In the recent weeks, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths and officials from the U.S., U.K. and other European countries have been trying to affect a ceasefire in Yemen and promote a political solution to the conflict there. In October Griffiths announced plans for a new ro...
During a debate on Al-Hurra TV (U.S.) that aired on November 9, 2018, Saudi journalist Muhammad Al-Osaimi said that Iran is the "obvious and real enemy" of the Arab states. He criticized the Arab countries for not recognizing Israel's existence even though the entire world - the ...
On October 16, Al-Jazeera TV aired a simulation of Jamal Al-Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The simulation is based on information leaked by Turkish sources, and it shows Al-Khashoggi being grabbed by two attackers, who injected him in the neck with...
On November 11, 2018, The Washington Post published an article by Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, chairman of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee in Yemen, attacking Saudi Arabia for its actions in the context of the war in Yemen. The article also attacked the U.S., arguing that t...
Now that Saudi Arabia has acknowledged its responsibility for the Khashoggi murder, it is time to clarify Turkey's role and responsibility in the affair, from the perspective of the battle between Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's Muhammad Bin Salman for the leader...
The tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which has been ongoing for 18 months, intensified even further following the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[1] Known for his criticism of the Saudi authorities and support for the Muslim Brotherhood (which Saudi...
Since the murder in early October of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and with the daily publication of foreign media reports on Saudi involvement in the affair, many articles are appearing in the Saudi media expressing rage at what they called a hostile media campaign against t...
A Saudi TV debate dealt with the question whether people suffering from psychological problems should go to a psychiatric clinic or to someone who would recite Quranic verses over them. Psychiatrist Dr. Jamal Al-Tuwairqi said that Freud, who, he claimed, "went to New York and fou...
In contrast to the scathing criticism directed at Saudi Arabia by Western media and by Saudi Arabia's Arab rivals, headed by Qatar, following the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom's Arab allies, as well as Arab bodies and organizations, have come t...
In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian preacher Sheikh Abu Mus'ab Al-Hadra criticized Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman for having the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi carried out in the Saudi consulate. After spending infinite funds on weapons and forei...
In the last 24 hours, Saudi Arabia has sharped its tone towards the U.S., in response to recent statements by U.S. officials, among them President Donald Trump, that Saudi Arabia will be punished if it proves to be responsible for the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Al-Kh...
Following the September 22, 2018 shooting in Iran's Ahwaz region, Muhammad Ahl Al-Sheikh, a columnist for the Saudi government daily Al-Jazirah, described the shooting as a "legitimate resistance operation" by the Arab minority that is oppressed by the Iranian regime, and express...
Saudi-Kuwaiti singer Shams Bandar said that she accepts Jews, Christians, and people with no religion. Responding to criticism of a tweet blessing Jews on a holiday, she said sarcastically: "So burn them. Bring Hitler back. Bring ovens… We have modern ovens that burn faster." Whe...
Abdullah Al-Mutlaq of the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars said that polygamy was "sometimes a necessity and sometimes a crime" and that if a man marries multiple wives, he must treat them equally. Speaking on an October 3 fatwa show on Saudi Arabia's TV Channel 1, Al-Mutlaq said...
The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and was never seen leaving it, is a trending topic in the Arabic press, particularly the Saudi press. Khashoggi, whom some Turkish elements surmise was murdered ...
In 2014, Saudi cleric and author Sheikh Muhammad Al-Arifi gave an address in which he cited the antisemitic hadith "The Prophecy of the Rock and the Tree," and said that the Jews were cowardly by nature, as could be seen throughout history - in the days of the Prophet Muhammad, i...
In an article he published following the September 22, 2018 attack on the military parade held by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Ahvaz, Saudi journalist Hussein Shubakshi attacked the resistance axis – Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas – which, he said, wages ...
On October 7, 2017, on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the 1973 war between Israel and the Arabs, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published an article by its former editor, 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, in which he praised then Egyptian President Anwar Sad...
In an article published August 9, 2018 in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Saudi author and researcher Fahd Al-Shkairan claims that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden derived inspiration for his ideological and military activities from Iran's Islamic Revolution, and t...
