Al-Watan newspaper recently published a story about Al-Zulfa region where three of the terrorists on the government’s “most wanted” list come from. Through talking to residents in the region, it was clear that there was a pool of extremism here.
A lawyer said that one of the terrorists lived in a neighborhood that was locally known as “immigrants” district.
People who lived in “immigrants” district shared the same extremist line of thought. In this neighborhood, schools were not allowed to play the national anthem as it was considered un-Islamic; pictures and portraits were banned.
The mosques in this district did not deal with the presence of this group in the area, the local imams ignored it. The lawyer added that some local charity organizations supported this group since some of them had no actual job and had no income.
Residents added that schools in the region used to ask some people from the group to give lectures to students and, in general, it was suspected that schools were spreading extremist thoughts through some of their teachers.
It took an official list from the Ministry of Interior to make people speak about extremists living among them. I wonder how many there are that people do not talk about. Are we going to wait for the coming lists to identify the rest of them?
Our problem lies in the fact that we do not like to interfere and prefer safety to confrontation. The people of Al-Zulfi and others in similar circumstances lived for years listening to all sorts of fatwas that criminalize most of their daily activities and beliefs, yet they did not talk about it.
It is happening here in Jeddah as well, but with a different twist. In mosques you hear imams talk about infidels, tell young people that most of what they do is forbidden; give them a bleak picture of their future if they lend their ears to “liberal” voices outside. Some of these imams do not even mention the problems that their neighborhoods suffer from, and yet they detail what is happening in Iraq and Palestine. That is not to belittle the importance of these topics, but is it really the role of the mosque to become engaged in politics? Was not one of the first functions of the mosque to serve the community?
When it comes to communities, you will find imams talking about Muslims’ ordeals outside the border without even giving a thought to addressing a problem in their neighborhood.
The Al-Zulfi story also tells us that somehow we live in a conflict. A commentator on a website about the schools at Zulfi said that he agreed with banning music from school saying that this is “the right Islamic way.” What he did not say is that music is part of his life and everyone’s life whether he liked it or not. Denying that for the sake of argument does not work; it might mean that society will have to be divided to cater to each school of thought.
In one of the Saudi international schools abroad, some of the parents objected to having music lessons, but other families were in favor of them. There was no rule banning music from the school; yet one day the students found their musical instruments on the floor smashed. The culprit was known but nothing could be done.
It is akin to forcing people to listen to limited and narrow ideas; even if they do not believe in it, they will have to live with its destructive ramifications.
What happened in London last week says the same thing. The bombers lived in England and yet they rejected some aspects of the life there, political or religious. They did what all the extremists before them have done; they forced their opinion on others in the most criminal way even though it was their own society that suffered the terrible consequences.
Domestic Tourism:
Is It a Dream?
Walking through the alleys of Al-Balad in Jeddah, I was trying to take in the richness the atmosphere had to give. The smells of spice mingled with aromas from food stands, and sounds from salespeople calling for passersby to stop and take a look at their wares. The dirty and badly maintained streets were still surprisingly full of life. The old buildings of Al-Balad were hypnotic with their wooden windows clinging to the old crumbling walls. The decay that is lurking in the corners of that beautiful part of Jeddah was only too obvious.
On one side I saw Al-Falah School, where my father was educated. The stories he told me about this place came rushing to my mind. It was a magic tour in some place that was all about what our families infused in us. The small alleys somehow were much more alluring than the big streets with their endless rows of shopping centers with all their glitzy stores.
At a time when all the talk is about encouraging domestic tourism, I think of this area as the best place to visit in Jeddah. Yet, looking at all the tourist brochures and ads, they always talk about a Jeddah that has nothing to do with this old district, stressing only the beaches, malls and restaurants.
We obviously have not clicked on to the idea that these old districts are potential tourist attractions. I fear that when we finally do feel that we need to look at our old districts, they will have become ruins or non-existent.
Visiting Makkah in the same week, I could not find a trace of what Makkah was 10 years ago, let alone 50 years. All of the area around the holy mosque is occupied by tall buildings, hotel chains and restaurants. Somehow you feel that the Holy Mosque is the only place that has history in it, but the rest of the city is either gone or waiting for next big project that will eat away what is left of its past.
