Something is Cooking
I can smell something cooking, something… how should I put it?… right now, we’ve got the media highlighting the Tiger Woods adultery, to cover up sending more American troops to Afghanistan… They’ve always done that with Michael Jackson, but now I guess they wanted another white-black man to take his place.
But the cooking I smell is closer to home. Just a few days ago the head of the hay’a in Makkah comes out saying gender segregation is not Islamic.. I think he has read my post about that 
Seriously, this is something other non-Saudi Islamic clerics have been saying for ages… I’ve read the Arabic article, and it even says shaking hands and riding behind an unrelated male on a horse or a camel (I assume a motorcycle also), or with an unrelated male in a car is not forbidden… And unrelated women can cut men’s hair…
This issue, at least for me, should be filed under things that make you go hmmm! For years the establishment has done what it’s done, and I am not going to go through any well known lists and stories. The arguments are based on the same exact references that they once used to force segregation… And those were the same conclusions of other Islamic thinkers and clerics out of Saudi (of course they were ridiculed in various ways)… Hence, this is why the Islam practiced in Saudi is/was called a “strict wahabbi interpretation” of Islam. I am sure this is in one way or another a ploy to get people talking about this amongst themselves so whatever needs to be taken care of can be taken care of in a discrete way…
Nothing gets people talking more than X 
be it practicing, getting some, preventing other, increasing this… etc
One day, you will say, that I told you so
It could be about the BS projects in Jeddah, it could be more… This poor blogger has a keen sense of smell, but his vision… Is so-so
A good Arabic article was written by Susan AlMashadi, a Saudi writer, asking the question “What’s going to happen after this statement?” since the Hay’a has been arresting people based on what the current chief of the Hay’a is saying is all good! What about all the lives that were ruined, the reputations that have been tarnished, the defamations of character.. etc.
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Dec 14, 2009 @ 09:08:44
The debat would go on, with arguments and counterarguments (by religious scholars) for a long while, before the matter is settled, my dear Qusay
Dec 15, 2009 @ 04:03:41
It was never settled before, and never will be my dear Saud, thanks for the comment
Dec 14, 2009 @ 19:14:14
Interesting to conceptualize what should have been a good thing eg de-segregation (of the gender sort) or partial de-segregation as a coverup for other problems. On the other hand, it is probably the perfect coverup: sex and positive, or leading people to think there will be positive change. (all coverup/hijab jokes intended).
Thanks for the link that led to the link to the transcript of the Tiger Woods/Grubbs chats. Sex, lies, and stereotypes. Blasians indeed! LOL
Dec 15, 2009 @ 04:04:58
Thanks for your comment Chiara… we will see how this ends up… or not
Dec 14, 2009 @ 21:31:37
I regret to inform you that Dr. Ahmed ALGhamdi was removed from his post by the head of his organization and moved to a trivial job effective today. The head of Haya’a in Taif was brought in to Makkah as a replacement. What does that tell us about the inner working of the Haya’a???
You tell me!
Dec 15, 2009 @ 04:07:19
Yes, I thought that might happen, going against the grain of the corporation lead to demotions and firings… but the wheels were set in motion like that of Ayedh AlGarni when he said covering the face is not required, and then retracted his statement…. thanks for delivering the breaking news
Dec 15, 2009 @ 03:34:02
Oh that is terrible–not unexpected but terrible!
Dec 16, 2009 @ 21:45:11
The mixing between the two sexes is something as natural as breathing, but within limits as Sheikh al-Gazali used to say and as Mistafa Hosni says…The problem is that both sides; the ones who are against it and the ones who are with it are not really abiding by the rules that (all) humans should follow…in my opinion, the views about this issue will always be polarized….
People who beleive in segregation are acting against human nature and if you look into their personal lives, you will find so many drawbacks due to their lack of understanding the nature of the opposite sex…
On the other hand, people who are with mixing are acting without any sense of morals…Though I beleive mixing between men and women is natural, yet I don’t see that it’s men’s right to stare at women or look at them as sex objects…. in a mixed society, a woman is judged based on her looks; not her talents or intelligence…a man gives himself the right to praise or scrutinize a woman’s body, which is demeaning for any woman…
women also tend to use the freedom given to them in order to catch husbands or worse..in order to cathc other women’s husbands…
Both sides lack principles in dealing with the opposite sex and in perceiving the other sex…
Thanks Qusay and mabrook on your new blog..
