Importance of cinema

I understand that about half of the Kingdom’s 28 million population love to have cinemas for entertainment. Cinema plays an important role in cultural development. It will enable Saudi society to learn about the culture of other communities.

Like cinema, woman driving is also significant. I am sure that a large number of people in our country love to have cinema and see their women driving. Driving will naturally give women a feeling of independence, as they need not depend on others to drive them to work and supermarkets.

I don’t have a problem with regard to driving as my family has appointed a number of drivers, but there are many other women who do not get that support and want to drive by themselves. I have not written about the need for cinemas in the Kingdom but I have learned from the social media that a large number of people in our country want cinemas.

While I was in Bahrain for my higher studies, I got the opportunity to visit cinemas every week. I believe that driving and cinema will help Saudi women achieve many other demands. While going to Bahrain, a Passport official on the King Fahd Causeway stopped me for seven minutes asking when the photo on my ID was taken? Government officials including members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice should be trained to deal with the public decently.

— By Sara Matar

Qaradawi’s double standard

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has criticized the US-led war on the so-called Islamic State (IS) militants earlier this week. In a tweet, he said: “I oppose IS’ ideology and actions, but I will never agree that the country to fight it should be the US, which is not motivated by the values of Islam, but by its own interests.”

How can we agree with this position given the crimes committed by IS? Does Qaradawi truly oppose IS?

How can he oppose the IS and at the same time reject the US-Arab alliance that aims to fight this terrorist group? How could Qaradawi authorize NATO intervention in Libya, but reject intervention against IS now? How could he call for international intervention in Syria when he believes that the US “is not motivated by the values of Islam?” Was the international intervention in Libya in line with the values of Islam? Therefore, we are facing one of two options here; either Qaradawi is talking about something that he knows nothing about or he wants the IS to win.

— By Tariq Alhomayed

Definition of extremism

There is no clear definition of moderation and it varies from person to person. Those who hate the followers of other religions but do not recommend to kill them are considered moderates. There are people who consider their school of thought as the best and invite others to follow them but do not brand their opponents as infidels. Even among the followers of a single school of thought, we can find extremists and moderates.

We see that Al-Qaeda opposes the crimes of the so-called Islamic State terrorists but both follow the same ideology and differ only in the method of killing their opponents. Extremism is on the rise in our societies and we need clear-cut rules to stop them and their destructive activities. Creating awareness is good but in the absence of an executive bylaw it would be a fruitless exercise. People should be informed what is extremism so that they would keep away from such practices, fearing punitive action. I don’t know what is preventing us to enact a law to get rid of extremism.

Islam is the umbrella for all madhabs and under Islam people of all faiths should be able to live peacefully. An Islamic State should be able to accommodate all madhabs without differentiating between them. As long as we fail to enact such a law, extremists will thrive in our societies, making use of religion for political gains.

— By Qenan Al-Ghamdi

Habit of smoking

A recent study has showed that more than 23,000 people in the Kingdom die annually as a result of smoking. The majority of smokers suffer from chronic diseases, especially in the last days of their lives.

Students account for 13 percent of smokers in the Kingdom while female students represent five percent. About 27 percent of students start smoking at primary schools. When they reach intermediate schools, the figure rises to 53 percent.

I wonder as to why parents don’t do anything to prevent their sons and daughters from smoking. Another saddening situation is that most students learn smoking from their parents.

— By Salem bin Ahmed Sahab

Thinking with old tools

Last year, I met an American woman of Greek origin at Athens Airport. She has been working as an English-language teacher. While talking about her Saudi students in the US, she said many of them have adjusted their lives in the country without experiencing any cultural shock but many others have failed.

When we think about causes behind events taking place in our region, we have to study the statement of this teacher to have some insight into what is happening. Some of the writers say the so-called Islamic State terror group is the creation of the US while others say it is the product of Tehran while some call it a joint US-Iranian product.

Some people have written that the US has run away from Iraq while others say the US wanted to come back to the region under the pretext of fighting the IS. Some people think US created the IS to support the Syrian regime but the moment they learned about US plan to confront the IS, they stood with the IS.

It looks like as if we are watching a football match without knowing the fundamentals of the game. We are discussing modern cultural and political matters with an old thinking imported 1,000 years ago when religious wars and crusades had taken place.

— By Abdullah bin Bakheet

Violent behavior

People have expressed their indignation after reading the report of a Qur’an teacher in Makkah abusing his student. But the problem is that many fathers accept this kind of torture, as they have inherited such a behavior from previous generations. As a result many men behave with their wives and children harshly.

We have seen the teacher saying that he punished the student on the instructions of his father. I think that the father has misunderstood the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that “You and your wealth are your father’s possessions.” This Hadith is about allowing the father to use his son’s wealth when required, not about possessing his son’s body or thoughts. Such fathers think that they have the right to abuse their children.

I believe the government should intervene to prevent the continuous torture of children by their parents. There is no doubt that such abusive fathers and teachers bring a bad name to Islam, which promotes mercy and kindness.

We should impose tough punishments on individuals who abuse their children. Specialized courts should also work to stop such criminal activities.

— By Moudy Al-Zahrani