The ”holy cow” and redefining the custodianship of the

Holy lands –

By Dr. Nakvisson

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a history of oppression and inhumane treatment of its own people and guest pilgrims, indifference to the Muslims’ affairs, following the US policies and implementing Zionist plans, interference in the Muslim countries’ affairs, plundering of the people’s wealth and stealing of the Hajj revenue, lavish lifestyle of the Saudi monarchs while millions die of hunger and imposing of the ”literalist” Wahhabi ideology on everyone who visits the holy lands. All of this has led to the tipping point where the ”enlightened” Muslims, whether Sunni Muslims or Shia Muslims, are no more willing to take the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a ”holy cow”. Perhaps this is time to redefine the custodianship of Mecca and Medina.
The motivation behind this blog is video clip that has been circulating on the social media for the past few days. It is a clip of one of the episodes of George Galloway’s programme ”Comment” for Press TV. A Sunni Muslim called Galloway and expressed her frustrations about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Please watch the clip below:

The British-granted custodianship of the holy lands

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with imperialism, clanism and Arab nationalism rooted in its very name, has enjoyed the status of the ”custodian” of the holy lands since its inception when it emerged as a new country on the world map after the British instated the al-Saud clan in Hejaz. The readers are encouraged to read the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for further information. Since the time it was carved out as a new country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been treated as a ”holy cow” by many Muslims around the world – a ”holy cow” that is immune to criticism and exercises full authority to impose its Wahhabi brand of Islam in the holy sites that belong to Muslims with different ideologies and schools of thought from all over the world.

A history of oppression and insult

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a long history of suppression of its own people as well as the guest pilgrims who may deviate even a bit from the ”literalist” Wahhabi ideology. Whether it is Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Sufi Muslims or any other school of thought belonging to the mainstream Islam, they have no place in Saudi Arabia unless they stick to the strict Wahhabi practices or conceal their faith and practices. While Mecca and Medina and other holy sites in Saudi Arabia belong to the whole Muslim world, the ruling ideology there is Wahhabism, something not recognised or appreciated by majority of mainstream Muslims. Each year after the Hajj season, we get to hear numerous stories of Saudi oppression of the guest pilgrims… that how they were harassed, arrested, tortured and disgraced.. even inside the courtyards of the Masjid al-Nabi and Masjid al-Haraam, the most sacred places in Islam. The main accusation is usually ”worshipping the graves” (it is a serious crime to get closer to the grave of the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or the graves of his family. Moreover, one may not turn towards the grave of the holy Prophet to pay greetings in order to show respect.

The ”Hajj-revenue for Vanity” programmeThe stories of the vanity of Saudi monarchs have been being reported in the media for decades. Almost everyone with some level of awareness knows that the the ruling class in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an unjustifiably lavish lifestyle at the expense of not only the oil wealth but also the Hajj-revenue. If the Saudi regime were the true leader of the Muslims all over the world then not only the Hajj-money but also the oil wealth would have to be spent on the poor, hungry, uneducated and underdeveloped masses of Muslims around the world. As the oil money and the Hajj-revenue feed to the lavish and full of vanity lifestyle of the Saudi princes, princesses and other members of the clan, millions die of hunger and disease. But it seems that the ”Hajj-revenue for Vanity” programme that the Saudi monarchs have so successfully been running for decades with the help of the Wahhabi clergy class has now been exposed and understood by the mainstream Muslims around the world.

Not really a ”holy cow”

There are considerable numbers of ”enlightened” Muslims who would like to see the holy places in Mecca and Medina free of the odious Wahhabi ideology, the al-Saud clan and the oppressive Saudi Wahhabi clergymen and their foreigner followers humiliating and insulting the good-hearted, well-faithed mainstream Muslims who come all the way from their distant lands after having spent a fortune to pay homage to the holy Prophet and visit the house of God. Perhaps it is time to redefine the custodianship of the holy places. But such a change can only be realised if a considerable number of Muslims all over the world stop treating the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a ”holy cow” that is immune to criticism. However, the recent trends among the general Muslim populations around the world show that the ”holy cow” image of the Saudi monarchy is no longer valid, at least to those who are aware of the Saudi reality. The above video clip is a proof of that.

An ”idealistic” approach to redefining custodianship of the holy lands

The custodianship of the holy lands in Mecca and Medina can be taken from the hands of the al-Saud clan and their Wahhabi clergy class and instead a new custodianship can be defined. But this will require a world-wide campaign from Muslims belonging to every Islamic school of thought and every country and region in the world. This in itself is a rather ”idealistic” approach and may have a lot of ”show-stoppers”. But nevertheless a new custodianship can be defined on the basis of following guidelines:

• As a starting point, the al-Saud family may stay in power and control the whole country save Mecca and Medina.
• All the affairs of the holy places in Mecca and Medina shall be governed under the control and supervision of an international governing body similar to OIC consisting of representatives of all the Muslim countries (and Islamic schools of thought) and countries like India, Russia, USA and EU that have considerable Muslim populations.
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall have its members included in the international body to facilitate the organisation of the holy lands and may get some extra revenue for that.
• All the revenue, profit and expenditure related to the pilgrimage will be managed by the governing body.
• The governing body shall have a panel of ulema (clergymen) representing all the Islamic schools of thoughts and it will make sure that no specific ideology is imposed on any local or guest pilgrim.
• There shall be rotating president-ship of the governing body, just like the EU model, so that every country with Islam as the state religion can become its president for a specific period of time. The members of USA, EU, Russia, India etc may be accommodated in other positions like vice-president etc.
• All the congregational prayers in the holy sites shall be led by clergymen of different Islamic schools of thought on a weekly-rotating basis.
• The Saudi government will process the visa applications and collect all the revenue related to it. But the fees will be reduced to a reasonable level.
• The Saudi government will be paid for all the expenditures coming from its own budget.

The above guidelines, no matter how ”idealistic” they may sound, can give a hope to more than a billion Muslims around the world that one day the holy sites in Mecca and Medina may belong to all the Muslims and not only to a wicked monarchy relying on the support of the clergymen following the ”literalist” Wahhabi ideology. The purpose of the above guidelines is to spark a discussion and debate. One can only hope that some time in the future the holy lands of Mecca and Medina will become safe, welcoming, open and accommodating for every Saudi and non-Saudi Muslim.

