. Creative people are needed to deal with the Baath regime, not clumsy confrontation.

    The pressure on the Syrian regime must be intensified on all fronts, economic, political, and diplomatic. The majority of Syrians oppose the regime in Damascus and want to see it toppled. Anwar Al Bunni, a Syrian opposition leader who has been jailed and tortured for years now, says in an interview smuggled out of his prison and published in major German newspapers, “It is naïve of the West if it believes that it could affect regime change in Syria without supporting the opposition. Lack of organized established opposition would create a chaos like the one in Iraq. Does America and the West want that?”

14. Sami Alrabaa on October 2nd, 2007

    Kuwait Universities

    Dr. Sami Alrabaa, Kuwait Times, Staff Columnist

    Kuwait Times reported on March 7 about the first graduation ceremony at the Arab Open University in Kuwait. When you read what the Rector of this university, Dr. Moudi Al Humoud and the valedictorian student said in their speeches, you get the impression that the Open University is competing with Oxford and Harvard.

    Al Humoud said, “Our Open University is a pioneer in many academic majors as well as in the recent developments and technology implemented in all educational aspects.” Khadeeja Mortadi, a fresh graduate said on behalf of her colleagues, “Our teachers did an amazing job in transforming this small dream of a university to one of the leading universities in the Middle East.”

    Thus, the Arab Open University is a “pioneer in many academic majors,” and “leading in the Middle East.” We Arabs love ceremonies and tend to exaggerate. If I had not taught at the Open University as a part-time instructor, I would have believed what people said at the ceremony.

    First of all, still the majority of the staff at the Arab Open University are part-time instructors. They are cheaper than full-time instructors. Instructors from Kuwait University, in particular expats, are happy to make an extra buck at the Open university. “For that buck, I do whatever the managers of the university want me to do.” Saleem (that is not his name), said. “Back home in Syria, I used to make much less money than I’m doing now. If you want to survive at this university and for that matter at any Arab university, you must do what your boss wants you to do. Otherwise? You know what I mean.”

    Ahmed and Khaled (pseudonyms), two Arab high ranking officials at the Open University and aides to the Rector, present to their Kuwaiti top-managers fancy copy-and-paste course programmes. On paper, these programmes look quite academic, but in reality you need Harvard or Cambridge students to implement. In other words, the theory is something, but practice is completely another thing.

    Nabeel and Waleed also admit that they relatively are making a lot of money in return for conspicuous academia. “You have to please both the Kuwaiti deans and Rector and the students. Just do not complain. Do what they want.” Nabeel adds, “We are not worse off than other universities in this country. It is all universities. Come on!” Waleed stresses.

    How about the students at the Open University? In fact, the majority cannot cope with the curricula which are replica of the curricula at the mother Open University in the UK. Jawad, a full-time linguistics instructor says, “The textbooks are over the head of most of our students. They are in English and most of our students can hardly handle this language, let alone the content. As an instructor, you have to paraphrase whole texts and/or translate into Arabic.”

    It is certainly good to be affiliated to well-known universities like the UK Open University, the American University, and Missouri University, cooperate with them and learn from them. But what is really happening is that the “local replica” becomes too local and eventually has little to do with the original. This applies in particular to the Arab Open University and the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST).

    On their part, in a competitive academic world, the stem universities still benefit from having worldwide affiliations. They can brag that their academic programmes are successful and used all over the world.

    The English-medium textbook publishers also benefit from the affiliation business in other countries that use the same textbooks. Whether these books are suitable for local students is another issue. To woo freshmen, slogans become more important that reality on the ground: “We are using international standard textbooks.” An instructor at GUST told me, sarcastically.

    The Kuwaiti Al Watan columnist Foaud Al Hashem has repeatedly asked about the Council of Private Universities at the Ministry of Higher Education, but he never received a reply. Does this Council ever exist? What is it actually doing? Is it checking on private universities?

    Still, for lots of non-Kuwaitis – who are not allowed to join Kuwait University -, the Open University, which is open to everybody is a golden opportunity to get some kind of higher education. Abdulrahman, a Bedun (stateless) who works as a soldier for the Kuwaiti army, the Open University is the only opportunity he has to improve his employment chances. “With a degree from the Open University I may inshaalah in the long run get a job as a teacher. That would be great. I’ll get a good job and a good salary to raise my seven children.” Abdulrahman hopes.

    However, as long as the job market in Kuwait remains under demanding for Kuwaitis, the quality of education in this country would not improve. Students would not strive enough to learn professional skills, and the majority of education institutions would remain a kind of diploma mills.

    For the time being, any “university” is “good” for Kuwaitis. As I was teaching at Kuwait University an average student told me one day, “Dr., you are too demanding and too concerned. Come on, what matters at the end of the day is a degree. We are not in Germany or in the USA. We are in Kuwait!”

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