Following the death, on August 25, 2018, of Republican U.S. senator John McCain, Khalid Al-Suleiman eulogized him in his column in the Saudi government daily 'Okaz. Titled "The Last of the Honorable American Politicians," the column describes McCain as a serious and wise politici...
Against the backdrop of the Canada-Saudi Arabia tension following the arrest in Saudi Arabia of human rights activists,[1] on August 8, 2018, Muhammad Al-Sa'ed, who writes in the Saudi daily 'Okaz, published an article harshly critical of Canada. He wrote that, following Hillary ...
MEMRI's Director of Reform in the Muslim World Mansour Al-Hadj discussed the recent arrests of human rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hadj said that the lack of political reform under Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has disappointed those who were hopeful abou...
On August 6, 2018, the Saudi-based Twitter account Infographic_ksa tweeted an image of an Air Canada aircraft that appeared to be heading towards the CN Tower in Toronto – in an apparent hint at the September 11, 2001 attacks – accompanied by the text in English: "Sticking one's ...
Against the backdrop of the political crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada, commentators on the Saudi 24 network launched an attack on Canada's human rights record, especially with regard to Canada's indigenous people. They "are being dispersed and killed," said Saudi jour...
On July 25, 2018, the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked two Saudi tankers in the strait of Bab El-Mandeb in the Red Sea. In response to the attack, Saudi Arabia announced it was suspending shipments of oil via the strait "until maritime transit through Bab El-Mandeb is...
Recently, there has been a discussion in Saudi Arabia about appointing women to roles connected to the religious establishment, such as in issuing fatwas and serving as religious judges (qadis).
In a Ramadan edition of his television program on Saudi Al-Majd TV, 'Abdallah Al-M...
In an opinion piece published July 23, 2018 in the Saudi English-language daily Arab News, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Khalid bin Salman, called on the international community to adopt a unified and comprehensive strategy to confront the destabilizing behavior...
In an article published July 15, 2018 in the Saudi government daily Al-Yawm, Saudi journalist Sukina Meshekhis called on the Arab countries to take bold steps, including certain concessions, in order to advance peace with Israel. She wrote that peace is a supreme human aim for wh...
It has recently been reported that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to slap oil sanctions on Iran beginning in November of this year. To this end, on June 30, 2018 he asked Saudi King Salman Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz to increase his country's oil production so as to prevent any shortage...
In a June 13, 2018 interview with Saudi MBC TV, Saudi journalist Mishal Al-Sudairy recounted the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, from Mufti Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, who allied himself with Hitler in WWII, through his successor Ahmad Al-Shukeiri, who "lived his entire l...
In a June 13 TV interview, Saudi journalist Mishal Al-Sudairy recounted the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, from Mufti Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, who allied himself with Hitler in WWII, through his successor Ahmad Al-Shukeiri, who "lived his entire life in five-star hote...
Shiite Iraqi cleric Yassin Al-Musawi said in a recent TV interview that Saudi Arabia, which it called "our kindhearted neighboring country... that meek and calm kingdom that wants only what's best for us," sends us suicide bombers on a daily basis. "One day they send us ISIS, ano...
Muhammad Al-Arab, head of the Paris-based "Peace Without Limits" NGO, criticized Hamas, which he said has brought famine upon its people in Gaza and has become Iran's "hired gun." "Whenever Iran is in trouble, Hamas instigates incidents, in order to relieve the pressure [on Iran]...
In advance of the June 24, 2018 implementation of Saudi King Salman bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz's historic decree permitting women in the kingdom to drive, the Saudi Al-Watan daily published, on June 18, an infographic by the Saudi Department of Transportation featuring answers to question...
The decree issued by Saudi King Salman bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz nine months ago lifting the ban on women drivers in the kingdom will go into effect on June 24, 2018. In the lead-up to the historic date, Wafa Al-Rashid, a columnist for the Saudi 'Okaz daily, attacked the demeaning and pa...
The September 26, 2017 decree by the Saudi King granting women permission to drive is to take effect on June 24, 2018, and the various Saudi authorities have been taking measures in preparation for implementing it, such as issuing a Saudi driver's license to women who already hav...