Source : http://nakvisson.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-holy-cow-and-redefining.html


          Mecca & Medina for Muslims

Every year many Muslims are denied the right to go and visit Holy Makkah and Madinah on the grounds of visa restrictions imposed by Saudi rulers.
 

          Syed Neaz Ahmad takes a  look at the issue:

Since the days Prophet Abraham established the House of God inMecca it has been a free city. But only after King Abdulaziz Al-Saud captured the cities of Mecca & Medina from the Sharifs (the descendants of Prophet Mohammad) both the cities have turned into controlled areas where only “Saudi approved” persons can enter.

Mecca & Medina are cities that are very close to the heart of 1.5 billion Muslims of the world. Mecca is the direction for the fivetimes’ daily prayers. Many Muslims believe that Both Mecca & Medina should be open cities where ALL Muslims should be welcome. It’s the House of God and the control should not be in hands of the House of Saud.
An international body of Muslims drawn from over 50 counries should be put in place to run the affairs of these two Holy cities.

neazahmad is based in London, England, United Kingdom, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

Source: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11885658-mecca-makkah-medina-madinah-for-muslims?window_location=395

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Where are you Don Quixote?

Will the birth of a new nation in Africa lead to a fresh avalanche of ‘investment opportunities’ offers that don’t seem to cease coming from the strife-ridden regions of the continent?

Syed Neaz Ahmad takes a light-hearted look at this genre of fraud.

IF I were to believe the kind of e-mails I have received over the last few days it must be one of the most profitable weeks! They say if wishes had wings men (that includes women too) would fly. Two e-mails suggested—or offered—rich pickings.

A lady in Senegal desperate to invest $13.2 million in my company, and a national lotto rollover with a chance of scooping $16.2 million.

Not half bad I thought—this would ensure an early retirement and a cosy lifestyle in southern France. With all this money I could perhaps do some good work for the less fortunate people of the world—a hospital, a school, an orphanage, a hospice, the list was endless! However, you soon realise the lady is taking you for a rough ride!

‘Good Day. Syed Neaz Ahmad’, runs the letter, ‘I know this mail will come to you as a surprise. Nevertheless I am Mrs. Lydia Anatoljevitch, aged 59 years, the wife of Major Viktor Anatoljevitch, Chief Security Officer and aide-de-camp to the exiled president Charles Tailor of Liberia.

‘As a result of the on going problem in my country, I am saddled with problems of my ill-health of protracted diabetes and high blood pressure which is getting of increase in the recent times, more importantly getting a trustworthy individual abroad to receive the sum of US$13.2 million on our behalf which I intend to invest in your company.

‘Due to this crisis presently in Monrovia our hometown, I managed to sneak with my son David 23 years of age and four of my daughters out of Monrovia to Dakar, Senegal for safety. We were sneaked into Senegal through the land border by the help of some government militant group. After the killing of my husband by the rebels, we decided to come down to Dakar to secure this amount deposited here by my husband and to look for a trustworthy individual abroad to receive the deposit which was deposited here in Dakar Senegal before he was killed by the heartless rebels.

‘I feel confident therefore to introduce myself to you based on this problem and our present condition as all our foreign contacts and connections got lost during this crisis, all properties burnt by the rebels. I am desperately in need to move and re-locate this huge deposit to your country for safekeeping as this is the only wealth remaining for the future survival and well being of my large family. For your assistance, a negotiable percentage will be discussed as soon as I receive your response based on this plea for your assistance as our lives are in danger due to this problem. I pray and plead for your help. Please email me back for further clarifications over this issue.

‘God bless you as you respond to my plea for assistance. My phone [number deleted to protect the innocent] will be open for your call any time but if I am unavailable when you call, my son David will respond to you accordingly. Sincerely yours. Mrs. Lydia Anatoljevitch.’

God bless you Mrs Anatolijevitch—with a suggestion and name like that you must be a ‘lady and a scholar’. How sad I don’t own a company where you could invest your hard-earned $13.2 million. To tell you the ‘truth’ I was indeed foxed by the offer and thought for a moment that you wanted to spend your millions in my company!

I know mine is not the only e-mail address on the hit list of would-be investors keen to get their wealth out of their strife-ridden countries to safer shores. A media man who was in the region tells me that e-mail addresses are scooped up from hotel reservations, publishing houses and off the newspapers and magazines and sold to ‘prospective investors’.

A few years ago I had received an e-mail from someone trying to sell his plastic toy-gun factory located in the vicinity of Baghdad airport. The factory—it was claimed—was owned by Uday but since he had disappeared the manager was the de facto owner. To settle the outstanding debts and collect his accumulated salary he was hard pressed to sell. With several acres of land it was a bargain at $10,000.

The gentleman suggested the site could be used for anything like a 5-star hotel or a down-to-earth prison facility for the entertainment of US trainee prison officers. Not amused I ignored this offer of a lifetime! As Don Quixote says: Facts are the enemies of truth.

 

 

                                           

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Nationality Sans Religion

A recent report suggests that Britain's ethnc minorities from Asia, Africa and the West Indies feel they are more British than others living on this island!
However, contrary to the general assumption Muslims are the most likely of all groups to identify with the concept of "Britishness", the Institute for Social and Economic Research study found.
"The report's authors say the results rubbish suggestions that ethnic groups are unwilling or unable to integrate into the British society and show that fears over the negative impacts of immigration on cultural identity are considerably overstated."
"Understanding Society", report named as such "looked at the socio-economic circumstances of people living in 40,000 UK households. Occupants were asked a series of questions, including how important on a scale of one to 10, being British was to them."

Pakistanis were on the top with an average of 7.76 - despite common presumptions that they associate more strongly with their own national identity than to where they are living now.
Bangladeshi and Indian groups came second and third respectively, while the white population scored the lowest with an average of 6.58.

