[Serious] What do you wanna know about Saudi Arabia?

[alexw]

because it's false. Saudi Arabia was involved in 9/11 as much as the United states. Both o them were supporting bin laden in the 80s.

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It is one of the main resources of food in Saudi Arabia. We eat sheep and camels more though.

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They can. But legally speaking, they can't drive. all in time women will be able to drive as soon as conservative generation dies out.

Are the younger generations (on average) less/much less conservative than the older ones? If so can we expect SA to join the modern western world culturally in time (sex outside of marriage, divorce, gay rights, women leaders, etc)? How long do you think it will take if so?

[Super Friendly Kitty Cat]

What happened to the OP? Are they going to give their perspective?

[Slant]

i will answer them in order.

Are women still oppressed in Saudi Arabia?
in terms of driving, yes. All other aspects, god no.

Is it true that women will get stoned for being rape victims?
This question is wrong on so many levels.

Can you still get like 20 wives?
still 4. yet only older generation used to do it. I almost never see a man married to more than 1 woman. Plus, who can really afford it...

Does Saudi Arabia support the hardcore Sharia laws?
The only one that they support so hard is the way execution is done which is by beheading in public. I think the reason they still do it is because it scares the shit out of other criminals. Even though I disagree with death penalty to begin with. If they support hand chopping then I think have the country would have no hands.

Is Saudi Arabia sponsoring IS?
We supporting the syrian rebels before IS was born. After IS was born, we personally funded Iraq to take out IS.

Why does Saudi Arabia support terrorism on the West?
This is not a question. it's a statement and you are asking us to justify it.
Saudi Arabian government fight terrorism actively inside and outside of Saudi Arabia. check 2004 Riyadh terrorist attacks.

Do Saudis still support slavery in their own country (of foreigners specifically)?
god no. we have foreign workers with good standings. I guess that's about it.

Why is a dude punished by being whipped puclically for speaking out against the gouvernment?
which dude. can you provide a link?


Also let's refrain from going political because you know where this will go in this forum.

Oh, I am not asking those questions for myself, don't get me wrong. I'm asking those questions for the ignorant fucks that keep repeating similar bullshit on this forum.

The one that I'm personally curious about is this one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raif_Badawi

That seems to be a quite archaic form of punishment (flogging, that is) and as little as I know, it's for... basically blogging his opinion in a way the gouvernment doesn't like.

[Mavett]

Million dollar question, do you wear underwear under the thawbs?

[Kaeth]

Where did the OP go and why has a completely different poster been answering all of the questions?

I was curious to hear more about his project.

[Alski]

Why are women who go to Saudi with work visas told not to get into a relationship with local males.

[Gamevizier]

Where did the OP go and why has a completely different poster been answering all of the questions?

I was curious to hear more about his project.

Shnider is silent...or rather....silent is Shnider.

[Mavett]

Yup. a regular white underwear, same as western people.

Ok, next question.

What is the punishment for contacting a person from an enemy state?

[Deleted]

Hows Yemen doing?

Whos your favourite Saudi blogger?

Ever seen a migrant worker being abused/taken advatage of?

Do you agree with torture and why is it so widespread?

Why do women only make up 5% of the workforce?

Hows freedom of religion going?

Whos your favourite jew?

Whats racism in SA like?

How are Shia treated?

Hows the fight against witchcraft going?

Whats it like to have political dissent criminalised?

How are LGBT rights going?

[Cress]

How do you survive the heat?

[Mavett]

Contacting a person or working as a spy for enemy state?

I have friends from Iran. My facebook is full of them and no one questioned me about them.

ok /10000000char.

[Independent voter]

Why did the Saudis exile Osama bin Laden?

[Kalis]

Hows the fight against witchcraft going?

As a follow up, could you give any advice as to how we get rid of those Wiccan-types?

[Silent]

im here dont worry. i just have other things to do as well xD. anyway lets start answering some questions and provide clarifications!

I'd say Shnider's given some valid responses to the 9/11 and cuisine comments, but there are a few thing's I'd like to expand on, mainly: the heat, driving in Saudi, 'oppression of women', Raif Badawi, and the generational gap (conservative and modern)
....