The rapid expansion of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Iraq, and the fact that many of its fighters are Saudis, have sparked growing fears in Saudi Arabia that the extremist organization might spread to the kingdom. Among the reflections of this fear were the Saudi respo...
In an article titled "From 9/11 to Foley’s Murder, Extremism Lives On," 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, the director of Al-Arabiya TV and former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, seeks an answer to the question why the world's 13-year war on terror has not achi...
In an article titled "Enough Lies, the Arab Body Politic Created the ISIS Cancer," senior Lebanese journalist Dr. Hisham Melhem, who is Al-Arabiya's Washington bureau head and a correspondent for the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, comes out against the prevalence of conspiracy theories...
In the opinion section of the English-language daily Saudi Gazette, UK-based Pakistani journalist Ali Ashraf Khan wrote that the rise of antisemitic sentiment throughout the world – exemplified by statements such as "all Jews should be gassed,"[1] is an "understandable reaction" ...
Saudi Admiral (Ret.) 'Umro Al-'Amery, who is currently a writer, and who penned a column for the Saudi government daily Al-Sharq from 2012 to 2013, posted on his Facebook page criticism of the Palestinians, particularly Hamas, in the current Gaza conflict with Israel. He stated t...
In an article in the official Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, titled "Only In The [Saudi] Kingdom: A Woman Gives Birth To Her Own Guardian," Saudi writer Lubna Al-Khamis termed as "benighted" the Saudi law that requires every Saudi woman to have a male relative as her mahram, or guardian...
The takeover of large parts of Iraq by the terrorist organization The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was met with astonishment in Arab world. ISIS's advance was termed "a disaster",[1] a tsunami,[2] or even "the end of the Arabs."[3] The surprising nature of the developme...
In a recent fatwa, senior Saudi cleric Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Barrak proclaimed that football is an abomination that causes people to waste their time, to adopt the depraved customs of the enemies of Islam, and to glorify "infidel" football players. He issued the fatwa in respo...
Against a backdrop of the Gulf states' bitterness regarding U.S. policy in the region, the Saudi and Bahraini presses recently published a number of articles condemning it.[1] In a particularly scathing column published May 17, 2014 in the Bahraini daily Akhbar Al-Khaleej, Bahra...
The Saudi religious police prevents the kingdom's citizens from celebrating Valentine's Day and bans the sale of red roses and other products associated with the holiday. Enforcing this ban, the Buraidah criminal court on May 2014 issued sentences totaling 32 years' imprisonment ...
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (left) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani At a May 12, 2014 meeting in Tehran, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to boost Iran-Pakistan bilateral relations. They also agreed to press ahead wi...
In a May 14, 2014 article in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Arabiya director and the daily's former editor 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed responded to reports that the Saudi foreign minister has invited his Iranian counterpart for negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Al-R...
On March 26, 2014, a video was posted on YouTube showing two Saudi youths being executed by Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) on charges of fighting for the rival jihad group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).[1] In response, Saudi columnist Dr. Muhammad Al-Harbi published an articl...
In an article titled "A New President from the Bush Clan" in the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Saudi columnist Mamdouh Al-Muhaini supported former Florida governor Jeb Bush as the Republican candidate for the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, and detailed his reasons for...
In her column in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Saudi columnist Lamia Al-Swailem attacked the glorification of death in Arab culture, and examined the difference between the value of human life in the Arab world and in the West. Calling on the Arabs not to accuse Westerners ...
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. According to an Urdu-language daily, recruitment has begun for Saudi Arabian security agencies in different areas of Pakistan's...
U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Riyadh, slated for March 28, 2014, has received little attention in the Gulf press. The few articles that addressed it expressed criticism of the U.S. Middle East policy, especially vis-à-vis Iran, Egypt, Syria and Iraq, stating tha...
Ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia, planned for March 28, 2014, the director of Al-Arabiya TV and former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, wrote an article on Saudi-U.S. relations. In it, he argued that t...
In a series of recent articles, Pakistani writers questioned the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for toeing the Saudi line as regards Syria, as media reports emerged that Saudi Arabia has asked for Pakistani military weaponry such as Chinese-built JF-17 Thunder figh...
