London event dispels culture of extremism

The successful holding of the Super Cup match in London between Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr teams, which was attended by Saudi citizens, both male and female supporters, will encourage the organizers, clubs and Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) to hold similar soccer matches in future.

After cultural programs, holding our sports events and competitions outside the Kingdom attracts fans on a global level including women.

Such programs are needed as we are at war with terrorism and fanatics with deviant ideology. Lest these elements will be enraged, we often tend to discourage women from attending such colorful sports festivities

Ban of women will only justify their stand, which is based on misinterpretation of scriptures.

This extremist behavior barring women from attending sports events is a product of a culture that hates any form of entertainment, fun, music and arts.

This hate culture comes from narrow-minded people who want to impose their parochial attitudes and revulsive traditions giving an impression that they are the sole guardians of the society and those who do not subscribe to their ideology are evils.

If they are asked about reasons for banning women, they will invent hypothetical theories. And if the conjecture of their ideology is questioned, they launch malicious campaign with the aim to harm the questioner’s reputation, social value and also veracity of his faith.

Our silence on, or sometimes sympathy with, extremism has brought about immense harm to our society — at social, cultural, economic, political and legal levels. The successful holding of the ‘super clash’ in London has therefore dispelled the culture of extremism and narrow-mindedness. And if we do not avail of this opportunity repeating the London event in the Kingdom’s cities, we will enhance extremism.

— By Mohamed Al Al-Sheikh

What Al-Jubeir said in Moscow

During his recent visit to Moscow, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir reaffirmed in the presence of his Russian counterpart Kingdom’s firm stand on Bashar Assad’s departure from the Syrian political scene as prerequisite for any future arrangement, that will allow the Syrian people to reconstruct their country from a vantage point of freedom and self-respect.

Al-Jubeir did not allow any space for any other argument while stating that there is no room for Assad in the future of Syria.

Al-Jubeir’s assertion has ended any confusion that might have prevailed in the region following Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and growing rapprochement thereby between Tehran and Washington.

His statements also refuted allegations launched by potential beneficiaries of Assad’s existence saying there is a change in Saudi (foreign) policy.

Al-Jubeir’s words might have silenced those too who had alleged that there was a link between the progress made by the Saudi-led alliance in Yemen and activation of peaceful settlement in Syria.

His affirmation also proved that the Kingdom differentiated between Assad and his men on the one hand and Syrian state institutions on the other. Such institutions will save Syrians in the future from being dragged into a sectarian war as was the case in Iraq.

The foreign minister therefore has strengthened the Kingdom’s position in the Muslim world that his country has a clear-cut message that it will side with the Syrian people in their legitimate battle until they realize their objectives — first removing Assad from the office and holding him accountable for his crimes.

— By Tariq Ibrahim

Bonds, reserves to tackle budget deficit

Drop in oil prices by more than 50 percent since June 2014 has increased the deficit in the Kingdom’s budget.

We are a country, which depends on oil and any fluctuation in its prices will have direct impact on our economy. The spending for 2015, as announced, stands at SR860 billion. However, the real deficit exceeded SR145 billion as disclosed by SAMA Gov. Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak.

The deficit this year, or in years to come, should not be a matter of concern; but rather it must be translated into effective steps for economic reforms because such a financial situation is not grimmer than what we had experienced earlier.

We firmly believe that we have enough experience to manage our financial affairs in a prudent manner not only in short term. We can rationalize spending and maximize the operational efficiency of our economy without prejudice to government spending on infrastructure projects in the medium and long terms.

Funding of the deficit should come from issuing domestic bonds and withdrawal from reserves. Issuance of bonds is preferable for their low costs (low interest rates). Moreover, bonds are more feasible for banks, insurance companies and other firms of high liquidity and, further, they do not carry the risks of fluctuations in exchange rates.

On the other hand, withdrawal from reserves is also a logical choice because reserves were originally made to meet such shortfalls. Use of reserves to finance part of the deficit should not be considered a matter of concern but, rather, a logic, expected and, even, required step.

Oil price fall and its adverse effect on the income should stimulate us to speed up the reform process, a matter that will lessen dependence of the economy on oil prices. Oil is a source of energy and meant to move the wheel of economy and should not be a basic source of income and spending.