You get used to the heat after a while. There are also air conditioner's everywhere.

Driving in Saudi is horrendous. You have jack asses that do the dumbest shit. Parking is pretty crap. People drive on the pavements sometimes (and commonly park there as well).

The whole women are oppressed thing is a bit outdated. Yes, they have to wear the abaya (the black robe) by law but thats pretty much it. They dont have to wear the hijab (head scarf) or niqab/burqa (face cover) - some of my female friends wear it to avoid getting hit on by guys tho. I will not deny the fact that there is some discrimination when it comes to work opportunities, but that has greatly improved over the past 15 years, largely thanks to King Abdullah's reforms and international scholarship programme. Basically his policies were aimed at reforming the structure from an institutional level, as well as the mind-set of the peoples. With that said, in the more traditional communities women are indeed socialised into acting a particular way, but to say they are oppressed would be - in my humble opinion - an overstatement.

My heart aches when I hear Raif Badawi. This is, essentially, a person who voiced his opinion about the state of Saudi and the government on an online blog, and because of this, he was imprisoned and flogged. He has been accused of "he insulting Islam, and the Prophet" and is receiving his punishment due to this sentencing. You are all intelligent people so I wont discuss why this is wrong, but I will explain why he is receiving such a harsh punishment. Basically he's a scapegoat. This is the government's way of making a public statement to the young and liberal generation. They want to tell them this is what happens when you critique us and go against our say. If anyone here studies Political Science you'll notice that this line of rulership is akin to the old models of statecraft where the ruler conquered his subjects with absolute power. Personally, I believe there are more productive ways to handle situations such as these but I will not go into them here (not the time nor place). Raif is just one of many political activists that has faced the wrath of the government.

Regarding the generational gap, the country is in a bit of a schism right now. On the one hand, the older generation is afraid that by adopting reformist policies and liberalise & modernise the region, then the country will lose it's tradition; history; and religion. Their concerns are legitimate. If you want to really understand why they think this way, put yourself in their position. If you've been living a particular way your entire life and then someone tells you "bro we gotta change things if we wanna improve" would you really honestly jump right on board and go ahead, or would you be hesitant? I am not saying I agree with their arguments, but I can empathise. Like someone said earlier, it really is a generational thing and it'll be expunged in 20 or so years.

A vast proportion of the young generation (read: 15 - 50) are quite open to dialogue and reform. Everyone has a different understand of what liberal means so Ill just say that these guys are: for human rights, for dialogue, for political representation, against hate speech and the incitation of violence in all it's form (including sectarianism). I would say that they wanna be like the West because, to be frank, the Western world really is not as great as you guys make it out to be. Sure, you have a lot of good things, but I think most Saudi's just want reform and to live in their culture and maintain their identity, rather than discard it and become a mirror image of a Western country (like the US).

Hows Yemen doing?

Whos your favourite Saudi blogger?

Ever seen a migrant worker being abused/taken advatage of?

Do you agree with torture and why is it so widespread?

Why do women only make up 5% of the workforce?

Hows freedom of religion going?

Whos your favourite jew?

Whats racism in SA like?

How are Shia treated?

Hows the fight against witchcraft going?

Whats it like to have political dissent criminalised?

How are LGBT rights going?

I'm against the war on Yemen. We have so many domestic problems and the government decides to take an interventionist foreign policy. I think they're doing this to distract people form the serious problems amuck in the nation. Last I heard human rights organisations reported that Saudi was deliberately targeting civilian targets. I think a follow up response form the Saudi's was that they are targeting "strategic" locations. Note the fact that they didnt deny this.

Not really a blogger, but I really like Tawfiq al-Saif's and Moshari al-Thaidi's weekly column's on al-Sharq al-Awsat (their both in Arabic tho)

Yes I have sadly. I've always intervened to help the fellow. Got into a fist fight once with a Saudi but it was okay. Took the migrant worker to an ER room afterwards. Because I worked in that hospital I made sure he got treated for free.