In a Friday sermon, Saudi Imam Ibrahim Al-Harethi extolled martyrdom and Jihad, and criticized the “traitors in the Arab media” – mentioning Al-Arabiya TV and the Saudi London-based “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” daily – praying to Allah to have “their hands chopped off and their tongues cu...
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. In a recent TV interview, former Saudi Internet celebrity Suleiman Al-Subaie, known as "Sambateek," recounts how he became invol...
Saudi columnist Dr. Jibrin 'Ali Al-Jibrin, who is a sociology professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, wrote in an article in the official Saudi daily Al-Watan that Muslims fight each other and thereby do themselves more harm than their enemies do; despite this, he said they ...
Lately, several historic and unusual meetings have taken place between Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington and London, and Israeli officials.[1] In response to criticism evoked by these meetings, which were seen as a kind of ...
According to the Urdu-language daily Roznama Naya Akhbar, Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan to dispatch two divisions of its army (some 30,000 troops) to the kingdom as part of a bilateral defense agreement currently being formulated between the two countries. The report has it th...
On January 13, 2014, liberal Saudi columnist Khalaf Al-Harbi published an article in the Saudi government daily 'Okaz, in which he claimed that, despite the "horrific acts of massacre" that former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon carried out, the number of Arabs he killed is n...
In a December 24, 2013 column in the English-language paper Gulf News titled "Has Iran Really Changed?", former Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Turki Bin Faisal responds to his own question with considerable skepticism. While noting that Saudi king 'Abdallah wishes the ne...
Every year, with the approach of the Christian holidays, and particularly Christmas, religious rulings are published in the Arab and Muslim world prohibiting Muslims from participating in the Christian celebrations and from extending holiday greetings to Christians.[1] In an arti...
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, manager of Al-Arab TV and former editor of the official Saudi daily Al-Watan, dedicated his November 23, 2013 column in the London daily Al-Hayat to the topic of youths who are tempted to travel to jihad in Syria. The title of the column calls to...
The following MEMRI TV clip is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. Following are excerpts from an interview with imprisoned Saudi Jihadi cleric Walid Al-Sinai, which aired on MBC TV via t...
On September 23, 2013, two young Saudi men drove off a bridge while being chased by the officers from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, i.e., the Saudi religious police, known locally as "the Haia." One of them was killed instantly and the other l...
In a video address, jihadi leader Sheikh Saqr Al-Jihad called to commit martyrdom and to be placed in Paradise "along with the Prophet Muhammad... Sheikh Osama [bin Laden], and Sheikh Abdullah Azzam." "Oh, how we miss them," wailed the sheikh, who, wielding a dagger, said: "We a...
Dr. Hamza Al-Salem, a columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, argued in a September 12, 2013 article titled "Salafism Is On Its Deathbed" that Salafism, i.e. Wahhabism, [1] which was once a source of strength and power for Saudi Arabia, is now the source of the mental, social, ...
In recent months, the Twitter account @Wahabism has tweeted a series of satirical comments about the meaning of Wahabism, or Wahhabism, explaining how the Wahhabi ideology has become a source of bloodshed across the Islamic world, especially when followed by Sunni jihadi organi...
In an interview with the Saudi Rotana Khalijiyya TV channel, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and former chief of general intelligence, said that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were experiencing a crisis of confidence. To U.S. President Obama, who, accordin...
Underage marriage, particularly marriage between underage girls and older men, is common in some parts of the Arab and Muslim world, and occasionally comes up for debate in the Arab media. This happened recently following the case of a Yemeni 11-year-old, Nada Al-Ahdal, whose fat...
`Following the November 24, 2013 signing of the Joint Plan of Action in Geneva between Iran and the 5+1 group, most Arab countries – including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE – officially welcomed the deal, each for its own reasons, and expressed ...
Introduction
In December 2011, the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states approved the of initiative Saudi King Abdallah bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz to set up a Gulf Union, and progress from the stage of cooperation to the stage of full-fledged union as a single entity. Th...
Introduction U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's November 3, 2013 visit to Saudi Arabia will take place amidst considerable tension between the two countries. The Arab Spring has given rise to more than a few disagreements between the two countries over the policy of the admini...