Dec 17, 2009 @ 00:46:12
I’m glad the link worked for you this time
“the views about this issue will always be polarized” yes they will, when only the staunch supporters of segregation and those on the opposite side get to voice their opinions and give it an either/or mentality.
Since media providers want ratings, only extremist (from both sides) get on air/papers and stir the crowd… any boring person from the middle will go unnoticed, therefore.. never get their 15 minutes of fame
“I don’t see that it’s men’s right to stare at women or look at them as sex objects…. in a mixed society, a woman is judged based on her looks”
She is also judged on her looks or what she wears on a segregated society, a woman with gloves and an abaya over her head is deemed pious by most… and women and men are based on their looks, studies show that better looking people make more money on the long run.
Yes, some women are looked at as objects in mixed and non mixed societies, yet in many mixed cultures they also have the opportunity to do many other things that are not even imagined by most girls growing up in ours.
I support free will, and respect for all, judging is not up to anyone of us
Thanks Maha for sharing your views
Dec 17, 2009 @ 02:41:37
Agreed! (see I can be brief!)
Dec 18, 2009 @ 15:55:53
Since media providers want ratings, only extremist (from both sides) get on air/papers and stir the crowd… any boring person from the middle will go unnoticed, therefore.. never get their 15 minutes of fame
does this mean that we should allow the media to control our lives just because extreme view help it make more money?
And od you think that reaching moderation in life is an easy task? I think as Musilms our life is a constant struggle to reach moderation and balance, and once we reach this phase, I beleive we become more rounded human beings; not boring…boring people are the ones who are opinionated and who block their minds from listening to other (moderate) views.
Women are mistreated in most society..and this mistreatment has different forms … As far as what some educated Saudi men have confined to me, they are calling for a mixed or coed setting basically to “enjoy” seeing women around them all the time instead of the “dry” all-male environment they are working in…
having just some men thinking this way about mixing makes me say “NO” sorry …I will never allow any patriarchal chauvinist man look at me as a “pleasure” …
You see a coed society must be coed mentally; not just physically…when men learn to respect women and call for mixing (for the right reasons), I will surly welcome mixing with men who look at me as a human being, not as a sex tool….and now..this is not happening in our coed communities in Saudi Arabia because it is done for the wrong reasons…for pleasing men …some men’s lustful nature to be specific… just as segregation is done for pleasing men’s controling nature…
Having such mentalities, we will be in the same vicious circle even if all Saudi Arabia becomes mixed….
Regaridng appearence, i agree it is very important (in the first 5 minutes only)….but hiring a woman just because she is attractive and sexy is not fair at all..and it is happening in many places around the world and statistics prove it….It’s a man’s world under the cover of freedom…i am not saying this happening (every) where…but it is happening in many places all over the world…women are bing used by men and enforced to be slaves in a different sense than their grand grand mothers….
Very recently, in the West, women started to emancipate themsleves from male domination at the workplace and at homes…but how much time did this take? For how many years women suffered to gain their full independence in a coed society? for so long i guess…
As Saudis, if we are to call for mixing between men and women (and we should), we have to study the history of other nations and we have to spread awareness among women and men on how t o deal with each other with respect…
We have to call for a healthy natural mixed society for the RIGHT reasons; not because a bunch of men are bored without women…(and beleive me they are a lot and they hold very high positions in this country)..don’t ask me how i knew them
Dec 21, 2009 @ 12:46:27
Thanks Maha for your insightful comment, I appreciate you sharing it… but, I have to add this to it, no matter what system there is, people will find a way to take advantage of it, take polygamy for example, we all know why it is justified in Islam, but how many muslims that practice polygamy really adhere to those guidelines? and not to the whims of men who think it is their god’s given right to spice up their life’s…
I see where you are coming from, and I know what you mean and the so called alpha males that think that they can have all they want in life and everyone on earth is there to serve them.