The study also found that identification with Britishness is higher among the children and grandchildren of migrants."
Source: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/(Institute for Social and Economic Research

Syed Neaz Ahmad is based in London, England, United Kingdom, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

 

   

Remembering Khaled Mosharraf

Posted in history by jrahman on November 7, 2010

In a recent piece about accountability, or lack thereof, of the ruling oligarchy in Bangladesh, Afsan Chowdhury notes four distinct groups of military men deciding Bangladesh’s fate in 1975.

The Faruk–Rashid group took over first in August to be dislodged by Khaled Musharraf for a few moments in November to be overtaken by Col. Taher overnight for a few hours and finally ending up with Zia in the morning for a few years after that.

Of these, the first lot are now almost unanimously reviled, while the last man has long been the most polarising figure in Bangladesh. The third in this list is, in my opinion, has done tremendous harm to post-Mujib Bangladesh — but he has his defenders, and he isn’t the focus of this post. This post is about the second person in the list: Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttam, who was killed in a putsch 35 years ago today.
It’s a sign of the political hypocrisy and intellectual bankruptcy of our public discourse that the current power dispensation and intellectual elite continues to shy away from holding a trial for the murderers of 6-7 November 1975.

Khaled Mosharraf was one of the three brigade commanders during the Liberation War. Of all the commanders of the Mukti Bahini, he most accurately assessed the psychological aspect of the war. He assessed correctly that Pakistanis would have won the war if the majority of Bangladeshis, particularly the urban educated classes, came to believe that the struggle for Bangladesh was lost. He also correctly assessed the importance of the media in the struggle.
Accordingly, he adopted a two-pronged, mutually reinforcing strategy.
Firstly, he raised a special guerrilla force comprised of the youth from Dhaka — students of the city’s major educational institutions, young professionals, and political activists of the city. This group included men like the current Dhaka mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, AL leader Mofazzal Chowdhury Maya, former editor of Bichitra Shahadat Chowdhury, actor Raisul Islam Assad, Jahanara Imam’ son Shaheed Rumi etc.
They carried out daring operations inside the occupied city. Bombs were exploded in the Intercontinental Hotel, USIS building, or DIT building. Pakistanis were engaged in firefight in Farm Gate or Dhanmondi. Power stations were blown up. And collaborators like Monem Khan were assassinated. These incidences not only struck terror at the heart of the Pakistani establishment, as the news was relayed throughout the country by the BBC or other foreign broadcasters, ordinary Bangladeshis knew that struggle was continuing.
And not just visible targets inside Dhaka, to hamper the Pakistani supply line, Khaled devised a plan to destroy bridges and culverts across the country. But he was aware that the infrastructure would have to be rebuilt in the newly liberated country. So he asked engineers (both inside the occupied country as well among his men) to identify the structural weaknesses in each bridge such that maximum damage could be done with minimum future repair needs.
Meanwhile, to facilitate the guerrilla operations, Khaled’s forces engaged the Pakistanis in a series of set piece battles across the Sylhet-Comilla-Noakhali-Tripura border. These battles drew out the Pakistani forces, and stretched their supply lines, which made it difficult for them to conduct counterinsurgency measures inside the country. And sometimes, Pakistanis were defeated in these battles. The Battle of Kasba is particularly notable as an epic battle of 1971. Khaled was hit with a shrapnel in his forehead in the battle, but the victory was Mukti Bahini’s.
Khaled was successful on both counts. The full ramifications of the overstretched Pakistani supply line became clear in December, when the Indian army joined the fray and marched on to Dhaka within two weeks. And the guerrilla actions in Dhaka gave Khaled, and his deputy ATM Hyder, legendary status.
Khaled Mosharraf was often described as an ‘intellectual’. He was trained in special operations in the west. And he was well read in the theory and practice of insurgency. In the Liberation War Museum, one can see how he read about urban guerrilla warfare in the Nazi occupied Europe and liberation struggles in Algeria and Indochina even as he planned his moves. It should be noted that his plan of conducting highly visible operations in the occupied Dhaka was very similar in nature to the actions of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and its off shoots against Israel and its backers. A decade later, Ahmad Shah Massoud would adopt his two-pronged tactics against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Khaled contributed to the liberation struggle not just in the battle-field, but also by showing political acumen.
As early as the last week of March, he implored Rehman Sobhan to convey to the political leadership that a government is formed immediately, and the Mukti Bahini is given formal commission. This was important because without a government and commission, Mukti Bahini would be considered illegitimate rebels, mercenaries, or terrorists in the eyes of the law. Note the reference to ‘legally constituted’ in this oath of freedom fighters commanded by Khaled.
In July-August 1971, Khondoker Mushtaq negotiated a ‘deal’ with the Pakistanis through the US (with India’s knowledge) whereby Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would govern Bangladesh, which would continue to be a part of 6-points based Pakistani Confederation — that is, what Mujib formally demanded in March. This deal was vetoed by India because it didn’t allow for the return of Hindu refugees to Bangladesh. The deal also allowed for full amnesty to civilian freedom fighters and political activists, but not the military men who rebelled against Pakistan. This, and actions of Mujib Bahini, created discontent among the professional soldiers who formed the backbone of the Mukti Bahini. Many of them, including Ziaur Rahman and Abul Manzur, wanted a War Council headed by MAG Osmani to replace the Mujibnagar government. Others such as Abu Taher and MA Jalil wanted to raise forces of their own outside the command of Osmani. Khaled played a crucial role in ensuring that civilian political leadership retained command of the Mukti Bahini.
He was also acutely aware of the dependence on India and future political risks this might cause to independent Bangladesh. To reduce the reliance, he had formulated a plan to buy arms and ammunition in the European black market through the Bangladeshi community in Britain. This plan was approved by the Mujibnagar government, but the war was over before it could be enacted.
These days, even people who fought against us in 1971 claim to be defenders of our sovereignty, while the political-intellectual establishment consists of people who claim to be defenders of the spirit of 1971. Isn’t it peculiar that Khaled Mosharraf, who attained legendary status in 1971, is largely forgotten now?
Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear of correcting historical wrongs, of setting the history right. How come we don’t hear about bringing to justice the murderers of Khaled Mosharraf?
Further reading:
1. Khaled’s own account of the war is here.
2. Jahanara Imam’s Ekatturer Dinguli.
3. ‘Brave of Heart’ by Habibul Alam Bir Pratik.
4. Muldhara Ekattur by Muyeedul Hasan.
5. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে কসবা, edited by Myeedul Hasan.
(Cross-posted in UV).