The prohibition against women driving has been a matter of public debate in Saudi Arabia for years.[1] The ban is based on a fatwa issued in October 1990 by the Senior Cleric's Council – the kingdom's top religious body – which stated that women were not allowed to drive and that...
The Arab Spring revolutions, which brought the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to power in Egypt and Tunisia, forced the Saudi authorities to contend with the growing power of the MB and its supporters within Saudi Arabia and outside it. The Saudi press responded to the challenge with an...
Introduction
Violence towards women is a common and expanding phenomenon in Saudi Arabia and an issue that greatly preoccupies Saudi society. According to the executive manager of the National Family Protection Program, three out of 10 Saudi women are subjected to domestic vi...
Introduction
On January 11, 2013, for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia – where women have no right to drive and are still required by law to obtain the escort and approval of a male guardian for almost every step that they take[1] – King 'Abdallah bin 'Abd Al-'Azi...
Introduction On March 23, 2013, as the Sunni-Shi'ite struggle in Lebanon reached a peak, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced his resignation and brought down the Hizbullah-dominated government that had been formed in June 2011 under the sponsorship of this organizatio...
Introduction
The topic of gender and women's status in Saudi Arabia is complex and fascinating, and poses a difficult task for researchers. Saudi society, being a traditional, conservative and closed society, does not enable easy access to those seeking to reveal its secrets. ...
Introduction Dr. Turki Al-Hamad, a liberal Saudi journalist and writer known for his criticism of extremist Islam, was arrested recently for some statements he made via Twitter on December 22, 2012. Dr. Al-Hamad wrote: "A new Nazism has arrived in the Arab world, named Islamism. ...
Introduction The use of social networking sites has become very common in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Studies conducted in this country have revealed that 38% of the population use social networks, more than in any other Arab country, and that Saudis lead the li...
Introduction On July 8, 2012, Saudi security forces the Shi'ite city of 'Awamiya (in Al-Qatif governorate in the country's Eastern Province) arrested senior Shi'ite cleric Nimr Bakr Al-Nimr. As on several occasions in the past, he was arrested for sedition after directing hars...
Introduction In a September 25, 2011 speech at the Saudi Shura Council, King 'Abdullah bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz surprised his audience by announcing that, from 2013, women would be allowed to serve as members of this council, and that they would also be allowed to vote and to run in th...
Introduction Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia have increased in recent months over the events in Syria, with the two countries taking opposite sides in the conflict. Saudi Arabia, alongside Qatar, has led the camp calling to oust the Assad regime and arm the Syrian oppos...
Introduction Recently, the Saudi government press, as well as Arab media and social networks, reported on student demonstrations in several Saudi universities in protest of poor learning conditions. Initially, the Saudi press reported on a demonstration held by female students at...
Introduction In light of the popular uprisings in the Arab world, especially in the Gulf, the past year has seen a considerable escalation of the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have been in conflict for many years. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are following with con...
Introduction Among other manifestations, tensions between the Gulf states and Iran were reflected through cartoons. The Gulf, and especially Saudi, press, including its London-based newspapers, published numerous cartoons condemning Iran and depicting it as interfering in Middle...
Introduction
For over a month, Shi'ites in Bahrain have been staging demonstrations to demand the ouster of the regime and the implementation of reforms in the country. On March 14, 2011, a senior Saudi official reported that under the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) joint defe...
Introduction The wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab world has now reached Saudi Arabia. For several weeks, various elements in the kingdom have been preparing for a day of demonstrations against the regime, set for March 11, 2011, which they are calling the "Hunain Revolution."...
Introduction Sheikh 'Abd Al-Muhsin Al-'Obikan, an advisor at the Saudi Justice Ministry, recently issued a fatwa allowing the breastfeeding of adults. The fatwa is aimed at enabling an unrelated man and woman to be secluded in the same room, a situation which Islam considers fo...
Saudi Arabia greeted the U.N. Security Council's most recent round of sanctions against Tehran with a certain degree of satisfaction. Saudi analysts opined that the sanctions were a sign of the failure of Iranian diplomacy; some went so far as to suggest that the sanctions marke...
Introduction Islamic affairs researcher Sheikh Ahmad bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz ibn Baz, who is a columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Watan and son of the former Saudi mufti, conservative Wahhabi Sheikh 'Abd Al-'Aziz ibn Baz (1912-1999), recently gave some interviews to the Saudi media in ...
