Promoting culture of openness

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has put a huge responsibility on media persons by asking them to write what they want.

He quoted famous saying of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab “May Allah have mercy on those who guide me in my faults.”

By doing so, King Salman has provided the media people with a guiding principle for the relationship between the leadership and the media. This relationship has raised many questions, debate and discussion between media theorists and practitioners.

In his address to the media and intellectuals, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques reaffirmed his policy of transparency and openness, which he has been following since ascending the throne.

King Salman strongly believes that such an approach would ensure ending misunderstandings.

He told media persons: “Telephone is open, ears are open and councils are open.” He was just emphasizing that this was continuation of the policy of dealing with media persons and intellectuals. The channels of contact were available with the leadership. We also know that King Salman supports advancements in communication technologies. He has opened his account on Twitter to open a complete space for communication with the entire social media.

It is clear that King Salman has been taking care of media persons and intellectuals. His meetings with them will continue and he will always be willing to meet with them personally as in groups inside the Kingdom or outside. The freedom of opinion and expression in the Kingdom has always been a subject of attraction for the western media. They will continue to comment with controversial negativism, as they do not know the basics of the Saudi culture and the relationship between its media and the leadership.

— By Ayman Al-Hammad, Al-Riyadh

Protecting national interests

During his recent meeting with media persons and intellectuals, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman: “We are brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the country of Islam and Muslims. Our country is the Qiblah of Muslims. Therefore, it is necessary that our media should always be as we all follow the approach of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) on which the state is established. Makkah is the direction of all Muslims in the world five times a day. It is the place where the Qur’an was revealed. This is the place from where the message spread and where the city of the prophet is located… God willing, our intellectuals would always keep in their minds the complete background of this country….

“I thank Allah that our starting point, as people and the state, is one. I would like to tell you my brothers we now have responsibility. The crown prince and our children are with us in carrying the responsibility. Allah does mercy on those who point out my faults. Media whatever it sees has its own other importance. I welcome them. Telephone is open, ears are open and the councils are open.” This was the message to officials.

If officials and media people cooperate in keeping the interests of the country on top against personal interests, then we would achieve a lot. After I wrote a piece “Hadaf for an objective,” I got a call from Ibrahim Al-Muaiqal, director general of the human resources development fund “Hadaf” who admired my article. He promised that he would try to achieve a lot of objectives through the fund “Hadaf.” I pray for him and for the achievement of goals.

Education Minister Dr. Azzam Al-Dakhil said: “There would be lots of special students who would get grants. Many of them are now studying Islamic studies, Arabic language in addition to these specializations. They would also be given opportunities to study in other specializations.

— By Shallash Al-Dabaan, Al-Yaum

Rights of animals

A friend told me about a cat that was trapped in a building. He told me that the cat kept crying for a few days as if calling for some help from a human being. The poor creature continued raising an alarm in its own way in the vain hope of receiving some help from human beings. The poor thing was calling for rescue without knowing the condition of human beings; without knowing what man is doing with his fellow beings on a daily basis. It did not know that its was trapped somewhere in the Arab and Muslim world, wherein neighbors were fighting each other and people were fighting for positions and incentives, which they know well that would not last forever.

How would an Arab Muslim rescue that cat, when Arab and Muslims are pouring barrels of explosives on their own people?

They, in fact, have moved a step ahead by seeking help of foreigners to kill their own people and destroy their own lands.

That poor cat did not know the true faces of the human beings it used to see roaming here and there. The ignorance of these animals now appears to be a blessing. Anyway, coming back to the story of the cat. It continued to attract attention and finally a friend of mine decided to help her out in the western style.

He contacted the Civil Defense to get the cat rescued. But he was sure that he would not get any response. He waited for a while. But what he noticed was more even more significant. The Civil Defense responded to his call and reached there. After sometime, the Civil Defense men rescued the cat. In addition to that they fed the poor thing.

The scene looked like some scene from a western television program. We should not forget that Islam prohibits us from harming animals. We, as Muslims, are supposed to take care of them. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) informed us about a woman who entered hell only because she had caged a cat and deprived if of food.

— By Rasheed bin Huwail Al-Baidhani, Okaz

Future of Islamic financial system

Keeping in view the important of the financial sector, it is necessary to implement best corporate governance practices to ensure best financial services to clients. Such an environment helps streamline official work and increases the capabilities of financial institutions to absorb external shocks.

Good governance and best management practices are the top priority of Islamic financial system. This is one of the aspects of international finance, which has grown during the last one decade. The volume of financial assets, which is managed according to the Islamic Shariah, has reached $2 trillion. These assets have a cumulative average annual growth of around 16 percent since 2009.

The banking sector is a leading traditional sector in the ambit of Islamic finance. However, the share of other products and institutions within the overall range of Islamic financial assets has witnessed a steady increase. This is like the Sukuk sector, which focuses on asset-backed securities and has seen a formidable increase during the last six years. Its value has reached to $300 billion in 2014. There was a similar momentum pushing the growth wheels of Islamic funds and Takaful (Islamic insurance). Between 2009 and 2014, the value of the assets managed by Islamic funds was increased from $40 billion to $60 billion. At the same time, the overall value of the contribution to the Islamic insurance reached from just $7 billion to $14 billion.

The rapid growth in Islamic finance makes it important to have strong corporate governance practices. So that Islamic finance can maximize its contribution to the overall economic development. There is a dire need for introducing mechanisms, which suits corporate governance in the situation wherein Islamic banking has registered robust growth compared to traditional banking in various countries.

The basic principles of Islamic finance and Islamic banking services are distribution of risks and covering its main assets. The continued growth of Islamic finance can help financing of development. This is important particularly when the world’s financial system is trying to achieve sustainable development goals.

— By Nihad Ghaus, Al-Eqtisadiah

Important investment

Ten years have passed since the launch of the foreign scholarships programs to send our best students to the best schools around the world.

It was one of the most important and historical decisions, which will continue to have a huge impact on our country and will always be remembered.

However, it would have given us feelings of elation and happiness, if the circle had completed through a good investment for them on their return. We see that our leaders emphasize on the need for their care and follow up of their status by the Education Ministry and by the offices of cultural attaches in foreign countries.

They have the responsibility of taking care of all Saudi students. Lots of students have complained about the declining standards of care by the ministry and the cultural attachés. This is why students studying on their own expenses are complaining. They have gone there hoping to get admissions as their predecessors, particularly those who have proved their mettle. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has ordered that they should be taken under the scholarship programs.

But the ministry has started imposing conditions on such students.

Therefore, I say that investment in the best students is best national investment, which would give most precious results. They are our ambassadors and our future. These students need to be taken care of as their colleagues in the scholarship programs. If they came without fulfilling their aspirations, this would have negative implications.

If the ministry does not want to take these students under scholarship program, it should tell clearly without mincing words. The ministry and the cultural attaches must understand the outcome of this negligence.

— By Mohammad Salim Al-Ghamdi, Al-Madinah