(posted from jrahman's blog on wordpress.com)
                                      

                                    

Share on facebook Share on google_plusone Smoking: A suicidal practice! Syed Neaz Ahmad (first Published in The Saudi Gazette on 21 - 07 - 2008) “.... And make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction.” (Qur'an, 2:195) SMOKE is pollution and smoking as part of your lifestyle amounts to causing environmental pollution. We all know that pollution kills - so what makes people smoke themselves to death or disability? Every year on a routine basis - the world celebrates an international no-smoking day but to what avail! Smoking causes lung cancer, heart attacks, diseases of the respiratory system, chest infections, male impotence, premature birth, low birth weight and damages to the sperms and eggs: almost every organ in the body is damaged by smoking. The British medical journal, Lancet (March 16, 2004) confirms that smoking causes blindness. Some 54,000 suffer visual impairment as a result of smoking while around 18,000 go blind in Britain alone. The journal also states that smoking during pregnancy affects the brain of the child and accounts for the low intelligence of children. Against the backdrop of such scary statistics the Marlboro man and his horse have found greener pastures in Asia and unfortunately in many Muslim countries. Out of the back covers of magazines, the man is now bound for exotic destinations in Asia: Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dubai. His smoke signal: Come to where the flavor is, Come to Marlboro Country, however, continues to attract new addicts. Tobacco industry projects the Asian market to grow by more than a third this decade with much of the revenue going to the multinationals. Some 60 percent of the world lives in Asia and Marlboro sells more on the continent than anywhere else. Beyond Asia, smoking is a catching habit in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the former USSR states. China with a huge population is yet another coveted market. There are some 400 million smokers who buy nearly two trillion cigarettes a year. For a trade wholly built on smoke, cigarette brands, since the early 1950s have been introduced in bewildering numbers, each aiming at a particular class and type of consumers. Marlboro was first a luxury cigarette, then a women's cigarette. Power, status, and confidence appeared to be the appeal of other brands. The culture of cigarette consumption, however, is not simply that of the advertisement: rather it is a blend of advertised images and metaphors together with prevailing customs. Whatever goes up in smoke is unlikely to bring any benefit. However, there are thousands who live by smoke and millions who die by smoke every year, generating billions of dollars in income for the manufacturers and taxes to various governments. Islam as a religion of peace, safety and tranquility considers such addictions as harmful for the smoker and the society at large. Life is a trust granted to us by the Creator. It's our duty to make the best use of this trust and not create fasaad on this earth for ourselves, the environment and other peace-loving creatures.

                              SAUDI ARABIA - on the Edge?



                                        

Saudi security personnel stand guard in Riyadh

Washington Post reports that King Abdullah has appointed former Saudi ambassador to the US Prince Bandar as its new chief of intelligence. In a report by David Ignatius Washington Post reports:
"By appointing Prince Bandar bin Sultan as its new intelligence chief, Saudi Arabia has installed what looks like a war cabinet at a time of rising tensions with Iran and growing internal dissent from its Shiite minority.

The Saudis have also heightened their alert level in other ways to prepare for possible regional conflict. Some Saudi military and security personnel were mobilized last month ? called back from summer leave or told to cancel planned vacations. One explanation of the mobilization making the rounds in Riyadh is that the Saudis expected that Turkey might retaliate against Syria for the shoot-down of one of its fighters in late June.

The installation of a new intelligence chief came as Saudi Arabia was stepping up its support for insurgents in Syria seeking to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In this covert effort, the Saudis are working with the United States, France, Turkey, Jordan and other nations that want Assad out.

Bandar will succeed Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, who was barely visible in the West during his years as Saudi intelligence chief. This led to widespread comment that Muqrin had been fired, but he is said to retain the confidence of King Abdullah, who will use him as a special emissary to Pakistan and other Muslim nations where Muqrin?s traditional Saudi demeanor will be useful.

Bandar, the flamboyant former ambassador to Washington, had appeared to be sidelined in the past several years because of poor health and personal issues. His appointment now as intelligence chief probably signals the desire of both King Abdullah and the new Crown Prince Salman to have an experienced covert operator to handle sensitive foreign contacts at a time of sharply rising tensions."
While there is internal problem - particularly in the Shiite Eastern Saudi the government's move reflects Riyadh's desire to flex and test its muscles in the region.

                                       

We offer more: Big Bottoms are back in fashion!  

Getting to the bottom of the issue or having a good look at the bottom line before you sign that contract can be good advice but in female fashion today, reports MSN, big bottoms are back. So goodbye to pert rears and welcome to the 'junk in the trunk'. Or as the more well-endowed females would say 'we have more to offer'!
"Wow, four whole days of jubilee celebrations and not ONE mention of Pippa Middleton's bottom. Even when she was spotted at the flotilla celebrations, there wasn't even a mere whisper of her pert posterior. Meaning one thing ladies... Pert bums have been sidelined for a more rounded derriere.
The bigger bottom has been dominating the red carpet in 2012- think JLo at the Oscars, Kelly Brook at the Cannes film festival and Kim Kardashian nearly showcasing hers to the world when her leather dress ripped at the zip just before she was due to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Show in Los Angeles with her sisters earlier this week."

But is it worth losing your head!

                                        


                                                      

Women, in a man's world!

Language is an expression of culture and part of it. It is an expression of shared assumptions and transmits implicit values. Syed Neaz Ahmad examines the attitude toward women held by some members of society which unfortunately becomes part of the experience of all.

