Getting Good News in the Arab World

When major decisions reflecting policy changes in America are made, coverage is global. You can choose between any of the four major networks, any number of news channels, or pick up one of the thousands of newspapers that abound in the US either in print or online. Economic problems receive perhaps even more attention, as the current global crisis dominates news coverage.

Yet here in the Arab world, the quantity and quality of news coverage is remarkably lacking. I suppose this shouldn't be very surprising given the lack of political and social rights in general, but it's important to consider particularly because the amount if economic activity that occurs here and its relation to the West. A good example of this eerie silence is the growing crisis (or non-crisis) in Dubai.

After reading this article from the New York Times highlighting the potential crash that is hitting Dubai, I decided to look around and see what else was there. Of the various articles I read from the Huffington Post, Bloomberg, and NPR, I got a couple new pieces of information, but nothing that gave me any official government commentary or new hard facts of exactly how much has changed or what losses individual businesses have taken. NPR had a disputed quote from the chief of police regarding cars left at the airport, but that's it. How can such a potentially huge headline lack the hard facts to support it?

The reason is probably my greatest frustration with the Middle East: information, particularly bad news, is hidden and protected at almost all costs. Note the new fines for journalists reporting on the economic crisis for Dubai. Rather than fix the problem, simply pretend that it isn't there. Newspapers on the ground certainly don't help. In the last three years that I've been in the Middle East, I can count the number of critical newspaper articles with tangible facts that I've read or even heard about on one hand. Most newspapers have the same appearance in the Gulf: half a page of advertisements, generally for McDonalds, and then glossy pictures of the latest meetings that some dignitary or leader attended. In Cairo and Saudi Arabia, most people read only the Op-Ed section of the paper, which often created elaborate theories for why certain bad things were happening, and blaming said events on Israel, America, or any other country that tensions might currently exist with.

These rumors, which are also often repeated or recreated on News related talk shows on the Arabic Satellite News Channels, are often times more trusted then official reporting on events. This used to confuse and annoy me, but the reason for this is there is no credible source for information here. The BBC or some other Western News agency will do good work here sometimes, but its fleeting and never followed up on. Official sources won't comment, or worse, will blatantly distribute misinformation to kill a critical story. People have no choice but to fill in the gaps of information with their own creative theories as to how bad the crisis in Dubai is because nobody is talking about it.

The great irony of the culture of limited information here is that it completely undermines the credibility of these countries and cities, which will further exasperate any economic crisis. Instead of being a beacon of Arab and Western development that is surviving the global economic crisis, Dubai looks like a secretive and unstable country that is unsafe to invest in. There are probably very few people in the world who understand exactly what the economic climate in Dubai is like right now, but the best thing they could do for all parties right now is explain what is happening right now honestly so that it could be fixed in order to protect the massive development and progress that has already occurred in Dubai and the wider Gulf region.

Saudi Reforms

Cabinet picks resigned, bankers got a serious pay restriction, and the stimulus bill got rewritten, protested, and then passed in the US House and Senate. These news items all received massive attention, and as well they should have. However in the Middle East, two articles unrelated to these other major headlines blew my mind and yet received little if any coverage on the major international English News channels

On Valentine's day, yes, V day, something very important happened in Saudi Arabia. While religious police were cracking down on potential romantic gifts, King Abdullah, a romantic at heart at the tender age of 84, changed the future of development in Saudi Arabia and really the entire world. According to this article, King Abduallah has modernized his country's education system and moderated their religious police, notorious for their enforcement of sexual segregation and other conservative interpretations of Islamic law. The education minister is now a moderate, whose deputy minister is now a woman. As a former resident of Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to even drive, this is truly amazing.

Yet the most important aspect of Saudi's reforms came in the religious courts, where for the first time since the creation of Saudi Arabia in the 1920's and 30's, all four branches of traditional Islamic jurisprudence will now be represented. Before this reform, only the most conservative branch of Islamic jurisprudence, Hanbali, was present. This resulted in Saudi Arabia pushing its own unique and modern view of Islamic law on the rest of the world through the importance of the Two Holy Cities and equally as much through massive amounts of oil revenues. Wahabi Islam, considered by even some Hanbali scholars to be too extreme, does not recognize alternative interpretations of Islam as valid. The official recognition of the diverse opinions by Islamic scholars will undermine al Qaeda, Wahabis, and other militant extremists who refuse to recognize the tradition of respect for contradictory interpretations of Islamic Law.

