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Saudi Arabia: Thoughts from a London Trip '
by Amira Al Hussaini, Global Voices
Saudi blogger Prometheus [Ar] is just back from the UK and shares his impressions from his visit and the people he saw there in this post.
Like many Arabs who visit the UK, Prometheus is surprised with the large Arab and Asian communities in the British capital:
Visitors to Britain may notice that there are many Muslims, Arabs and Asians there. I am not exaggerating if I say that there is an Arab or an Asian among every for Britons. The Arabs are concentrated in Paddington, in particular on Edgware Road, which you would think is an Arab neighborhood. Cafes, grocery shops, restaurants, bookshops and shops, etc, all swarming with Arabs, whether permanent residents or tourists passing by.
Israeli Brothers 1951 Ruth Orkin
He continues his observations saying:
I also noticed the preference of Arabs of keeping away from each other and we can generalize this phenomenon to include each different nationality on its own. Perhaps they are thinking that their problems in their own lives are enough and that they don't need to make new friends and acquaintances who would add to their woes. Even the shisha [an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water] has its permanent presence in coffee shops there, despite the fact that smoking is banned almost everywhere there and all those who break this ban are subjected to punishment. I suspect that the tolerance of the English towards shisha stems from their consideration that it is a cultural affair and part of the customs of immigrants and visitors. The bookshop I visited on Edgware Road had all the Arabic titles you can imagine and all those banned booked in the Arab world, which discuss religion, sex and politics.
Prometheus continues his explorations on a bus, where he overhears other Saudis comparing between life in the UK and in their home country:
On board one of the buses, heading towards Oxford Street, I heard a Saudi telling his companion: "Among us you only hear bad descriptions of the Westerners and the English, in particular. We have been warned a lot about them before coming here and we pictured this country to be the epicentre of crime and hate. We are surprised to see the opposite of what we were told. The English are a civilized people and we have seen all good things from them. I am sure they are more humane than us, Arabs and Muslims, in a number of aspects. We haven't seen any robberies or crime at all. If there is a safe place in this world, it is this country. Last night I walked on the road next to the hotel at around midnight and it was raining and everything was fine."
His companion replied, while laughing: "Don't put us off by talking about our conditions (back home). Thank Allah for the break and enjoy the freedom you see here. At least we are taking a break from all the speeches, denials, fatwas (religious edicts), talk about women driving, and blasphemy, etc."
Arab in the UK
The blogger is also impressed with the open dialogue between politicians and the media and may even be surprised that such discussions, even when heated, are beamed on television screens:
One night, I saw on TV, on one of the Sky channels, a heated debate between two anchors and two British Members of Parliament. They were discussing a draft law submitted to Parliament which proposed giving each MP another home. One of the presenters addressed the MPs saying: "Public money is our money. It is not your money, or the Government's money, or the Prime Minister's money. As a citizen, I am concerned where my money goes and how it is spent. Also, what are the services you have done which merit such incentives." The anchor continued: "I am asking you those questions because you are the people's representatives. They are the ones who elected you and they are the ones who can remove you from your posts if they realise that your only concerns are getting more incentives and guarantees, etc."
The debate continued at this level of intensity and frankness until the end. It also included sharp criticism of Prime Minister's Gordan Brown's stance towards the draft. It seemed that he was trying to hold the stick from the middle, hesitating between pleasing the MPs or upsetting the constituents. I told myself as I was watching the show: "This is why the West is ahead of us. It seems that we have another 100 years to go before we achieve half of the freedoms, rights and democratic traditions they have."
You may view the latest post at
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/05/13/saudi-arabia-thoughts-from-a-london-trip/