      

The great upsurge of popular interest in how language affects our lives began with Alfred Korzybski 's published in 1933. Korzybski was a pathologist of language, probing the sane and insane ways of speaking and understanding.
The publication of towards the end of the last century was an indication of the kind of interest that has been generated in language as a loaded weapon.
But language is also an expression of culture and part of it. It is an expression of shared assumptions and transmits implicit values. When for example, according to Jane Mills, such ordinary words for a female person as 'woman' or 'girl' acquire the additional commonly understood meanings of 'mistress', an attitude towards women held by some members of society becomes part of the experience of all.
Over the years women have been described - by men of course - as animals like: Birds, chick, crow, cow; or clothing like petticoat, skirt and bluestocking; as container like bag, dish and honey-pot; as a deceiver like coquette, cute, Delilah, glamor, Jezebel and witch - the list is pretty exhaustive.
They say a man is as old as he feels and a woman is as old as she looks. But despite icons like Kate Middleton, Hillary Clinton, Sonia Gandhi, Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda Zia and Angela Merkel - be it Asia, Europe or America - there hasn't been much of a change in men-women relationship. Walking one step behind his wife, the Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phililp hasn't helped feminism as he has generated resentment among macho men.
Words like 'baby' or 'bint' do not inspire much respect but one does detect a similarity of endearment in both the expressions. states that 'baby' is used for anything which is an object of special attention or masculine admiration. The ultimate in terms for a woman considered to be extraordinarily attractive is 'baby-doll'.
There are scores of cat-related words that describe women and their attitudes. The word 'cat' had noble origins but over the centuries it has acquired extremely negative connotations when associated with women. And Disney's Tom & Jerry hasn't helped improve the image - some say it's poisoning the young minds!
The 1811 edition of reveals several derogatory uses of 'cat'. However, 'hop-cat' is a man who dresses in the latest style - peacocks of today - and runs no negative undercurrents.
According to a Japanese proverb women and sparrows twitter in each other's company. In the East, society is more patriarchal but when it comes to ancient
wisdom, things are not much different in the West either, as is evident from a Spanish proverb: Men speak but women chat. Chat, chatter and chitchat like the
term girl's talk, Sheila-talk, hen-party, prattle, babble, gossip, and finally twitter are all words which are used to denigrate women and devalue their 'useful' verbal interactions.
Blame it on sexism or whatever the has no entry for 'Eve', the first mother. However, it does list 'Adam' , the first man, father of human race. But does not discriminate and explains the word as 'Middle English, after Eve, the first woman, a woman having qualities typically associated with womankind'.
An example from further illustrates: An effortlessly feminine creature whose personal career never interferes with her role as a charming eternal Eve. This perhaps lifts the veil from the intriguing fact why on the Indian subcontinent making passes is called 'eve teasing'!
From madam to mistress to Miss, Mrs and Ms, there is a complete spectrum of sense, nonsense and vulgarity. There is an anonymous rhyme in which represents the dilemma that today's most young - or at least young looking - ladies find themselves in:
When you call me Miss or Mrs,
You invade my private life,
For, it's not public's business,
If I am, or was, a wife!

(first appeared, Arab News, Sunday 15 May 2011)
                                           

                                                 

                                                 Guns Don't Kill People?


                              No, people kill people! "This is the standard argument of the gun lobby in the
                              United Sates against efforts to restrict the  posession of fire arm." Then there is
                              another famous saying: "It isn't the nut on the wheel but the nut behind the
                              wheel." They say it reflects the number of people who die on roads every year.

                              This against the backdrop of recent shootings at a school that left 27 persons
                              dead. Normalcy has gone out of their life - it will never be the same for the
                              small community of Newtown, Connecticut. Unfortunately such killings have
                              become routine in the US - the nuts behind the automobile and the nuts carrying
                              guns - need to be weeded out. US, they say, is the mot powerful nation. So, how
                              come it finds itself spineles against the "nuts" made in USA?

The application links are:

Diapers.com: http://www.google.com/affiliatenetwork/joinprogram?advId=126905
Soap.com: http://www.google.com/affiliatenetwork/joinprogram?advId=278008
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Vine.com: http://www.google.com/affiliatenetwork/joinprogram?advId=564185
AfterSchool.com: 
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BookWorm.com: 
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The romance of the empire

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Shrabani Basu’s recently published book, “Victoria & Abdul” is a historical narrative about the comparatively unknown intimate relationship between a royal table boy, Abdul Karim, and the Empress of India, Queen Victoria.