In early November 2009, following several years of fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia launched a military offensive against Houthis rebels in northern Yemen in retaliation for their infiltration of its territory. In the course of this offensive,...
Introduction During the January 2010 London Conference on Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed to Saudi King 'Abdallah, asking him to participate in mediation efforts between the Afghan government and the Taliban. His appeal focused media attention on Saudi Arabia'...
Saudi Arabia has recently seen a revival in the field of cinema after years of inactivity in this domain. For the first time in 30 years, the authorities have permitted to screen a Saudi film in the country; several film festivals have been held; and demands have been heard to b...
Saudi Arabia has recently seen a rising tide of criticism over child bride marriages, especially following the marriage of a 12-year-old girl to her father's 80-year-old cousin who already had three wives.[1] The phenomenon of underage marriage, extensively covered in the Saudi...
Introduction In a MEMRI dispatch issued shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, we wrote the following: Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing country among the members of the Organization of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC) and, as such, it is the dominant force in the orga...
Introduction A few days before the Hajj (November 25-30, 2009), Iranian officials deliberately intensified statements calling on Shi'ites, and all Hajj pilgrims to Mecca, to conduct baraa - a kind of political protest against the infidels and apostates instituted by the founde...
Introduction On June 7, 2009, the March 14 Forces won the Lebanese parliamentary elections. Five months later, on November 9, 2009, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman endorsed a government that represents a victory for the opposition, which is celebrating its achievement of man...
The current clashes between the Saudi security forces and the Houthi rebels who have infiltrated Saudi Arabia from Yemen have intensified the steadily escalating conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is part of the cold war in the Middle East between the pro-Saudi camp a...
Introduction Recently, Saudi women activists, led by Saudi Princess Jawaher bint Jalawi, launched a campaign called "My Guardian Knows What's Best For Me," calling for redefining the term "guardian" and for opposing calls by those with liberal views to improve the status of wom...
Introduction Beginning in mid-2009, the Iranian and Saudi media have been regularly exchanging accusations on a number of points of conflict: the escalation between the Yemen army and the Houthi rebels, [1] the intensified attacks in Iraq, Iran's involvement in Lebanon and the...
Introduction Reactions in the Arab media to the awarding of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Obama were split into support and opposition. The supporters of the move stated that Obama deserved the prize for the spirit of reconciliation and moderate messages t...
On August 13, 2009, the Iraqi daily Al-Zaman cited a statement by Yousef Al-Matlabi, political advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, accusing Saudi Arabia of inciting violence in Iraq. As evidence, he noted the arrest in Iraq of several Saudi nationals who had recentl...
Currently, Iraqi-Saudi relations are at a nadir. While Iraq has time and again officially reiterated its desire to strengthen relations and resolve disagreements with Saudi Arabia, the Saudi response has been less than enthusiastic. The Saudis have repeatedly rejected Iraq's pr...
Introduction Since he took the throne on August 1, 2005, Saudi King 'Abdallah bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz has instituted far-reaching reforms that have changed the face of the Kingdom. The reforms included: Establishing a body to elect the king and crown prince from among the sons and g...
Introduction In advance of the Doha summit in late March, 2009, Egypt and Saudi Arabia made their participation conditional on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's not being invited. Saudi Arabia and Syria held several high-level meetings in an attempt to alleviate the tension...
Saudi Islamic scholar and university lecturer Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Rays said in an October 30, 2019 interview on Diwan Al-Mullah Internet TV (Kuwait) that people should support their ruler even if he abuses his power, steals money, commits adultery, and drinks alcohol, because obedie...
On October 25, 2019, Saudi Arabia’s MBC TV aired a report about female construction workers. The report tells the story of three Saudi sisters who work in construction. According to the sisters they initially faced many obstacles from society but have now surmounted them and have...
Houthi Political Bureau member Muhammad Al-Bakhiti said in a September 29, 2019 interview on Al-Manar TV (Leabnon) that if the Saudi leadership does not cease its aggression against Yemen and lift the siege, the Houthis may, in the future, turn their campaign into an offensive ca...
