Naeem's Blog

I wanted to clarify that my previous post was not intended to be simply an anti-Saudi-establishment rant. In fact, I’ve previously criticized the unfortunate expat pastime of whining and bashing against the Saudis.

Although I focused on the Mutawwa and their less-than-logical techniques, I truly believe their methodology typifies the ill-advised approach to reform employed by so many Muslims around the world.

We Muslims are all about window-dressing. Our idea of self-improvement is akin to putting make-up on a pig.

It's never about replacing the rotten core.

It's ‘religiously’ easier to grow a beard than to suppress your anger.
It's easier to don the scarf than to bite your tongue.
It's easier to memorize a host of ahadith than to crush your pride.
It's easier to use a miswak than to mend a broken relationship.
It's easier to lower your gaze and turn away from a sister than to help her with her groceries.
It's easier to regulary attend the local masjid than to turn away a bribe.
It's easier to correct others than to master the art of silence.

It’s so much easier to tackle the demons within by covering them with a thin coating of religiosity.

Whether it’s your self, your child, or your society, dealing with the outer forms of the sickness is quicker and less tasking than dealing with the inner essence of the problem.

Internal change (Islah) requires coming to terms with the repulsiveness of your true self, accepting scathing criticism by those more knowledgable, and adopting a long-term strategy to rectification.

Very painful, very difficult and very ugly.

Sadly, we are all the Mutawwa, in one form or another. We are all resistant to the pressures and pains of true internal reform, preferring the relative comforts of piety of the exterior.

The Saudi Religious Police (also known as Mutawwa) have been getting a bad rap for quite some time. In addition to all the negative energy directed towards them by the general public, they've come under greater media and governmental scrutiny for recent cases of extreme abuse.

I would normally not add fuel to this fire (as opinions are very emotionally charged from both sides), but I couldn't avoid chiming in on my dear friend Shariq's first blog entry over at Minjid.com.

The brother presents his case for supporting 'the Commission' as they provide an invaluable service to society.

I say hogwash.

My gripe is not with their abuses of power (which even their supporters condemn), but with the entire premise of enforcing Islamic principles. It makes no sense that propagation of (selected) virtue and removal of (selected) vice be forced down the throats of the masses.

And even if the Mutawwa were to succeed in covering every woman and forcing every man to pray, then what? Would that magically transform Saudi society into an Islamic utopia? All this obsession with the outer forms while ignoring the internal states is pure folly and doomed to failure.

The Prophet (saw) was sent with the primary mission to perfect akhlaq (moral character, etiquettes) - a lofty goal that can never be accomplished with superficial tactics of forcing people to pray and cover. The proper way is to focus on the hearts and attract people to the balanced teachings of our beloved Prophet (saw).

Honey. Vinegar. Flies. It's really not that complicated folks!

Why not teach people (dare I suggest *by example*, gasp!) to treat each other nicely, renounce bribery, avoid littering, give each other the benefit of the doubt, carry out fair financial transactions, treat maids and drivers with kindness, shun domestic abuse, embrace education, properly queue in lines, drive like humans, and so on?

These principles of justice, kindness, and civility are more important to society than ensuring that every strand of hair is covered or every man is praying in the masjid.

After all, what has decades of harassing unrelated couples and closing businesses at prayer times gotten them?

Internet pornography, Satellite dishes in over 90% of homes, and a flourishing underground homosexual society.

They've simply swept the problems off the streets and into the homes. How convenient.

Yay for a forced veneer of piety!

The Mutawwa consistently choose form over substance which has always proven to be a failed approach. Hearts remain unaffected by their brutish efforts.

They have disenfranchised the vast majority of Saudi youth with their shallow attempts at enforcing virtue and thwarting vice. They may have 'cleaned up' the streets of Saudi Arabia, but the hearts remain as polluted as ever.

Is that the type of Islamic society our dear Prophet (saw) struggled for?

Note: My rant is equally applicable to Iran, Afghanistan, or any other nation attempting to police piety.