King Abdullah has been involved with encouraging interreligious dialogue for the past couple years now, and I didn't buy it until now. I think this guy may be serious in trying to undo the damage that celebrated intolerance has wrought on the world since the enshrinement of Wahabi Islam as their official state religion. If these reforms in women's rights, education, and Islamic jurisprudence stick for the next couple years, then the world will truly be a better place. Perhaps even Saudi Arabia will be able to develop past its only major source of income, oil revenues.

dogs

Exploring the mountains and wadis (valleys) of Oman is an excellent way to spend time and learn about traditional Omani culture. The natural environment is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and despite having lived near the mountains and traveled extensively through them, they still offer stunning views. A further benefit is the ability to talk to Omanis that are more traditional than conservative. This may seem counterintuitive, but after talking to numerous locals from very small and isolated mountain villages, I think it's true.

Contrary to popular belief, the Arab world has not always been this conservative. Across the board, it is probably more conservative in its approach to Islam now than it has ever been. Comparing Rustaq and any of the mountain villages is a good barometer of that fact. In the isolated villages and rural homes, Omani women do not where the black abaya, hijab, or niqab (cloak, headscarf, or face veil). They wear colored floral patterns of a similar cloak and headscarf, but never a face covering or any black colors. This is in stark contrast to the markets of Rustaq, Nakhal, or other regional cities in the area. The women are all modestly dressed, covered in a conservative fashion, yet village women who are often uneducated or unfamiliar with even the regional cities would appear to be far less conservative than their semi-urban counterparts.

A different but also telling example of this traditional vs. conservative reality is the pet. In the cities, it is extremely rare to find people keeping animals that are not exclusively for food or transport. Goats, sheep, chickens, donkeys, and camels are plentiful and seen as a symbol of wealth, but cats and dogs are chased and seen as dirty. Dogs are even mentioned in Islamic texts as being unclean animals. I have a friend with a dog who cannot take it outside without being extremely careful to avoid local Omanis in the city where we work.

In the small wadi towns this is very different. At numerous villages, I have seen both cats and dogs living in close proximity to the houses and interacting with the people in a very friendly way. Furthermore, I even spoke with one Omani who kept a dog as a pet. He named his dog Diwan, after the bureaucracy in Muscat. The dog was healthy, friendly, and the Omani regularly pet him during our conversation. He said that indeed dogs are dirty animals according to Islam, yet so long as you wash your hands three times before eating or praying, it isn't a problem. In my opinion, this is a far more moderate and thought-out interpretation of Islam compared to the mainstream view that dogs are dirty and not to be touched.

In short, I think there is a wealth of information about the resurgence of Islam in the modern world, but all too often reporters and Westerners call this a resurgence of tradition when really it is a new brand of modern conservative values.

Screws

In the backcountry of Oman, life is much different from Dubai. Aside from the major cities in the region, most things are slow going. Trying to understand how to live and work overseas is a difficult task, and anybody who has traveled for extended periods of times certainly knows this. Yet even after living abroad for 3 years and specifically in the same town for 6 months, life never seems to get easy. A good example of how complicated a simple errand can be was my quest to find 8 screws to replace my car speakers. Because it's very difficult to get our landlord to do anything to fix up our apartment, we've taken the initiative on everything from cleaning up leftover dust when we moved in, to building shelves and repairing toilets that leak. Not surprisingly, this gives one extra insight into Omani and broader Arab culture.

The first challenge is the timing of local stores. Almost all businesses, except for large stores, operate on a flexible time schedule of 8am -1pm, and then 4pm – sunset or 8 pm. This varies from place to place. Most towns, including mine, have a market for fresh foods, and all of the other stores are grouped according to their goods. Tailors, jewelry, hardware, homeware, and mechanics are all located next to their direct competitors. Though there is a growing number of "hypermarkets" or what Americans call big box stores (i.e. Wal-Mart or Target), most of the shopping is still done through small, locally owned stores.

It's a much more personal way of doing business that allows the customer to interact with the employees or often times the owner of a specific type of store. It fosters good community interaction and almost all people are on a first name basis, much like how I imagine small town America used to be. It also keeps prices fairly competitive for common goods, as all the stores that carry the same items are so close to each other that price comparisons are easy. Most of the time, I enjoy this surviving traditional market.

Yet some days it is absolutely excruciating to deal with, for example, when buying screws. Most of the competing stores in town are stocked with goods from the same supplier, and because the population in rural areas is very homogenous, that means that stores only carry what's popular. Despite the fact that there are no less than 5 competing hardware stores in town, all of these stores only carry wood screws. For those of you who aren't amateur carpenters, wood screws work great for wood, but crack or bend metal and plastic because they are shaped differently. Wood screws have a flat top and a triangular head, while plastic/metal screws have a rounded head and flat bottom, similar to a nut. Now don't say you never learned anything from my blog.

What does this mean and why does it matter though? A lot of things. First, it gives you a good idea of how few people are working with anything other than wood screws, which means that people aren't doing any sort of home projects, they are doing them poorly, or that they travel to Muscat to purchase screws. Also, it means that even though neighboring shops compete, that doesn't necessarily imply that there will be any more products at those stores. Most importantly, it means that I couldn't buy any screws for my speakers and have no music in my car.