Yemeni Minister of Health Nasser Ba'aom said in a September 28, 2019 interview on Yemen TV that the Yemeni government's only goal is to eliminate the Iranian "project" that is spreading in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. He warned that the "Shiite crescent" will become a "full m...
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said in a September 22, 2019 interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that the international community's procrastination and lack of determination regarding Iran will only encourage Iran to carry out further acts of sabotage in the regi...
British-Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on September 20, 2019 that the September 14 Houthi drone attack on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil fields in Saudi Arabia has rocked the national, intelligence, military, and political pres...
In a September 16, 2019 press conference in Ankara, Turkey following talks with Iranian and Turkish leaders that included Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "In order to [enable] Saudi Arabia to prot...
On September 14, 2019, Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) hosted a debate about the drone strikes that took place earlier in the day against the Abqaiq and Khurais oil fields in Saudi Arabia. General (Ret.) Mamoun Abu Nowar of the Royal Jordanian Air Force said that the attack is unprece...
Saudi strategic expert Muhammad Al-Qabiban said in an August 29, 2019 interview on Al-Sumaria TV (Iraq) that Israel has the right to defend itself and its borders from Iranian "lackeys" like Hizbullah. He said that Iran's intervention has created anarchy in the region and he crit...
Saudi journalist Adnan Muhammad said in a July 23, 2019 show on Saudi 24 TV (Saudi Arabia) that Qatar cannot be discussed without mentioning its relationship to terrorism. He said that Qatar has played an important role in the Somali Al-Shabab movement, which is a branch of Al-Qa...
Houthi politician Sheikh Sultan Al-Samie, a member of the Supreme Political Council, said in a July 22, 2019 interview on Al-Thaqalayn TV (Lebanon) that the Houthis have a list of over 300 targets in several Gulf countries and that they will be using a new type of missile in the ...
Saudi journalist Ahmad Al-Farraj said in a July 24, 2019 interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that it is "politically naïve" to say that U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are crazy or unstable, or that there are "impending global dange...
Houthi Minister of Tourism Ahmad Al-Aly said in a July 3, 2019 interview on Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) that the Houthis have a list of 300 strategic targets in the UAE. He said that the Houthis will not "stand idly by" and that they will target the UAE in the same way that the UAE has...
England-based Iraqi academic Sabah Al-Khozai appeared in a June 16, 2019 show on Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) and referred to Iran as a "Safavid regime." The Al-Jazeera anchor asked Al-Khozai to refrain from calling Iran a "Safavid regime" because it is "disrespectful" and because such ...
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's former chief of intelligence, said in a June 14, 2019 interview on Al-Arabiya TV (Dubai/Saudi Arabia) that he believes that Iran had not originally supported Al-Qaeda, but that when Al-Qaeda disintegrated following the American invasion of A...
On May 21, 2019, Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) aired a report about Houthi drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. According to the report, the Saudi-led coalition said that the most recent drone attack in Najran, Saudi Arabia targeted a vital facility used by civilians, while the Houthis cl...
The Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, MI, a Shiite Islamic center, held a memorial service for the Shiites that were executed in Saudi Arabia in April following terror-related convictions. A video of the memorial was uploaded to the Institute's YouTube channel on ...
In a May 6, 2019 interview on Rotana Khalijiyah TV (Saudi Arabia), Saudi scholar Aed Al-Qarni apologized to "Saudi society" for having held extremist views and for having "violated the Quran and the Sunnah" and the nature of Islam. He said he was apologizing on behalf of the Isla...
Saudi cleric Adel Al-Kalbani, the former imam at Great Mosque of Mecca, said in a March 22, 2019 interview on MBC TV (Saudi Arabia) that he recently changed his mind regarding Shi'ite Muslims and that he no longer considers them to be heretics. He also said that if the Christchur...
Professor Jamal Harfoush, who is running for the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies, uploaded a video to the Internet on December 18, 2017 in which he harshly criticized Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states for – according to Harfoush – supporting President Trump’s decision to mov...
During a class he taught at the Brixton Mosque in London, Saudi cleric Sheikh Muhammad Al-Malki said that many women, who thought they were being brave and powerful by preventing their husbands from marrying another Muslim woman, have contracted AIDS as a result of illicit relati...