Basu is a London-based author, journalist and correspondent for two Calcutta newspapers: The Ananda Bazar Patrika and The Telegraph. She has authored “Curry: The Story of the Nation’s Favourite Dish” and the much acclaimed biography, “SpyPrincess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan.”
“Victoria & Abdul,” her latest work, took three years of intense research work and travels to Balmoral, Agra, Isle of Wight and Windsor. It has received commendable reviews from historians and general readers in the English-speaking world. Basu was recently in Karachi — as a guest of Oxford University Press — where OUP is planning to publish a Pakistan edition and a possible Urdu translation. A translation into Marathi and Indonesian bhasa has been commissioned. Basu, it is rumored, has even received requests from filmmakers for permission to turn this story of Empire and intrigue into a blockbuster film. However, she declined to confirm if she has agreed to any such request.
The 224-page book describes how a very special relationship develops between the ruler and the ruled. “Victoria & Abdul” is not only an interesting description of a ruler’s intimate relationship with her servant, but it also reveals some of the lesser-known secrets of the rules of the Raj.
The blurb of the book describes Queen Victoria’s Indian confidant: “The tall, handsome Abdul Karim was just twenty-four years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. An assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, he suddenly rose to become a personal attendant to the Empress of India.”
Within a year, Abdul Karim was established as a powerful figure at court, becoming the Queen’s teacher, or Munshi, and instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish gillie, the Queen had at last found his replacement. But, her intense controversial relationship with the Munshi led to a near-revolt in the royal household.”
Not many narratives since Shakespeare can lay claim to such a rich cast: Victoria Queen of England & Empress of India, the Royal Consort Prince Albert, princesses, viceroys, secretaries of state, prime ministers, maharajas, maharanis, nabobs, lords, ladies and not forgetting the shadow-like characters known as royal attendants. However, like in all narratives in “Victoria & Abdul,” a dark horse overshadows all the other characters. And, like a Shakespearean tragedy, the real-life story of this intense relationship — which some have dubbed as the ‘romance’ of the Empire — ends on a sad note.
Like Queen Victoria’s bumpy private life, the affairs of the state did not offer her a smooth ride either. Queen Victoria (1837-1901) oversaw England at the height of its overseas power. ‘British Empire was established in her reign and it reached its greatest expanse under her.’
Her remarkable and longest reign was marked by demands for electoral reforms and universal male suffrage. The Queen dealt harshly with radical reformers that had taken over this movement. Another call for social reform was the Anti Corn Law League that called for free trade that the administration agreed to in 1846. Victoria’s reign also saw England becoming involved in the Crimean War (1854), which was notable only in that it provided evidence of military incompetence and the material for the poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred Tennyson. However, out of this misadventure came the establishment of more humane nursing practices under the influence of Florence Nightingale, the courageous “Lady with the Lamp.”
Hot on the heels of the Crimean War brewed trouble in India among the soldiers — the so-called “Sepoy Mutiny” also known as Movement for Independence. India, until then, had been administered by the East India Company with government cooperation. After the “sepoy trouble” was put down, the administration of India was taken over by the government of Britain. “Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, was the main backer of the 1851 Great Exhibition. This was the first ‘world’s fair,’ with exhibits from most of the world’s nations. The exhibition was held in Hyde Park, and the showpiece was the Crystal Palace, a prefabricated steel and glass structure like a gigantic greenhouse, which housed the exhibits.”
The Queen’s marriage to Francis Albert Charles Augustus Emmanuel a.k.a Prince Albert, did bring her joy and nine children. The young Queen expressed her preference for Albert over other suitors: “[Albert] is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful.”
Tragically, however, Prince Albert died at the early age of 42, which made the Queen plunge into a deep mourning that lasted for the rest of her life. Luckily, she was able to find solace in Abdul Karim.
Mohammed Abdul Karim appears to have the most modest of backgrounds in the “Dramatis Personae.” Son of a hakeem (alternative medicine practitioner) at Agra Central Jail, he received formal education, became a Hafize Qur’an and was appointed a clerk’s assistant. So far, nothing appears extraordinary in the career of this very ordinary young man. But, it was not at their first meeting during the Jubilee celebrations when the tall, dark and handsome Abdul Karim had impressed the Queen.
The Golden Jubilee celebrations of her reign marked a turning point in Queen Victoria’s lonely life. “The warmth of her people had cheered her, but they had gone home to their loved ones and she had returned alone to her Castle, her maids and her Household. She missed her husband and her Highland servant, John Brown, both men the Queen had loved and buried.”
The next morning, the Queen was presented with her Jubilee presents from India from Abdul Karim and Mohammed Buksh — a pair of gold bracelets (kadas), which were presented to the Queen by Agra Central Jail superintendent John Tyler. The presents were suggested, prepared and selected by Abdul Karim, and the Queen had expressed her delight at the gift.
Basu describes their first meeting as follows: “The Queen was delighted . . . Both servants approached her slowly, their eyes lowered to the gaze at the ground as they had been instructed to do. Then with a deep bow, Karim and Buksh bent down to kiss the Queen’s feet. As he rose, young Karim’s dark eyes fleetingly met the Queen’s gaze. Suddenly Victoria no longer felt tired.”
The presence of Jubilee presents was not taken lightly by the Household staff. Both the men were to be the Royal khidmatgars and would receive £60 a year. Members of the staff were also instructed “not to offer spirits to the two Indians.” The Indians were also allowed to cook their own meals in accordance with their own beliefs. An example of the much talked about inter-faith understanding of today! Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen’s private Secretary, had hoped that things “would not get any more complicated.” But, it would not be so.
Tyler was impressed by Abdul Karim’s intellect and personality. So, when the opportunity came to suggest names of Indian khidmatgars to wait at the Maharajas and Maharanis at the Jubilee celebrations in London, Abdul Karim was a natural choice.
Abdul Karim’s close relationship soon became the cause of envy for others. “To the Royal Household, the Queen’s attitude…began to gradually remind them of her relationship with John Brown” who become a close friend of the Queen and Prince Albert.”
Basu devotes an entire chapter on the love, awe, admiration and suspicion of Queen Victoria’s Indian manservant, aptly called Munshimania:
“The Queen’s diamond Jubilee was fast approaching. It would be ten years since Abdul Karim had joined her Court. The Queen remembered the first day he had presented himself, a shy youth of twenty-three with a serious expression on his face. He had grown now portly, the wealth and fine living in the Queen’s palaces adding to his girth. The Queen gazed at the photograph of Karim hanging in her Dressing Room in Osborne House…it hung just below a photograph of John Brown and was placed near her dressing table. Above her bed was a photograph of her beloved Albert. The Queen had chosen to be surrounded by the memories of the men who had been closest to her in life.”
Yet, intrigue, conspiracies and jealousy of royal proportions were rife behind the scene. In the Queen, Abdul Karim had found a friend in a very high place, but those around him did not share Victoria’s feelings. The 1857 “mutiny” had not unnerved the Queen, but her own Household had almost revolted at the rapid ‘promotions’ Abdul Karim had achieved — undeservedly granted as some saw — in a comparatively short time.
The Queen’s idea of a “glorious Diamond Jubilee celebration” was rather disturbed by the trouble being cooked up in her kitchen. She wanted to knight Abdul Karim to honor him with Member of the Royal Victorian Order, but her suggestion was once again opposed by the India Office and her own Household.
All this left the Queen “feeling very tired and somewhat depressed.” It was not for the first time that the Household had stood against a “foreigner” as Scottish John Brown had met a similar fate. They were suspicious of Abdul Karim’s extraordinary “influence over the Queen,” but as others have noted, he was no Rasputin.
Abdul Karim appears a simple person who through his hard work, devotion, intelligence and dedication caught the lonely Queen’s attention. His good luck and good looks seem to have played a major role in his meteoric rise and tragic fall from grace when he returned to Agra to spend his last days in affluence. Some eight years after his return to India, Abdul Karim died at the age of 46. Was he too tired of life and depressed? We will never know.
“Victoria & Abdul” is a well-written and well-researched work of historical proportions. It’s as racy as a travelogue, as gripping as a thriller and as well documented as a reference book. However, one feels that all has yet to be revealed of this intimate royal-commoner relationship. Or, perhaps like the life and death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, we’ll never know!

