Teach Them How to Love their Country

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
By Sabria S Jawhar

THE Ministry of Interior's efforts to combat terrorists have been recognized locally and internationally. These efforts are not limited to the military level where they recently proved they have the required capability to foil attempts to target the country's economic and security establishments. As for those few cases in which the terrorists could strike, the ministry's men managed to reach the culprits and bring them to justice.

At the intellectual level, the ministry has established a 130- member Guidance Committee to hold dialogues with what the Saudi government refers to as "deviant groups" so as to try to change their minds and lead them back to the right path.
The Guidance Committee consists of Islamic scholars, preachers and academics, who team up and work according to a preset program to rehabilitate detained suspects or convicts affected by the deviant group's ideology.

The committee claims to have accomplished a great victory by bringing back to the right path almost as many as 700 detainees who had wrong beliefs or destructive ideas.

The committee is divided into three subcommittees handling security, scientific and psychological affairs. Their work includes lecturing detainees on religious issues that they have doubts about or which are misinterpreted. Those lectures last for five weeks. Then they are tested and, if they pass, are given certificates. The detainees are also involved in one-to-one dialogues with qualified preachers who clear any confusion concerning religious issues. A team of psychologists and sociologists also talk to them and study their social and economic background.

These tremendous efforts should be applauded. However the question remains: are these enough to combat and uproot terrorism?

Saudi society is religious by nature. They listen to Imams at mosques and follow their advice. This fact had pushed the Saudi government to inspect the attitude of several Imams in mosques, in 2003, send about 1,000 Imams for retraining programs to promote religious moderation and repudiate violence.

But, unfortunately, we still hear from time to time, some Imams using violent language in preaching to youth, which brings us back to the same cycle and raises question: where does violence come from?

We rarely hear an Imam in his Friday sermon or at any other ceremony talk about the importance of loving one's country and protecting its property as a religious duty. Sometimes, it seems to me, they are very cautions and avoid talking about patriotism, as if there is a contradiction between patriotism and religion.

I believe that guidance and advice should relate patriotism to religion. The new generation has to learn how to love their own country and to consider that as part of being a Muslim. Youngsters have to know that having national pride or strong patriotism is not against Islam. On the contrary, it is the core of Islam. Imams in mosques should highlight this and appeal to the citizens' religious sentiments when they tackle terrorism or any other security issues.

They have to stop using that timid language of theirs when condemning terrorist acts as if they are doing it out of duty and not conviction.

Education should involve more with love of the country. Educators have to know that instilling patriotism is a practice, not a book for study and test.

We have to realize that we've already lost some of our kids by overlooking the importance of loving one's own land. They became victims of foreign ideology that made them forsake their own country as a strategy for fighting infidels. What mentality is this that believes targeting and destroying one's own country's economy is a holy war? If those people were taught in advance that Jihad is not being waged in their own country, that it is governed by very strict regulations and that it should be declared by their country's ruler, would they have done what they did to their country in the name of Jihad?

Watching the Saudi television interview with those arrested for the terrorist plot to attack oil facilities in the Kingdom, clearly reflects the importance of enhancing the patriotism in the souls of those kids. One of the terrorist-cell member's excuse of "uncontrolled jealousy" as the reason behind the plot or its possible consequence, is what we have to stop and think about. What jealousy are they talking about? And was it for the good of the country?

Simply, we have to teach them how to love and how to express it. Love is not a crime or a shame that we have to hide. Love for the country starts from home, mosque and schools.

Have we shown enough love at these places? Did we offer our kids a role model of how to love?

Tips for a Good Summer Vacation

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
By Sabria S Jawhar

DO you feel like gritting your teeth and clenching your fists? Do you have a desire to raise your voice and yell? When you talk to an official anywhere do you have thoughts like "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Don't worry, it's only typical of the advent of summer. However, don't let anger get the better of you otherwise you might land in trouble or end up spending your summer vacation in jail instead of a lovely resort in the Kingdom or abroad.
Also, keep in mind that during summer people are more inclined to become angry and short-tempered than at any other time of the year, except Ramadan in Saudi Arabia

For those who don't know how to control their temper in summer, I recommend the following;

If you are a visitor to Saudi Arabia, avoid going out in the middle of a summer day. If your car, God forbid, is hit by another one, make sure not to stop and claim money for repairs unless you're sure the other driver is not Saudi, otherwise the damage will be double as you will lose your car and most probably one of your eyes. Moreover, you won't get back your claim. Saudis are always right.
If you're hungry, go for any other restaurant food but Haneedh, Mandi or Madhbi (Saudi traditional dishes), or you'll waste your time in a very long queue and end up quitting to make do with fried chicken from a Bukhari restaurant in a side street, because Saudis have the priority - not because they pay more but simply because the expatriate workers at restaurants have become smarter and know now, more than any other time, whom to serve first. After all, no one wants to lose his teeth or eyes over such a trifle matter.
If you are attending a seminar in Japan, make sure you go with a cool driver who doesn't smoke cigarette. Otherwise he will piss off the consulate's bored guard who might harass, push or slap him on the face. Also make sure that you know where you will be staying even if you are the guest of the ministry of foreign affairs of Japan or the United Nations. Officials there are very straightforward and believe in nothing that is not Japanese.
If you are going to China, happy you - people at the consulate are so friendly they tell you even how to get a cheaper price for the visa, "The earlier you apply, the less you pay." If you don't know how to fill in the application, don't worry, you'll always find someone to help you only for 10 riyals per person.
If you are going to Australia, apply and pay the money for the visa in the Kingdom but be informed that you are expected to pay for the express mail to send your passport to Dubai. Officials at the Australian embassy in Riyadh seem to be not entitled to issue visas. Don't worry about the legality of sending your passport outside the borders without a courier to carry it; the beautiful Australia is worth violating the Saudi passport's law.

If you are traveling by Saudia Airlines, make sure that you have a tranquilizer. Zanax is highly recommended. It keeps your temper down in front of the already edgy official. Also don't forget to take a blanket and pillow for the kids as well as for yourself: your flight might be delayed a whole day. Compensation is a wild dream.

Finally, if you have a tragic or funny experience with a foreign consulate or embassy, please share it with us. From my side, I wish all those courageous and cool people who bear the humiliating treatment at most of the western embassies and consulates a safe and enjoyable trip.

I also wish a happy stay for those who have chosen to stand the hot Saudi weather and temper. As for me, I haven't decided what to do with my vacation yet. But till I do so, wish me a happy one and meet you in three weeks, Insha' Allah.