Well, sort of:

Under the picture of the woman driving is text saying 'Say YES to women driving'.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pic, but I had to quickly snap it while driving. I was extremely shocked to see a sticker as brazen as this one, especially in Riyadh (this sort of stuff is more expected from the more liberal Jeddah).

Of course, not everyone shares the above driver's sentiments. Abu Ilyas has an interesting picture from the other side.

When I first arrived to Riyadh, I thought it peculiar how shops were arranged. You'll find shops selling a certain commodity all grouped together. For example, there's a cellphone souk (Arabic for market) with dozens of stores, all selling the same models of phones. Same for the computer souk, gold souk, car souk, and so on.

I found it very odd at first because back in the US, retailers don't open their shops right next to the competition. That simply doesn't make business sense.

American entrepreneurs scout out a location to ensure they are one of the few selling their wares in the vicinity. After all, if I'm selling cellphones, my business would obviously do better if I'm the only seller in the area.

And so, when I first saw stores lined up, one after the other, all selling the same items, I was seriously confused. How do they ever make money? Why not relocate to another place, away from the competition?

And then after settling down, I realized how convenient these souks are for the consumer. Instead of driving all over Riyadh looking for the store that sells what I want, I simply go to the souk and shop around. No hassle of driving from one end of town to the other. Everything is available within walking distance.

I now am perplexed how shoppers in the West survive, having to drive long distances, going from store to store to find what they need.

The convenience here is amazing. And the vendor of item X realizes that his chances of making a sale are increased when he's located in the X souk as opposed to a location where he is the only one selling item X.

Some of you may be thinking, 'Big deal, we have shopping malls in the West', but the two are actually quite different.

The souks I'm referring to are more analogous to a strip plaza with twenty clothing stores, all selling the very similar, if not the exact, style of clothing, from the same manufacturer or supplier, with differences in sizes and colors available in each store's stock.

If you want your car fixed, there's a designated area with dozens of mechanics and auto-repair shops. You want to buy a satellite dish, you'll find a strip of 15 shops, all selling the same variety of dishes. If you want plants for your garden, there are flower markets consisting of large stalls, all attached to each other, all selling the same flowers with slight differences in the variety offered.

And this mentality has even spilled onto the streets. When a Saudi parks on the side of the road to sell watermelon or dates out the back of his truck, it's only a matter of time before five others do the same.

If the same thing were to occur in the US, the original vendor would bark at the others to go find their own turf.

I would like to think that these Muslim sellers embody the divine principle of tawakul (trust in Allah) and acknowledge that their rizq (sustenance) is pre-determined by Allah, so no matter if they were the only one in the area or one of several hundreds, their lot is fixed.

But I'm too cynical to think so positively of these folks.

Truth is, these rascals probably collude with each other to set the prices. And being so close only facilitates their conspiring.

Oh well, at least it beats having to drive around town.

My youngest brother has recently started his residency training somewhere near Chicago and shared with me this very funny story:

I was sitting in the physicians lounge in front of my computer looking up the history of a new patient we got called for, and I could overhear the conversation of few second-year residents. There were two internal medicine residents talking over with a radiology resident (who just finished his preliminary year in internal medicine) about radiology and how laid back a lifestyle it is.

Right behind me, with his back to me, was a Pakistani, and across the room were the other two residents, one Ethiopian and the other Indian - the radiologist. Here's how the conversation went:

"So how many hours do radiologists work?", asked the Ethiopian guy.

"8-5 - normal office hours. On call once a week for the second and third year and never again for the rest of my life". He was so proud of himself, that cocky Indian.

"And how much do they make?"

In comes the Pakistani brother, with the thickest possible desi accent he could conjure, "They make a loadshed of money."

Huh?! What does a loadshed of money mean? How does this Paki FOB know of a word to describe 'huge' or 'enormous' that I don't?! I've realized for a while now that my vocabulary is pretty bad, but now this was just putting me to shame.

So there I sat, trying to come up with a meaning for the word - loadshed, like from the word loadshedding. But that means power failures - what does that have to do with 'alot'? I don't know, maybe if you take off the '-ing' it becomes a totally different word.

Or maybe he was saying loadshed as in 'a shed loaded with money'. That could make sense. Or maybe...