             
 (Syed Neaz Ahmad, life.style@arabnews.com ,Wednesday 27 October 2010)

                                          
                                      


                                   

On cell phones, it’s a matter of life and death!

By Syed Neaz Ahmad

 

A $30-million landmark 10-year study by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, released in 2009, claims there is a possibility that using a cell phone for 30 minutes a day could increase the chances of brain tumors, though some researchers insist the report's claims are overblown.

What with blizzards, bitter cold and being snow-bound I decided to cheer myself up with a BlackBerry phone. I was amazed to read the enclosed warning that says, "Do not hold your BlackBerry device near your ear while you use the speakerphone. Hearing damage can occur. For more information, see the Safety and Product Information booklet."
Being of timid nature I haven't had the courage to read the booklet, but I am pretty confused. I had thought my new toy would bring me hours of joy, but perhaps technology and delight do not go hand in hand.
What did you do before you didn’t have a cell phone, I asked a friend of mine.
"Nothing," he said. "I just hoped that my cheap fake would fool my friends." replied my friend.
I persisted: "And what did you do when there were no cell phones at all?"
"Well," he replied, "you don’t miss what you don’t know."
Exactly, I thought. If there was life before cell phones, why can’t there be life without them?
Most of us are reluctant to get involved in this kind of self-searching. We get used to modern conveniences, or inconveniences, very quickly.
According to www.sciencedaily.com, mobile phone use has increased dramatically since its introduction.
"The expanding use of this technology has been accompanied by concerns about health," reads the website.
In the late 1990s, several groups of experts critically reviewed the evidence regarding the health effects of low-level exposure to the types of electromagnetic fields generated by that gadget pressed to the side of people's heads. Though there has been no conclusive evidence linking mobile-phone use and tumors, further research continues to be recommended by the experts.
One study by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland found that exposing human cells to one hour of mobile phones radiation triggered a response which normally only occurs when cells are being damaged. The scientists called for more research to discover the significance of this effect.
Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, a physician, epidemiologist and lecturer at Tel Aviv University, published the results of a study in 2008 in the American Journal of Epidemiology in which she and her colleagues found that heavy cell phone users were subject to a higher risk of benign and malignant tumors of the salivary gland.
The research emphasized that those who used a cell phone heavily on the side of the head where the tumor developed were found to have an increased risk of about 50 percent for developing a tumor of salivary gland.
That the study was done on an Israeli pool of test subjects is significant. "Unlike people in other countries, Israelis were quick to adopt cell-phone technology and have continued to be exceptionally heavy users," Sadetzki said in her report.
Cell phones are here to stay in one form or another. They cannot be swept under the carpet. We must learn to live — and suffer — with them. It’s like a skin disease, as a dermatologist friend says, it’ll irritate you, bother you, keep you awake, but it won’t kill you.
For a lot of people a cell phone represents a lifestyle. It's a branded object. So how dare you — without a BlackBerry — be left behind in the rat race?
However, there are those who challenge the WHO report and say that the majority of studies in people have found no link between mobile phones and cancer, national brain cancer rates have not increased in proportion to skyrocketing phone use and there are still no good explanations for how mobile phones could cause cancer. Cancer Research UK figures show that some eight persons per 100,000 develop brain cancers every year.
Evidence so far has been anecdotal, but Coghill Research Laboratories in Wales compiled a formidable amount of scientific data on whether mobile handsets may be a cause of serious ill health. Coghill's view is that there is evidence to support the theory that cell membranes can become damaged when subjected to 20 minutes of uninterrupted use.
It might be a relief to those who have cell hones but don't talk on them for long stretches of time to know that many researchers see no risk in "normal" use of a mobile phone.

life.style@arabnews.com

Wednesday 19 January 2011
 

                                        
          

UK curry restaurants in a cul-de-sac!

 By Syed Neaz Ahmad

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Despite generating billions annually the prospect for a large number of curry restaurants is not encouraging. Has the business reached a blind alley?

The British love affair with curry is some 400 years old. It is claimed that it goes back to the 16th century when the Dutch dominated the pepper trade and hiked up the price of all spices. To counter the Dutch, London decided to set up East India Company through a royal charter. The main idea was to secure a better price for the pepper. In the end, the company won more than what it had hoped for: The spice war and an empire.
Today with over 12,000 restaurants and despite generating billions of pounds annually, the prospect for a large number of curry restaurants is not encouraging. Has the business reached the dead end? Have the owners lost faith in their trade, have they run out of new ideas or is it simply the lack of staff that has caused closure of some 150 restaurants last year?
Shamsuddin Khan, father of a civil servant, pilot and a respected figure in the curry trade, said the shortage of trained staff is a great problem in every service industry, and the curry business is no exception. With recent changes by the UK government to the rules for migrant workers, especially chefs from the subcontinent, it is making it difficult for the restaurant owners to find suitably qualified staff to fill these positions.
Government ministers have come up with statements such as “more South Asian women residents in the UK should be used for the role,” which have not amused the owners of the curry industry. “The impact of this change is now hitting the businesses hard”, said Khan.
Every year, the curry industry recruits several thousand staff members to work in the kitchens. Until recently, the process was to get village friends or someone from the extended family from back home. Only few of those who came this way were trained chefs and most had to start as kitchen porters and learn the rope the hard way.
Experienced restaurateurs say we owe it to our customers to offer them “consistent quality” and the “full cultural experience.” While the restaurateurs appreciate that the barriers to mass immigration from non-EU countries have to be erected somewhere, they are not prepared to accept the idea of East European chefs churning out Lassi, Roghan Josh and Chicken Tikka Masala.
The owners of the curry houses, which include Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indians, said that in their kitchens, cooking skills and the knowledge of spices and culture is more important than mere fluency in English.
A spokesman for the Border and Immigration Service said changes had been made to the immigration system, but there was no reason why Indian restaurants could not train and use local workers, rather than recruit from the subcontinent. The curry restaurant trade has traditionally employed workers of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani extraction. There appears to be no reason why it should not recruit workers from other backgrounds, particularly for lower-skilled positions that do not require specialist skills. “To date, the sector has not provided evidence to show that it cannot recruit and train workers from the resident workforce to fill lower-skilled positions.”
Curry restaurateurs suggest more centers on the pattern of the Academy of Asian Culinary Arts of Thames Valley University in Ealing. However, prospective young men eager to start a career in the restaurant business want well-paid and prestigious jobs that provide career development facilities with flexible hours.
They say the days of treating kitchens as sweatshops are over, so are the British Bangladeshi restaurateurs ready for an all-change.
 (life.style@arabnews.com Wednesday 15 December 2010ge?)