No I don't agree with torture because if you provide justifications for the state to use it, then they will be able to use it to justify anything they want. Gitmo and Afghanistan are excellent case studies to look into if your interested.

My fav Jew? Hmm... I'd say Matisyahu. That guy has a beautiful voice and nice rhythm in his music. I'd rate him 9/11

Racism in Saudi is like racism everywhere else. Some Arab's have this superiority complex where they think they are God's finest creation and so have the right to treat every non-Arab like shit. The recipients of this are mostly the Asian workers (Indian, Bangladeshi ... etc).

As a Shi'ee from the Eastern Province I'd say the situation is improving. Like I said earlier it's a generational thing. There are lots of problems, but our demands are being met slowly. I won't get into a lengthly discussion regarding the Shi'a here because that would detract the discussion significantly, but if you PM me I can talk to you 1 on 1 about it.

The Council Against Witchcraft had a meeting earlier so I guess it's still goin!

It feels like shit. Dude you have to understand, there is a law that says if you TALK AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT YOU ARE A TERRORIST. That basically means all political dissidents and activists under DOMESTIC SAUDI LAW are terrorists. And that was the reasoning for executing Sh. Nimr al-Nimr this January.

LGBT rights dont exist yet. I hate to say this and I know people will dislike this, but there are more significant thing's going on. I entirely and wholly support LGBT rights, but this is one of those things that 's taking a back seat for a few more years.

[Silent]

How are Shia treated?
In Qatif "where most shia live" they have the same standard of living as any other city "except riyadh" the problems there are quite problimatic cause they go out killing cops which is a felony.

Shnider, the Shi'a are the majority in the Eastern Province which has various cities (Dammam, Qatif, Saihat, Khobar, Dhahran, Jubail, Awamiya, Anak ... etc). The only Sunni majority area is Anak and Dhahran. Dammam is basically the business hub so there is no majority nor minority.

People in Qatif do not go about killing cops. You'r referring to Awamiya where the situation is akin to the black neighbourhoods and their relationship with the police. They "kill" the cops because the cops instigate a situation and illegitimatly harrass the community

[Silent]

I agree with everything you said except this. Nimr Al-nimr was encouraging young people to go out and kill cops in Jum'a khotba. as a result, he created an unstable relations between sunni and shia. So I think he deserved to be imprisoned for life. "I disagree with death penalties"

not exactly. to my knowledge he didnt call for the execution of cops. but he did encourage and motivate the community to stand up and defend themselves to with regards to the injustice they were facing. i think the awamiyya community was a bit rash and aggressive in their methods, which resulted in it backfiring sadly. but what Nimr called for was the fall of the saudi regime and not the mindless slaughtering of peoples that work in it.

(incase anyone thinks im disappearing again, ill respond every couple of hours or so)

[Deleted]

Let's ask the true questions everyone is afraid to ask:

In my experience, every fucking troglodyte on this forum tends to ask this shit.

Are women still oppressed in Saudi Arabia?

They never were.

Is it true that women will get stoned for being rape victims?

This has never been in Saudi Arabia's legislation.

Can you still get like 20 wives?

Qur'anic limit is 4.

Does Saudi Arabia support the hardcore Sharia laws?

Shariah is the main source of legislation, yes.

Is Saudi Arabia sponsoring IS?

Considering that ISIL wants to conquer Saudi Arabia and remove the House of Saud, probably not.

Why does Saudi Arabia support terrorism on the West?

It doesn't.

Do Saudis still support slavery in their own country (of foreigners specifically)?

No.

Why is a dude punished by being whipped puclically for speaking out against the gouvernment?

According to the authorities, he insulted Islam, which is a direct violation of their law. Such as it is, the "whipping" was still pretty light.

[Malachi256]

My fav Jew? Hmm... I'd say Matisyahu. That guy has a beautiful voice and nice rhythm in his music. I'd rate him 9/11

[Super Friendly Kitty Cat]

If the immigrants in your country from asian countries started protesting and demanded you check your Saudi Arabian privilege would you take their concerns to heart and check your privilege?

[Mavett]

Which is most popular?

Coca Cola, Pepsi or Crude Oil?