An Arabic newspaper published an article about a woman who bought a shisha set for SR7,000. The reason she spent such a large sum was that she wanted one that was different from the usual kind. The SR7,000 one is decorated with gold and silver leaf.
Now, no matter what anyone’s idea about smoking is, I concede that it is a personal decision and that that woman — or anyone else — has a perfect right to spend her money as she wishes. It is the trend that is so unsettling. Not long ago mobile phone shops in Jeddah began featuring diamond-encrusted mobile phones; some were even made of gold. In a consumer culture such as ours, these trends seem to appear for no reason, except that they reflect the absence of economizing and the questionable behavior of showing off that is an unpleasant part of life in modern Saudi Arabia.
How much do people care about economizing, I asked myself. It doesn’t seem to be a concern of anyone anywhere in my beloved city. Lights blaze all night long in houses, on streets and in shops.
If you fly into Jeddah at night, all you see is a sea of light. It is a beautiful sight, but someone is paying for that wasted energy — and paying a lot of money. And what about all the water we waste or the uneaten food that is thrown away? At all kinds of social gatherings — weddings in particular — hundreds of kilos of food is thrown away because people asked for more than they could eat. Their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. Have more; take more and show off more — but don’t think about what that means for your budget or for anybody else’s feelings or circumstances.
In a recent newspaper story, poor university students in Riyadh presented their requests for financial help from charities so they could finish their education. One girl said, “It really hurts me when I see how other girls enjoy themselves and I cannot do the same things.” Yes, there are people here who cannot afford an apartment to live in, and when they read of a SR7,000 shisha, I doubt they will be very impressed. Frustrated, yes, and probably angry as well.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that even if we live on the banks of a river with plenty of water all the time, we should still economize and use only what we need. How is this applied in our society? We certainly eat more than we need, buy more than we need, and do less than we need to help society to improve and to help its people.
Where did these traits and trends come from? Are they from too much free time and a lack of awareness? Yet again, isn’t our society at fault in its stress on outside appearance? We hear stories every day about girls who are on strict diets just to fit the mold society wants — thin, Hollywood glamor girls who get plenty of marriage proposals and who follow whatever is fashionable and trendy.
Beauty salons delight in such girls, who will do everything they can to beautify their outside appearance.
Or what about men who care more about changing their cars than donating money to the poor students in Riyadh?
Until we decide to see other things in our society with the same perspective we see our outside appearances, our society will be schizophrenic and the first step toward a cure is to admit there is a problem.
Arab News Opinion 13 May 2003