— By Ziad Al-Ghamdi

Elections to change women’s stereotype

The municipal election process will be launched today in the cities of Makkah and Madinah, a week ahead of other regions to avoid congestion during the hectic Haj season.

Despite intensive media campaigns in the current elections due to the participation of women as candidates and voters, no electoral meetings or lectures were held in Makkah by the organizing panels, as has been the case in other cities like Riyadh, Eastern Province, Jeddah and Asir.

Elections may not be entirely a new thing for certain social categories in Makkah Region such as traders, businesswomen, Zamazemah and Tawafa agencies. However, at popular levels, such an environment has not been much familiar.

Promotion of cultural awareness is important, notably in the selection of male or female candidates who are supposed to possess certain degrees of merit, competence, integrity, and experience to qualify them to serve pubic interests.

Despite some frustrating and skeptical arguments over the participation of women in the municipal elections, we are very much optimistic that these contesting female candidates will achieve a high rate of success, not only in terms of the number of votes but also in assuming their responsibilities in the councils.

Women are inherently concerned with their responsibilities, especially those related to keeping their house in order, a general care of children and other social issues in which they are more adept than their male counterparts.

For voters’ confidence in women, they will have to show responsibility and follow ethics of Islam in terms of modesty and behavioral discipline commensurate with our traditions and Islamic values.

In so doing, the women will present the society with a model that will change the stereotype about women and to demonstrate that she is no longer a ‘follower’ or a neglected person but, rather, a partner in decision-making.

— By Fatin Ibrahim Hussain

Family’s role in fighting terrorism

To get to the roots of terrorism, we need to check the formative years of a person to determine the formation of an individual’s personality, behavior and thinking. We also need to probe as what prompts a person to take to the path of extremism and militancy and indulge in terrorist activities.

Modern life has brought about an extreme change in the structure of families transforming the whole concept of a family.

With the embrace of modern culture, the families in general have abandoned their social responsibilities and become fragmented, scattered and indifferent.

Obsessed with their personal interests, the parents are taken aback when they find that their son is arrested owing to his link with a terrorist organization or that he joined a war in Syria or Iraq.

Families play a key role in guiding their sons and control their thoughts by means of regular counseling, listening to their complaints and taking care of their interests. Families are, therefore, the first deterrent wall to ward off deviant thoughts and their promoters.

The more the wall is strong and high, sons and daughters will be more safe and secure. This will be automatically reflected in the security and stability of the societies and the country as a whole.

Role of the family institutions in fight against terrorism is never less than the role of the security institutions. Hence families become an essential and an integral part in the battle against the scourge of terror or extremism.

If families are attentive to the members of their house, they will be able to handle their sons and also help the community and those who are in charge of security in fighting terror.

— By Aiman Al-Hammad

Souq Okaz, racism and Kharijites

Souq Okaz is an open-air market, which was virtually a mall, in modern sense, for the people of pre-Islamic era and the early period of Islam.

It was not like our contemporary commercial centers, which are only for consumers and where only money matters. It was more than a market where besides money a space was created for poetic gatherings, rhetoric and literature.

On revival, the Souq Okaz has again become a literary and cultural hub, where sounds of poetry and prose are intermingled and views and creativity are exchanged. Despite centuries of gap between the old souq and this revived one, there are certain elements characterizing the old market that still exist.

The modern Souq Okaz tries to address these elements through intellectual approach and considers it a starting point for a sustained effort to eradicate negative thoughts from society.

Racism for instance is one such evil in the society where some aspects of bickering, exclusionism, regionalism and tribalism live despite prohibitions in Islam. The role of culture is therefore to fight backward thinking and promote what was introduced by Islam in terms of tolerance, pluralism, acceptance and respect for others. The second is presence of Kharijites (outlaws) in society under new banner. In fact it was these Kharijites who had plundered and dismantled Souq Okaz in 129 AH. Now the grandchildren of those outlaws have taken up the assignment to spread sedition and distort the image of Islam, besides terrorizing innocent people and destroying everything beautiful.

This religious extremism will not end unless we all get united and the importance of cultural centers is strengthened to expose and fight them. Only then the purity of religion will be restored.

— By Faiq Munaif