Girls Of Riyadh

'Girls of Riyadh' is a novel by a young Saudi women Rajaa Alsanea. The novel created quite a noise here in the Middle East. For me it was a chance reading. A friend of mine gave it to me even as I had several lying at home, waiting to be read.

Well to start with, the novel may not be a great piece of literature but has its own strengths. The writer took a rather bold subject (more for the society she talks about) and handled it rather well. Her style of writing will especially appeal to the younger net savvy lot of which she herself is a part. The chapters are short and written in form of emails, something which makes for easier reading and also serve as effective bookmarks.

The story revolves around four girls who in a way represent a different section of the Saudi society. It's about the dreams of young women in a conservative society, role of women in a male dominated Islamic country, and the freedom to choose your own destiny. Sadeem Al-Horaimli, Gamrah Al-Qusmanji, Lamees Jeddawi, and Mashael Al-Abdulrahman (or Michelle) are the seldom unheard voices of a deeply religious nation. The novel talks freely of the girls' trials and tribulations in the matters of love and marriage. Their own friendship forms the core of the novel.

Alsanea surely has stirred up the hornest's nest with her view of the Saudi society, no wonder the book was promptly banned in the country. But she has done some service to her kind with this effort. This is what she wants her readers to see, "...little by little some of these women (in Saudi Arabia) are beginning to carve out their own way - not the Western way, but one that keeps what is good about the values of our religion and culture, while allowing for reform." And hers is a voice of reason too!

On a rather different note, the novel for some reason reminded me of Chetan Bhagat's style. Although he is a far better writer.

Being a first time effort from a 25 years old author, "Girls of Riyadh" is worth a read. I especially liked the chapter dealing with the classification of human populations based on different factors. As for it being a bestseller in the Middle East, it's more to do with the subject.

Whose Mecca is this?

As I read this article on Yahoo recently, a sense of resignation hit me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070812/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mecca_lost_heritage

Mecca’s hallowed skyline transformed: Excerpts

The building boom is in some cases destroying Mecca’s historic heritage, not just overshadowing it. In 2002, Saudi authorities tore down a 200-year-old fort built by the city’s then-rulers, the Ottomans, on a hill overlooking the Kaaba to build a multi-million-dollar housing complex for pilgrims.

The holy sites have also been targeted for decades by the clerics who give Saudi Arabia’s leadership religious legitimacy. In their puritanical Wahhabi view, worship at historic sites connected to mere mortals — such as Muhammad or his contemporaries — can easily become a form of idolatry. (Worship at the Kabaa, which is ordered in the Quran, is an exception.)

“Obviously, this is an exaggerated interpretation. But unfortunately, it is favored among officials,” said Anwar Eshky, a Saudi analyst and head of a Jiddah-based research center.

The house where Muhammad is believed to have been born in 570 now lies under a rundown building overshadowed by a giant royal palace and hotel towers. The then king, Abdul-Aziz, ordered a library built on top of the site 70 years ago as a compromise after Wahhabi clerics called for it to be torn down.

Other sites disappeared long ago, as Saudi authorities expanded the Grand Mosque around the Kaaba in the 1980s. The house of Khadija, Muhammad’s first wife, where Muslims believe he received some of the first revelations of the Quran, was lost under the construction, as was the Dar al-Arqam, the first Islamic school, where Muhammad taught.

At Hira’a Cave, where Muhammad is believed to have received the first verses of the Quran in the mountains on the edge of Mecca, a warning posted by Wahhabi religious police warns pilgrims not to pray or “touch stones” to receive blessings.

Are the Saudi authorities so carried away by the wave of development that they are blindly wiping their past! It’s a pity that such revered historical places have been razed to the ground without a whipmer from the Muslim world. Ironic indeed that the destruction of a few centuries old mosque in india created such a furore worldwide but the demolition of the Prophet’s [PBUH] 1400-year-old home not even a passing mention. What’s happening to us?

With the rate at which the Saud family is going I can only see the Masjid-e-Nabavi and Khan-e-Kaaba standing 10 years from now. And they too will be dwarfed by the new high rise buildings coming up. Not to mention McDonald’s Golden Arches.

As for me, you can’t flourish if you destroy your very roots.

A Five Star Haj

A New York Times article by one Mr Hassan M. Fattah and reproduced by iviews.com made me ponder over the changing times.

Titled "The Changing Essense of Makkah," the article looks at new buildings and restaurants that are coming up in the area close to the Islam's holiest Mosque - the Kaaba.

The influence of western values is slowly and surely eroding our rich cultural heritage. I consider myself very unlucky that when I do get the chance to visit Mecca and Medina, I would see a completely different picture.

Ironic indeed when you consider that a tourist site in Agra (The Taj Mahal) has forced the closure of so many carbon emitting factories, a move to save the Taj from pollution. And here you have Islam's holiest structures gradually being surrounded by 5 star hotels, needless to mention the effects of constant digging and drilling around the shrine.

What a pity!!!

Also, who's going to afford these hotels? I know there are rich Muslims out there, but, we will be missing the real essence of the whole trip then. The 'Ehraam' that one wear during the Hajj is a symbol of simplicity and unity while praying to Allah. One person staying in a tent and the other in a 5 star hotel will only create class discrimination, destroying the whole purpose of the pilgrimage.