Saudi Double Standards

Many religions and “beliefs” are so ridiculous that one may wonders how on earth could people be so dumb as to follow them.

However, as long as such beliefs are only “in your mind”, and that other people’s right to think differently is respected, that’s probably OK.

That people of a certain “belief” form a group of such believers, that is becoming sometimes a bit more dangerous, but is considered generally acceptable when dealing with peaceful and loving brothers and sisters of “name your favorite religion here”.

However, a basic element for a peaceful planet, which must absolutely be respected at all times and in all parts of this world, is that church and state should never mix.

Unfortunately, examples abound where this golden rule is not respected, starting with the pretentious “In God We Trust” as written on US bank notes… as if all US citizens believed in God (I don’t think so: some do, but some don’t, like everywhere).

Everyone but brainwashed communists would agree that the Chinese government should respect people’s freedom of religion, including in Tibet, but the Tibetans themselves should put an end to their own mixing up of religious belief and state matters.

The worse offenders, in terms of how many people are suffering from their devious ways, usually hail from some “hardcore” Islamic groups (noting that “fundamentalists” from all religions, from Jewish to Christian, are equally dangerous in their own ways).

While there  are obviously many many very nice and peaceful Muslim people,  there are also some very nasty ones, trying to impose their distorted – and “man made” – beliefs, sometimes using the charade of “Shariah” (which should itself be banned, as it mixes up religion with matters than have nothing to do with religion, from government to banking etc.) on their fellow citizens.

As spotted by a friend on the web this week-end (source not mentioned), below is one of many examples of the stupidity – and double standards – of these guys.

Saudi moral committee threatens to cover “tempting” women’s eyes

Women with sexy eyes in Saudi Arabia may be forced to cover them up, according to the spokesperson of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) in the conservative Gulf kingdom.

Spokesman of the Ha’eal district, Sheikh Motlab al-Nabet said the committee has the right to stop a women whose eyes seem “tempting” and order her to cover them immediately.

Saudi women are already forced to wear a loose black dress and to cover their hair and in some areas, their face, while in public or face fines or sometimes worse, including public lashings.

The announcement came days after the Saudi newspaper al-Watan reported that a Saudi man was admitted to a hospital after a fight with a member of the committee when he ordered his wife to cover her eyes. The husband was then stabbed twice in the hand.

The CPVPV is Saudi’s Sharia, Islamic law, executive arm and was founded in 1940 to ensure Islamic laws are not broken in public, yet over the years, the committee has been largely criticized over its human rights violations.

In 2002, the committee refused to let female students out of their burning schools in Mecca for “not wearing the proper head cover,” which contributed to a large number of dead.

15 young girls died in the fire and dozens more were injured. The CPVPV men banned the firemen and policemen from accessing the girls as “it is not okay for girls to be seen without their full Islamic dress in front of strangers.”

The committee, which only accepts and trains volunteers, has questionable powers on the Saudi street, as they operate under the supervision of the King himself.

A Wikileaks document released last year mentioned that “wild Western-style parties” are regularly held at royal palaces in Jeddah, away from the reach of the committee, who stands helpless against any royal violations.

It was reported that the parties had alcohol, drugs, dancing and sex, according to American consulate wires published by the whistle-blower organization.

China’s Chen Guangcheng: Isolated but not forgotten (via BBC News)

China’s Chen Guangcheng: Isolated but not forgotten

By Michael Bristow, BBC News, Shandong Province

The BBC’s Michael Bristow was stopped by the authorities when he tried to meet Chen Guangcheng. The three men acted swiftly and efficiently – they had a job to do. They yanked open the car door, barked a few orders and then snatched equipment from out of our hands: cameras, mobile phones and recording devices. We were told to stay put while one man radioed for help.

This was the scene at the entrance to the village of Dongshigu in China’s Shandong Province, where a self-taught legal activist has been virtually imprisoned in his own home.

Chen Guangcheng, 陈光诚, 40y old, blind since childhood, is watched by plainclothes security officers, who appear to be acting outside the law – but with the authorities’ approval. Activists have been trying to visit him for months; many say they are beaten up for their efforts. The BBC saw the kind of men they say they come up against.

Mr Chen made his name by helping women who said they had been forced to have abortions or undergo sterilization. He helped expose the harsher side of China’s family planning policies.

“Chen Guangcheng should have the full range of freedoms – the freedom to move around, the freedom to speak out and the freedom to meet friends.”

His activism eventually landed him in jail. The 39-year-old was sentenced to more than four years in 2006 for disrupting traffic and damaging property. He denied the allegations, with many believing the charges were brought simply to silence him.

The activist was released last year, but, along with his wife and daughter, has spent much of the time since confined to his home. Although he is isolated from the world, unable to leave a village surrounded by orchards and hills, Mr Chen has not been forgotten.

A steady trickle of activists has been making its way to his home, near the booming city of Linyi, for the past several months. But few get through the security cordon. A group of 37 tried to visit at the end of October and were attacked by about 100 unidentified individuals, according to the New York-based organisation Human Rights in China.

One of those who went along was Liu Li, a 49-year-old who has been living in Beijing for the last six months, pursuing his own personal grievance against the government. Liu Li was beaten up when he tried to visit Chen Guangcheng. He is still on crutches, the result of being beaten up outside Mr Chen’s village, he said. But he does not regret trying to visit him. “Chen Guangcheng represents all that’s wrong and unfair when it comes to human rights in China. He lost his freedom – so we want to visit him to show our support,” he said.

Others have shown their dissatisfaction with the legal activist’s treatment by posting photographs on the internet showing themselves wearing dark glasses similar to ones worn by Mr Chen. The case has also attracted international attention. Gary Locke, the US ambassador in China, recently wrote to the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, to ask about Mr Chen.

Rule of law? When the BBC visited, it was clear the men who stopped us were well drilled and organized – although it was impossible to say who had hired them. There appeared to be a chain of command: one man took some money from our car and put it into his pocket, before someone else told him to put it back. The men wore plain clothes, showed no identification and refused to answer questions about who they were. They did not ask before taking what they wanted. After searching our equipment they gave it back and then told us to leave the village.

Jerome Cohen, an authority on China’s legal system, said: “The leaders of China are very smart guys and they are very knowledgeable about the full scope of unrest and dissatisfaction.” Mr Cohen, a professor at New York University School of Law, said officials used repression because they feared that dissatisfaction, fanned by people like Mr Chen, could undermine their rule.

China likes to say it is a country ruled by laws; government spokespeople regularly repeat this mantra in answer to questions about the treatment of activists and dissidents.

A very zen Oktoberfest :)

Sunday morning in October. No air conditioning, no heating, fresh air and birds chirping outside. What more can you ask? Ah, yes, breakfast coming soon