Saudi Arabia Sent 1,200 Death Row Inmates To Fight In Syria

A leaked internal memo shows how Saudi officials commuted 1,200 death row inmates under the condition they go and fight against Assad in Syria, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.

 From the memo:

We have reached an agreement with them that they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones, who will be prevented from traveling outside Saudi Arabia in return for rehabilitation of the accused and their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria.

Saudi officials apparently gave them a choice: decapitation or jihad? In total, inmates from Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Kuwait chose to go and fight in Syria.

The news agency AINA also reported that an unnamed Iraqi official said Russia objected to the Saudi's decision to release the prisoners. Russia has several military contracts with Bashar al Assad and has

The Rivalry Between Saudi Arabia And Iran In The Middle East

While there are both material conditions and political causes of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there are also ideational conditions and religious causes, which give this rivalry its own peculiar character stemming from the mentalities and religious identities of the parties.

The Middle East is a region where any political movement appears as rivalry, a place where no one is without a rival, and where there are those who cannot be without a rival. There are two forms of competition: competition against one or more people, like chess, or competition with one or more people over something, like the 100 meters hurdle race. Competition in the Middle East is generally of the second form, and the two states which the struggle for influence in the Middle East has had them confront each other are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

However, the American invasion of Iraq and the developments in Iraq afterwards, finally the Arab Spring, and especially the Saudi-led military intervention in Bahrain, accompanied by the current and probable winds of change, have intensified this rivalry. The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East is a regional struggle for influence, in which both sides have refrained from open hostility, and have aimed at steering the course of events, shaping developments, and influencing decisions in the region according to their political preferences and interests. Certainly, it is not the only struggle for influence in the region, and besides these two states, there are intra-regional and extra-regional, intra-state and non-state, direct and indirect, resolute and irresolute, and in-line and in-limbo parties of the rivalry.Relatively good relations between the two states turned into an effective rivalry during the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988, following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when Saudi Arabia extended diplomatic and financial assistance to the Iraqi authority during the war. After 1989, due to the policies pursued by both the Rafsanjani and Khatami governments in Iran, there appeared a détente in bilateral relations. For example, in 1999, Khatami became the first Iranian president to visit Saudi Arabia.

While there are both material conditions and political causes of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there are also ideational conditions and religious causes, which give this rivalry its own peculiar character stemming from the worldviews and religious identities of the parties. The metaphysics of rivalry is as important as the physics of rivalry, and the most important variable determining the metaphysics of rivalry is the self-identifications of the parties. While the prevailing form of self-identification in Iran stresses that Iran is a non-Sunni and non-Arab country, one of the ‘others’ of Salafism as the prevailing worldview in Saudi Arabia is Shi’ism. This situation gives both sides the means to mobilize material and non-material resources more, to provide legitimacy more easily for their policies, to make the basis of their support more widespread, and to broaden the sphere of their policies. In particular, for Iran, Shi’a politics is an indispensible part of its struggle for regional influence and its rivalry with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi criticises world reaction to maid's beheading

Saudi Arabia on Sunday criticised world reaction to its beheading a Sri Lankan maid convicted of killing her employer's baby, the official SPA news agency reported.
Riyadh "deplores the statements made... over the execution of a Sri Lankan maid who had plotted and killed an infant by suffocating him to death, one week after she arrived in the kingdom," the government spokesman said.
Rizana Nafeek was beheaded on Wednesday in a case that sparked widespread international condemnation, including from rights groups which said she was just 17 when she was charged with murdering the baby in 2005.
Nafeek was found guilty of smothering the infant after an argument with the child's mother.
The case soured diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka which on Thursday recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia in protest.
The government spokesman condemned what he called "wrong information on the case," and denied that the maid was a minor when she committed the crime.
"As per her passport, she was 21 years old when she committed the crime," he said, adding that "the kingdom does not allow minors to be brought as workers."
He said the authorities had tried hard to convince the baby's family to accept "blood money," but they rejected any amnesty and insisted that the maid be executed.

Saudi king allows women on top advisory council

King Abdullah grants 30 seats on 150-member parliamentary Shura council in move welcomed by rights advocates

The Saudi king has granted women seats on the country's top advisory council for first time. The move heralds a much anticipated step for women to get a foothold in a country where men dominate the political system and ultraconservative Islamic law tightly controls female daily life.

The appointments come against the backdrop of heavy restrictions on women who are not allowed to travel, work, study abroad, marry, get divorced or gain admittance to a public hospital, without permission from a male guardian. Recently, airport authorities were instructed to send text messages to the phones of male guardians – husbands, fathers or brothers – with information about the movements of their wives, daughters or sisters.

"The decision is good but women issues are still hanging," said Wajeha al-Hawaidar, a prominent Saudi female activist. "There are so many laws and measures that must be suspended or amended for normal women to be dealt with as grownups and adults, without a mandate from guardians."

But she said that having female members of the council could help to change women's image in society.

"Men can finally respect women when they see them playing a male role," she said.

The nation's official news agency said that King Abdullah issued two royal decrees granting women 30 seats on the Shura council, which has 150 members plus a president. The council reviews laws and questions ministers, but doesn't have legislative powers. All members are appointed by the king and serve four-year terms.

Since 2006, women have been appointed as advisers only.

The decree comes in response to rights advocates' demands to give a voice to women, many of whom have been challenging the country's religious establishment, which adheres to Wahhabism, one of the strictest interpretations of Shariah law in Islam.

Snow Hits Saudi Arabia Region

Residents of this northwestern region went picnicking yesterday in scenic mountains and other spots that were covered in a sheet of white as Tabuk received its annual snowfall since Tuesday.
Visitors from outside the region as well as locals were enjoying the rare snowfall. Roads, especially those leading to Mount Allouz, were thronged with cars.

While security, traffic and health authorities were present in different locations to organize traffic and provide necessary services, Tabuk’s traffic director, Brig. Muhammad bin Ali Al-Najjar, cautioned picnikers against driving up the steep, slippery mountain roads. He also called on drivers to abide by speed limits and communicate with the authorities for assistance or information.

Traffic patrols are present on these roads to organize traffic and provide assistance to those who need it, he said.

The Civil Defense spokesman in Tabuk, Brig. Mamdouh Al-Enizi, advised residents to avoid valleys and stay away from flood courses, and not to climb high, snow-covered places.

The Health Affairs Department in Tabuk has deployed fully equipped ambulance teams in these areas.

Roads leading to the desert and mountainous areas in Tabuk were congested with cars coming from the city and the towns of Haql and Bada. Rain fell in several of the region’s towns yesterday.