And then came a voice, seemingly to correct my thoughts so I could get back to work.

"Shitload, I mean," he mumbled, but loud enough for me to hear.

"Shit...load, yaar get it straight, shitload." he repeated under his breath, berating himself so as not to make the mistake again.

Mystery solved.

For your surfing pleasure:

Time magazine has a nice photo gallery of what 16 families from across the world eat in one week.

Is it me or does the family from Ecuador seem amazingly happy? Especially in comparison to that German family. They really seemed pissed at something. (h/t to Aaminah)

JD over at Dunner's Blog put together a series of amazing posts (here and here as well) inspired by Hugh Kennedy's book, Great Arab Conquests. In fact, his posts piqued my interest so much so that I actually ponied up $10 for a used copy. JD bro, it better be worth it! :-)


Finally, here's a funny video:

I was asking a Saudi co-worker about his nation's obsession with Kabsa, a traditional Saudi dish consisting of a mound of rice with either chicken or lamb thrown on top. He himself admitted to eating it everyday for lunch. And he mentioned that many Saudis eat the same dish for lunch AND dinner.

I remember another co-worker proudly declaring that during Ramadan, he has to have Kabsa for Suhoor, every single morning!

Their simplicity is mind-boggling. No Saudi appetizers, no Saudi side-dishes, and no Saudi desserts.

Just Kabsa.

I'll admit that it took me a while to warm up to Kabsa – I'm used to some curry on top of my rice. But now that I've gotten used to it, I actually like it. But not so much to accept it every single day.

I just don't understand that.

He explained that the mindset, especially with the older generation, is to view food for its utility. The meal is not an experience to be savored or a source of entertainment. The meal is simply a source of energy for the body. The entertainment, if needed, comes from the conversation during the meal, not the meal itself.

I find such an unsophisticated approach to eating commendable. Food ceases to be the goal and returns to its original role of serving as a means to the goal (of sustenance). One relishes the quality of one's company as opposed to the quality of the food.

But maybe the Saudi style of eating has nothing with such higher aspirations. Maybe they're simply too culturally lazy to innovate new dishes. After all, the Saudi men all wear the same dress. ;-)

Finally, it's worth noting that the newer generation does not share the same culinary ideals of their forefathers. Indian and Chinese food are very trendy with the younger families, in addition to the unfortunate habit of fast-food.

So much for higher aspirations.

I know how so many of you are looking to step out of the shadows of your male counterparts. We all know how traditional Muslim societies don't have such a great track record when it comes to treating women with justice and respect.

I know how many of you have dabbled with the countless strands of feminism and have found them lacking. Many of you believe that Islam provides the best of both worlds, a balanced approach where you can forward your position in a male-dominated society without sacrificing your prized femininity, all under an umbrella of deep spirituality.

However, I wanted to ask you about one issue, namely the newfound assertiveness found in many modern women.

Submissive is out, aggressive is in. The free ride that men have had where they make uncontested decisions, bark out their demands, and expect everything their way is over.

And you know what? I say g'd on ya, mate! (that's Australian)

But with a caveat.

If you are going to insist on not only voicing your opinion, but having it your way, you must be prepared to present it in a rational, logical manner.

And you must also be prepared to intellectually defend your stance against others who may not necessarily see it your way.

And all this must be done without resorting to tears and emotional outbursts.

Can you handle that?

The way I see it, traditional roles are not simply based on physical strength (although that is an undeniable factor), but on the male vs. female approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

Men are more calculating. Women are more passionate. Together, they form a harmoniously complimentary dynamic. But when it comes to making a decision or leading a people, the former (calculating) is preferable to the latter (passionate).

So now we come to modern times where women are sick and tired of being passive recipients of pronouncement made by their men. They're demanding that room be made for them at the decision-making table.

And room we shall make for you.

But is too much to ask that you articulate your thoughts and desires in a way conducive to making rational decisions?

Can you weigh the pros and cons of a matter without resorting to emotional justifications that, admittedly, are important to you, but may not translate the same to others?

If so, I'm convinced that your relationships with husbands, fathers, brothers, and friends will be the better for it.

