This is in regards to the article “The Wahabbi Women Problem”. I would like to address two points in Ms. Applebaum’s story:

The author wrote the following:


“Recently, journalist Mona Eltahawy argued that while oil is a factor, the real reason Saudi teams aren't kicked out of the Olympics is that "Saudis have succeeded in pulling a fast one on the world by claiming their religion is the reason they treat women so badly." Islam, she points out, does take other forms—in Turkey, Morocco, Indonesia, and elsewhere. But Saudi propaganda, plus our own timidity about foreign customs, has blinded us to the fact that the systematic, wholesale Saudi oppression of women isn't dictated by religion at all, but rather by the culture of the Saudi ruling class.”

My response:

The “timidity” argument was made popular by Christopher Hitchens, who often argues that the “multi-culty” worldview of progressives is tantamount to defending disgraceful cultural customs, such as Saudi Arabia’s policy on women, or genital mutilation, or “Islamofacism”.

But I think it is a very disingenuous charge to accuse progressives of tolerating such practices. If anyone is “timid” about offending Saudi Arabia it’s the business class that invests billions of dollars in the country, especially now as the Gulf region is experiencing a boom.

To blame “the rest of us” (Ameircna people who aren’t investing in, say, the nascent Saudi insurance industry or its long-standing energy sector) is just another way of ignoring the fact that it is in the interest of the thousands of large companies in the United States and Europe to have beneficial relations with Saudi Arabia regardless of its treatment of women, guest workers, or even its own liberal reformers. Companies from North America and Europe are more than happy to joint venture with Saudi companies that have discriminatory hiring practices, segregated workplaces, very low glass ceilings and ill treatment of guest workers. I find it disgraceful that Ms. Applebaum is willing to echo Hitchens’ argument (by citing Ms. Eltahawy’s plagiarization of this argument) without even paying lip service to the “timidity” of American (and European) business interests in the Gulf.

Kicking Saudi Arabia out of the Olympics might be an insult to Saudi Arabia, but an embargo on business ties would send a strong message. Too bad the business class in America is too timid to do that.

Wasn’t Saudi Arabia just admitted to the WTO?

Whose fault was that?

Timid, multy-culty American liberals, or just those evil, tolerant Americans in general?

My second point, which I forgot to add:

The Saudi ruling class is culpable for a lot of things, but in relation to the women's issue they more or less represent the reformer in this regard. (After all rich princes go to the US and Europe and see successful societies functioning with general equality between sexes.)

The people most responsible for the barbaric treatment of women in Saudi Arabia are the religious nutters that hold Saudi society hostage with their self-righteous crusades.

Many in the West do not understand that Saudi Arabia has a huge social rift that often divides families, not just communities. A little empathy to this is necessary toward understanding the culture.

This is not the same thing as timidity. Empathy and forcing change through intentional pressure are not mutually exclusive strategies, but in fact can work together to great effect for the benefit of women in the Kingdom.

Once again, why don't you clean your own house first?

Then, why don't you march down to your next door neighbor Mexico and help them clean house. Mexico has terrible problems dealing with women now but this is ignored by American media because its not as sensational and it doesn't justify your cultural imperialism which justifies your bigotry and violent greed.

Usama2 - I kind of agree with you about cultural imperialism to some degree, but not enough to agree with your disingenuous reply.

Women in Mexico and the USA aren't lashed with bamboo reeds after reporting that they have been gang raped. (Lashed over some stupid interpretation of khulwa by self-righteous false prophets.) Women in Mexico and the USA aren't forcefully divorced by stupid half brothers based on stupid barbaric tribal precedents. Women in Mexico and the USA aren't forced by their own families to cover up sex crimes.

And Saudi Arabia is the ONLY Muslim country in the world that has a ban on women driving and the only Muslim country that makes mingling illegal in th eyes of the law.

So if the Muslim countries are too corrupt to stand up to Saudi Arabia's defamation of Islam, then leave it to "the evil West" to stand up for women's secular rights.

Your argument has more holes in it than the Quran itself.

PS: I've been living in Saudi Arabia for the past two years -- outside of a "Western compound" at that!

Well, since you are living in Saudia Arabia, as a Westerner working for a Saudi company perhaps, you may be aware that Saudi companies pay for for white American and European employees than Arab, Pakistani, Indian, Asian employees of equal or superior qualification.

The Saudi regime was brought to power by European imperialism- NOT ISLAM and NOT by Muslim popular support. The SAUDIS are a BRITISH creation.

Do you doubt that?

Saudia is NOT representative of Islam.

Do you doubt that?

The Prophet Muhammad said: whomever calls for nationalism is not from among us, whomever fights for nationalism is not from among us, and whomever dies for nationalism is not from among us. The word used for 'nationalism' is interchangeable with tribalism. So how could there be a Saudi nationalist state? Or any nationalist state in the Muslim world?

That command alone destroys the credibility of all the regimes of the Muslim world and thus, they rely on oppression and brutality to retain control, to retain the divisions of the Muslim world, and to retain control of their resources for their personal profit.

Here's another powerful command of the Prophet: all energy resources belong to the public.

These 2 commanding principles would reshape the entire Muslim world. All the state would be one, and all the energy resources would be used for all the people equally, not just for the elite tribal elders. Think about it.

You want to talk about women driving cars, I;m talking reshaping the entire world.