JEDDAH, 15 November 2005 — The imam of a Jeddah mosque has been fined by police after he ordered seven of his Pakistani employees to beat a King Abdul Aziz University student in a dispute over a parking space near a store the cleric owns.
The beating ended after two college students intervened and demanded that police and the victim’s parents be contacted. The workers fled before police arrived, who then took the victim to a hospital where he was treated for retinal eye damage sustained in the attack.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, the mosque imam and storeowner, was fined and released.
He claimed that the student had pulled his beard and threatened him with a wooden tool, but police found no corroborating evidence and ruled him entirely to blame for the incident.
When the victim’s father demanded that the employees also be punished, the imam said he did not know their names and that they were hired on a casual basis.
The incident began when the 19-year-old undergraduate engineering student parked near Al-Ghamdi’s store. The student explained to the imam that he could find no other place to park, and he didn’t want to miss a lecture.
The enraged cleric then swore at the student and insulted his parents before starting to beat him. He then enlisted the aid of seven men in his employ who all set upon the young man.
“Thank God a couple of college students came to rescue me even though they didn’t know me,” the beaten student told Arab News.
“If no one was there to help, God knows what could have happened to me at the hands of Al-Ghamdi and his gang.”
Friction between residents and students has some parents and students on edge.
“Even though the area is crowded with students, there aren’t any security or police officer to prevent such attacks,” said the victim’s mother, noting that it took 15 minutes for police to arrive after they were contacted. “The police have some blame in this, too.”
Maysa Khalid, a young woman attending college, said news of the incident has spread and has women students wondering whether they need to be afraid.
“This happened to a boy, and he was helpless in front of those eight men,” Khalid told Arab News. “What would happen to us as women — especially those who walk to the university?”
The case remains open as seven of the assailants remain at large. The imam has been requested to produce them but as yet has failed to comply. It is unclear if the incident will affect the man’s standing at the mosque.