Otherwise, I fear that you will continue to be relegated to the realm of child-bearers and home-keepers.

As if I needed any more proof that political Islam will never succeed without a deeper, more substantial spiritual reform, news comes from Turkey that two retired general were arrested in over an alleged plot to overthrow the Islamically-inclined AK Party.

And if that isn’t enough in the tough-times department for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his party is currently fighting for its life in the judicial courts against charges that they are undermining secularism in Turkey.

I said it in my last post on Anwar Ibrahim and I’ll say it again when the AK Party goes down (either via the court ruling or through an inevitable military coup), Muslims need to stop putting the proverbial horse before the cart by focusing on political solutions.

We need to get our hearts and minds in order, reconnect with Allah (swt), and place our trust in Him.

He will take care of the rest.

I'm continuously surprised by the number of Muslims who are unaware of the tragic plight of Anwar Ibrahim. Most don't know that he was an up-and-coming internationally-renowned Muslim leader in the 90's (reaching as high as deputy-PM of Malaysia), whose star was suddenly shot down by his mentor, a jealous Mahathir Mohammad (then-PM of Malaysia).

The outlandish charges back in 1998 against Ibrahim were of engaging in sodomy with his driver as well as corruption. That eventually landed him in jail, resulting in the infamous picture where he sported a black eye after only a few days under police custody. (charges were eventually dropped, but only after 6 years in jail)

History surely repeats itself.

The charge of sodomy has once again reared its ugly head in an attempt to again slander Ibrahim.

On the heels of a major upset against the ruling National Front in the March elections, opposition parties were looking to make serious waves in Malaysia, with Ibrahim as a strong candidate for the next Prime Minister.

Until now.

"Not again" was the reply by Ibrahim when he spoke from the Turkish Embassy, where has taken refuge for his safety from the Malaysian government.

But I must admit, that after my initial shock and disappointment upon reading this news, I'm beginning to get a better sense of Allah's Wisdom.

I fear that Muslims would have gotten a false sense of hope that the submarine of the Ummah, having sunken to unbelievable depths over the past few centuries, is finally making its long-awaited resurfacing.

With a charismatic leader at the helm of a pluralistic Muslim nation, enjoying financial success as well as political stability, many Muslims would have rejoiced at our collective turn of fortune.

But that would have caused us to overlook the fundamental sickness plaguing the Ummah – our broken relationship with our Lord.

I'm convinced that the Muslim world simply isn't ready for a strong, upright leader (as Anwar Ibrahim seems to be). The problem has never been about electing or appointing a worthy leader. The problem has never been about locating the next Salahuddin.

The problem has always been about us, not our leadership. We just aren't worthy of any mantle of authority.

No matter how politically active Muslims become, their efforts will keep getting thwarted. Musharraf has done it. Mubarak has done it. And now, the Malaysian establishment is doing it.

This latest turn of events is a clear sign to Muslims that we must realign ourselves with the concepts of true Islamic reform. Reform will not come about by political activism. Reform will not be found in assimilating into the global socio-economic infrastructure. Reform will never be grounded on modern concepts of 'advancement' or 'civilization' or 'enlightened moderation'.

The reform taught by the Prophet (saw) was to struggle to establish the Islamic state within while struggling to establish the Islamic state without. Too many have neglected the former while focusing solely on the latter.

The balance has been lost.

And therefore, as a blessing to us (as well as the rest of world), Allah (swt) has placed a political straitjacket on the Ummah – preventing it from tasting any political power so as to prevent it from causing any harm unto others or to itself.

As a blessing to us (and the rest of world), we will continue to see failed political/military efforts for establishing Muslim states or electing Muslim leaders (Algeria, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Hamas, Anwar Ibrahim).

Allah (swt) will either send the Americans or a military junta or the Ethiopians or the Israelis or even a 23-year-old political aide, but the results will be the same – no power for the Muslims.

We simply are not ready for the immensely grave responsibility of being representatives of the Most High (khalifat-Allah).

As I see it, I refuse to place a gun in my child's hands. Similarly, Allah (swt) has refused to place power in the Ummah's hands.

In both cases, the results would be tragic.