On December 16, 2018, Rotana Khalijiyya TV (Saudi Arabia) aired a debate about normalization of relations with Israel. Saudi journalist Dahham Al-Enazi said that Iran and Turkey are bigger threats in the region, and that the Arab conflict with Israel is over borders while conflic...
During a debate on Al-Hurra TV (U.S.) that aired on November 9, 2018, Saudi journalist Muhammad Al-Osaimi said that Iran is the "obvious and real enemy" of the Arab states. He criticized the Arab countries for not recognizing Israel's existence even though the entire world - the ...
On October 16, Al-Jazeera TV aired a simulation of Jamal Al-Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The simulation is based on information leaked by Turkish sources, and it shows Al-Khashoggi being grabbed by two attackers, who injected him in the neck with...
A Saudi TV debate dealt with the question whether people suffering from psychological problems should go to a psychiatric clinic or to someone who would recite Quranic verses over them. Psychiatrist Dr. Jamal Al-Tuwairqi said that Freud, who, he claimed, "went to New York and fou...
In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian preacher Sheikh Abu Mus'ab Al-Hadra criticized Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman for having the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi carried out in the Saudi consulate. After spending infinite funds on weapons and forei...
Saudi-Kuwaiti singer Shams Bandar said that she accepts Jews, Christians, and people with no religion. Responding to criticism of a tweet blessing Jews on a holiday, she said sarcastically: "So burn them. Bring Hitler back. Bring ovens… We have modern ovens that burn faster." Whe...
Abdullah Al-Mutlaq of the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars said that polygamy was "sometimes a necessity and sometimes a crime" and that if a man marries multiple wives, he must treat them equally. Speaking on an October 3 fatwa show on Saudi Arabia's TV Channel 1, Al-Mutlaq said...
In 2014, Saudi cleric and author Sheikh Muhammad Al-Arifi gave an address in which he cited the antisemitic hadith "The Prophecy of the Rock and the Tree," and said that the Jews were cowardly by nature, as could be seen throughout history - in the days of the Prophet Muhammad, i...
MEMRI's Director of Reform in the Muslim World Mansour Al-Hadj discussed the recent arrests of human rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hadj said that the lack of political reform under Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has disappointed those who were hopeful abou...
Against the backdrop of the political crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada, commentators on the Saudi 24 network launched an attack on Canada's human rights record, especially with regard to Canada's indigenous people. They "are being dispersed and killed," said Saudi jour...
In a June 13 TV interview, Saudi journalist Mishal Al-Sudairy recounted the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, from Mufti Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, who allied himself with Hitler in WWII, through his successor Ahmad Al-Shukeiri, who "lived his entire life in five-star hote...
Shiite Iraqi cleric Yassin Al-Musawi said in a recent TV interview that Saudi Arabia, which it called "our kindhearted neighboring country... that meek and calm kingdom that wants only what's best for us," sends us suicide bombers on a daily basis. "One day they send us ISIS, ano...
Muhammad Al-Arab, head of the Paris-based "Peace Without Limits" NGO, criticized Hamas, which he said has brought famine upon its people in Gaza and has become Iran's "hired gun." "Whenever Iran is in trouble, Hamas instigates incidents, in order to relieve the pressure [on Iran]...
Senior Iranian official Mohammad-Javad Larijani referred to the U.S. 9/11 Commission Report, and said that in some cases, Al-Qaeda members travelling from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan and elsewhere were allowed to pass through Iran without having their passports stamped. Larijani,...
Shiite Iraqi scholar Yousuf Al-Nasseri, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hizbullah Al-Nujaba movement, said that "our top priority is to topple the political regime in the 'Kingdom of Sands' in the Arab Peninsula – the Saud clan," which was "footing the bill for all the massacres ...
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![London Lecture by Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Malki: Polygamy Is the Remedy for AIDS [Archival]](/sites/default/files/new_images/tv/Sheikh muhammad al-maliki 43.jpg)
![London Lecture by Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Malki: Polygamy Is the Remedy for AIDS [Archival]](/sites/default/files/wide/tv/Sheikh muhammad al-maliki 169.jpg)