Thanks again.
Dec 17, 2009 @ 03:02:05
Maha–I do think you raised good points, but did in fact polarize the 2 settings, perhaps as a rhetorical device. As someone who has been raised in coed settings, including spending a huge amount of time in coed swimming pools, and coed lifeguard training classes, as well as standard coed academics, I can assure that all is not objectification and preoccupation with appearances, lasciviousness, and husband hunting.
All people are judged on their appearance, especially within the first minute of meeting, as studies have shown, and career counselors remind interviewees. Then intelligence, talent, and other personal attributes come into play for all, ie both men and women. While some are unduly preoccupied, either with sex or partner hunting, most are far more balanced and appropriate in their attitudes, behaviours, and choice of setting in which to do this. People who behave outside societal norms are dealt with accordingly, either by reproval, isolation, or legal means where their transgressions are too great.
Based on my own travels, and experiences of living abroad, and that of others, including MENA nationals visiting or studying in North America, North Americans, who live probably the most coed lives (probably above many European countries where there are more gender segregated schools), look the least, ie the men do the least ogling, following, etc.
For someone from a coed society, gender de-segregation can seem like much ado about nothing, or much cataclysmic prophesy about normalcy. It isn’t of course where a high degree of segregation is the norm, because it represents a fundamental change, and there is a strong current of resistance to it. Still, according to the testimony of older Saudis and expats, the history books, and photos, 30-40 years ago Saudi was far less segregated than it is today, so I remain confident that Saudis could handle a more coed lifestyle again, if given the opportunity.
Thanks for your thought provoking comment!
PS. I said I COULD be brief, I didn’t say I WOULD. LOL
Dec 19, 2009 @ 05:22:23
Maha–I read your response to Qusay with interest. It elicited further thoughts.
It still doesn’t seem to me that hard to make gradual moves towards less segregation in Saudi. Rather than using the example of the West, it would be easier to use the example of other Arab Muslim countries, all of which are less segregated and offer more legal rights to women, and seem to have higher percentages of working and professional women, than Saudi does. Also one doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel, but invoke Saudi customs prior to the crackdown in the 70′s and borrow the best from contemporary others without repeating their errors (eg fast unpopular change).
The Saudis I have met in Canada were all able to adapt easily without being inappropriate in any way. If anything they are more respectful in a professional setting. Many are on scholarship, and will return home. Presumably they would behave appropriately at home as well, even if there were less segregation. I also find it hard to believe that there would be mass pandemonium. Just because men want a female presence at work doesn’t mean they would be inappropriate about it, especially as it becomes the norm. The problem is usually at the beginning when there are few women and a large number of men resentful of the workplace competition.
As to the sexual objectification of women in the workplace, that is highly exaggerated. There is the occasional bimbo hiring but that is rare, and more likely to happen in a small business setting than an institution, although attractiveness in men and women does count (taller men are statistically promoted faster by other men). There are also instances of sexual harassment and sleeping one’s way to the top, but they are also a minority. Men are also promoted because a woman finds them attractive sexually, but again it is rare, and none of this is an excuse for not having both genders in the workplace. “Stuff” happens in same gender work settings as well.
Hmmm, I think I will stop before my comment becomes…not PG rated! LOL
Dec 19, 2009 @ 20:45:54
Do you really think the media focused on Tiger Woods because they were trying to hide the troop surge in Afghanistan? Really? Hmmm
Dec 21, 2009 @ 12:37:24
I also believe in the bogeyman
Dec 22, 2009 @ 19:54:49
Ha! Just wondering since my thoughts are that my people tend to like celeb news WAY more than they like political stuff – you know, stuff with real substance.
Iraq, Afghanistan — *yawn* Celeb news — they eat that stuff up. Why do you think there are so many magazines that talk about celebrities? There is a market for it – a huge one!
Dec 24, 2009 @ 16:10:24
As-salamu-alaikum,
Sh. Qardawi also approves of suicide bombings, so are we going to follow his opinion on this or only follow when it suits our nafs.