                                                                                     

 

                                        International Sitar player Alif Laila at Desh TV UK

                       with Sudarshan Das (on Tabla) on talkshow, Viewpoint. Anchor Syed Neaz on left.

                                                

                                         Sir Mark Tully - broadcaster, author & journalist at NTV Europe
                                         studios in London with Talking Point anchor, Syed Neaz Ahmad

 

                                 



                          Social acitivist & Vice President of All-European Bongo Bondhu Porishad
                          Rina Mosharraf at an Iftar Party organized by NTV Europe.

                               

Sexing up Education in Saudi Arabia   Boys and girls who come in close contacts with each other is something that runs against the grain of Saudi culture. The conservative Kingdom is not yet ready for the King's fast forward march towards modernization, notes Syed Neaz Ahmad. Middle East Online King Abdullah is not new to controversy. Back in November 1979, then Prince, Abdullah as Commander of the National Guards had summoned Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale to help break the siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca - the involvement of the French was much disliked by the sheikhs. (http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mosque_Seizure ). The arrest of Saudi women defying a ban on driving - in the wake of 9/11 - was another unpopular step yet it pleased the clerics. (www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews ) King Abdullah's new Jable Omar project in Mecca displacing hundreds of thousands of residents to make room for five-star hotels, malls and luxury spas is ambitious but yet another unpopular step. The opening of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) is seen by academics, sheikhs and ordinary Saudis as a significant achievement. But that boys and girls will also come in close contacts with each other - in the name of higher education - is something that runs against the grain of Saudi culture, tradition and religion. The dissent shown by Sheikh Shehri and his dismissal from the Supreme Council by a royal decree is an indication that the conservative Kingdom is not yet ready for the King's fast forward march towards modernization. Education in Islam is of paramount importance. The first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad was "Read, read in the name of thy Lord". There is a tradition of the Prophet that encourages seeking knowledge even if one needs to travel as far as China. Against this background King Abdullah's attempt - going to any length for the sake of education - appears laudable. But giving credit where due Saudi Arabia has over the years invested heavily in education but the conservative approach, the curriculum and how it is taught is part of the problem. Co-education is a fact of life in other Muslim countries but in Saudi Arabia it's against - or was against the law until KAUST and King Abdullah made it halal. Reformers hope the $10 billion funded high-tech campus will spearhead changes in the conservative Kingdom. Many among the urban elite believe that KAUST will stimulate reform after recent setbacks such as shelving municipal elections and cancelling Jeddah film festival opposed by clerics. The King has promoted radical reforms since taking office in 2005 to create a modern state hoping that such steps will stem militancy among the Saudi youth. Despite this "feel-good" factor the King faces criticism from the clerics, academics and conservative princes. Most of my colleagues at Saudi universities welcome the King's attempts to revolutionize the way education is imparted. Girls sharing classrooms, desks, labs, libraries and cafeterias with their male classmates at the KAUST is seen by most liberal academics as a step that would influence the thought process in the Kingdom. Female Saudi teachers educated in the West welcome the move but feel it needs to be handled cautiously. Ali Al-Aseeri (not his real name) who teaches Linguistics at King Abdulaziz University Jeddah says: "The introduction of co-education at the KAUST is bound to influence the way we have handled this issue so far. When asked if he would end his daughters to co-educational institutions he said he was not sure but added: "May be abroad but not in the Kingdom, at least not for some years." A Riyadh-based widely travelled biology professor believes that the society needs to understand the implications of co-education first. "What's been introduced at the KAUST is a step forward. But we have to be careful and go about it slowly. If co-education is introduced at all our universities neither the teachers nor the students will be able to handle this freedom." The professor said that a "quick march" towards "modernization" can cause an upheaval in the society and lead to social problems. Fahad, a Saudi colleague at Mecca University believes that because KAUST is run by the oil company, Aramco (www.menafn.com ) and not by the Ministry of Education it can do and get away with things that are not acceptable by the society. Aramco - and similar - compounds across the country are enclaves of western lifestyle where women in shorts drive to supermarkets, and veiled women are a species found outside the compound. A female social worker believes the surge towards co-education might lead to early marriages among the co-eds, higher rate of drop-outs from colleges and unwanted pregnancies. Then there are educationists who feel that KAUST is impressive but is a start at the wrong end. "Instead of pumping billions into universities you need to reform primary schools focusing on religion." While KAUST students will have the Royal permission to mix with the "forbidden", Saudi Gazette reports that the work at King Saud University's female campus in Riyadh is almost complete. "The design of the campus offers complete privacy," Al-Jazi Al-Shubaiki, Dean of Women's Studies Centre at KSU told reporters. (www.saudigazette.com.sa ) Hashim Abdou-Hashim writing of Al-Riyadh daily (reported by www.arabnews.com on 9th October) commenting on Mecca Governor Prince Khalid Al-Faisal's suggestion that other universities emulate KAUST said in an article: "Our universities lack vision or long-term strategies because they lack freedom and foresight. Deans and department heads are not selected because of their abilities but rather according to parameters that have nothing to do with academics. We are asking the impossible from our universities. It is a sad situation. Our universities need revamping. The system needs to change otherwise KAUST may have a hard time filling classrooms with Saudis." In a country where no man can dare cross the threshold of girls' schools, where emergency repairs usually wait till the weekend, where religious police stop fire fighters from entering girls' school, and where drivers of busses transporting girls must be accompanied by their wives, the thought of co-education, howsoever pleasant, is out of this world. Syed Neaz Ahmad taught English language & linguistics at Makkah University for 28 years. He was columnist of Jeddah-based newspapers Saudi Gazette and Arab News. He was also Editorial Consultant at Muslim World League. (first published in Middle East Online)