I read a few days ago about a mugging which took place in broad daylight in a Jeddah street. A man snatched the handbag being carried by a British woman. The man could have caused the woman’s death as he accelerated his car to make his getaway. The woman, who had the handbag strapped across her chest, was dragged for five meters until the strap of her bag finally snapped.

A week before that incident a similar mugging took place in the district where I live. The handbag belonging to another non-Saudi woman was grabbed at while she was going to a grocery shop around the corner from my house. This mugging also occurred in broad daylight. The woman was beaten to the ground, while her two-year-old daughter looked on.

One can easily imagine the shock the child must have suffered.

Two days later, when I was returning to my house at midnight, I saw a Filipino worker covered in blood. He was crying loudly, standing in the middle of the road. I stopped to help him. He told me that two young Saudi men had robbed him of his money after knocking him to the ground.

One of them had hit his head with a revolver. I rushed him to hospital, where he was given first aid. Thank God, the injuries he had sustained were not serious. But he was crying hysterically while I was driving him to hospital. He told me: “They took away my money, but didn't get my mobile.”

These incidents took place within a week and convinced me that security, like food, is a blessing from God, which He provides to those who deserve it and removes from those who do not.

The most important condition for having security is the establishment of justice among people, as well as equality in rights and duties.

Some people may argue that these incidents targeting expatriates are necessary to drive them out of the country, create more jobs for Saudis and generally put an end to their problems. Such people should understand that the expatriates could be driven out, but the criminals will remain. They will then make us suffer the consequences of their actions. So are we then to leave as well?

We are in a country where the mosques are filled five times a day with worshipers. We thank God for that. Islamic devoutness is obvious everywhere here in a striking manner.

But do you think this devoutness in some people may provide a cover for the lack of genuine religious belief in others? Has the Islamic faith of some people become a case of simply following certain rituals?

If that is not true, then how did we adopt a lifestyle deeply influenced by secular culture? For example, what is the relation between the way our towns are planned and the fundamental of Islamic teachings?

The hallmark of an Islamic city is that a mix of people of varying social status, looking like a single uniform fabric.

The rich live close to the poor, both sharing in the happiness and sorrow of the other in an atmosphere of brotherhood and benevolence.

Modern town planning, on the other hand, keeps the poor away from rich districts.

This method of planning was borrowed from countries which encourage social mobility under the assumption that some are better than others, a concept alien to the traditional Islamic style. And we can find similar un-Islamic trends in other aspects of our modern life.

Cairo is known today as the city of a thousand mosques. But how are they going to describe Riyadh and Jeddah and other Saudi cities in the future? Will they call them cities of a thousand shopping centers, or 10,000 restaurants? Even in the holy cities, the atmosphere of shopping is more dominant than that of spirituality. They are also defined by symbols of wealth.

Where does most of our Arab media lead us? We have the most famous TV stations, but how can we relate the messages they telecast with the Islamic values we are proud of? What is the message the younger generation receives by watching our TV programs? What message are they going to get when they visit our major cities?

Arab News Opinion 22 February 2003