Reform is a slow process that takes years and sometimes generations. The ongoing tussle between the public and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Hayya) is one of the expected growing pains of reform in Saudi Arabia. A recent example was the Riyadh Book Fair, held during the past [...]
Posts from ‘March, 2009’
Images of Riyadh: MAJOR Dust Storm
This dust storm came super fast. The sky turned dark and yellow within a matter of minutes. Here is the view of Faisaliyah Tower:
The last dust storm:
The normal view:
Here is a view of Olaya Street:
2009 Doom & Gloom Update: Protests in Singapore
Singapore is famous for its efficiency (thus the nickname Singapore, Inc) and infamous for its harsh penal codes for seemingly minor infractions like littering and spitting. Like any other country it has been shaped by the circumstances under which it was created, and the environment in which it has survived since then.
This “red dot [...]
PR by Saudi Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
Saudi Arabia is infamous for it’s “religious police” who are actually not police but civil servants entrusted with policing society for moral wrongs. Affectionately called Hayya, infamously called Mutawwas, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice tends to have a love-hate relationship with the population.
The recent change of the Commission [...]
Insulting Royalty- Saudi Arabia and Beyond
Many countries with royal families tend to be extremely protective about defending their honor. Thailand was recently in the news because of the jailing of an Australian writer for insulting the monarchy and his subsequent pardon. A few weeks later a British professor ran from Thailand with similar charges against him. Several years ago Spanish [...]