Dubai

Countless articles have been written about Dubai. It's every news outlet's answer to the dark, dramatic and depressing conflicts of Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine. Every single article I have read has showcased the city's development, architecture, and shopping, complete with surreal photographs to compliment the rhetoric. This past weekend I went to Dubai for the first time, and though I only spent a short time there and cannot comment on much of the reality that is Dubai, I can say one thing: They are unique in what I have seen, and are the only place that has pulled off an authentic and truly enjoyable pub comprised almost entirely of expats.

This may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but I think it's a sign of how cosmopolitan and generally authentic Dubai is. As I've said before, I've been to most of the countries in the Middle East. While living abroad, I have always craved for a local bar like America, complete with a noisy crowd, good beer and food, and most importantly a relaxed feeling. This last part is the most important, because traveling with my wife in even the most "open" places like Bahrain and Muscat, "Western" bars generally consist of local and expat men ogling the waitresses, dancers on stage, or few Western women who do go out. Drinks are overpriced, dress codes exaggerated to keep out less trendy single men (myself once included), and house music overplayed. This is exactly what I expected from Dubai. However, I was wrong.

Going to a good pub in a hotel in Dubai is almost exactly like going out in Chicago or any other major city in America. Wide selections of drinks, competent and casual waiters with a sense of humor, and an even more classy clientele that is far more concerned with what they are drinking and who they are talking to then staring at whatever Western woman they can find conservatively dressed or not. For those of you who have not traveled to the Middle East, this is incredibly rare outside of gated 5 star resorts in Sharm al Sheikh or Beirut that only have tourists.

I really believe that this is a testament to the fact that many of the expats call Dubai home, and thus hold it to the standard of their original homes. Our Indian taxi driver complained about the government taxes on taxis and how that affects getting picked up in different neighborhoods in the same groaning matter of a Chicago taxi driver complaining about the high gas prices. Customers demand clean lobbies, food, and good service from their establishments rather then put up with Budweiser and rude ineffective bartenders who overcharge and under pour because they can go somewhere else. There are so many hotels, bars, restaurants and clubs that get reviewed in weekly local magazines critically that they can't afford to be cheap or rude.

Furthermore, the positive cosmopolitan feel of Dubai is due primarily to the fact that it is almost entirely expatriate workers. Only 10-20% of the city's residents are UAE nationals, and that doesn't even account for the massive tourism industry present. The city is more international than any other city in the region by far, and because the Dubai government is so open to maintaining its status as a cosmopolitan business and tourism hub it is one of the most politically open cities as well.

Traditional Arab Values: and the story of how Badr saved Christmas

Not that it needs to be said, but getting into a car accident anywhere is always a bad idea. However, getting into a car accident while living in the Gulf is a really bad idea. Because of the nature of laws here (many exist but with selective enforcement), you really don't know what will happen. Aside from the obvious injuries and damages, the red tape here is completely dependent on who you are, who you know, and who or what you hit. If you hit a local or if a local hits you, it is almost certainly your fault, and if you happen to be in Saudi, it is certainly your fault. Hope the damages aren't bad and insurance covers everything. According to one lifelong resident of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia has an interesting take on deciding fault and covering damages: both drivers must stay in jail until they come to an agreement. In Oman, it's less severe, but if you can't phone your employer to come immediately to the police station, you also go to jail. Also, driving a car without repairing even minor cosmetic blemishes is also crime resulting in jail, as is trying to repair said blemishes without the correct paperwork from the police station. If you even have a hint of alcohol on your breath, it's the same story: jail time.

Of course, having a friend or making a friend in the police will result in no paperwork, fines, or jail as well. In fact, after finally settling all of the consequences of my own minor car accident in Oman, I planned on writing a massive post much in the style of the above paragraph. I would detail the comical yet painful experience that lacked reason, explanation, and logic much like any Kafka novel. Yet after my Christmas Eve encounter with my new friend Badr, the following is far more interesting an approach to describing Oman.

Outside of Muscat, Oman is still quite rural, and many Omanis have little interaction with Western foreigners either as tourists or expatriate workers. English speakers are rare, and if you are dealing with common employees such as shop owners, mechanics, or general merchants, it's gonna be sign language or Arabic. Hence while replacing pieces of my damaged Land Rover at the local garage, the knowledge of Arabic is absolutely critical. This is a pain if your Arabic is lacking, but it does result in a far better experience then the average international city in terms of customer service, price, and attitude. I had first met Badr trying to replace a small in dash logo in the event I forgot what type of car I was driving and needed to look down and read my steering wheel. He ran a local junkyard for old cars, and happened to have a number of Discoverys around which made him quite useful for parts. After my accident I quickly realized how useful he was. After receiving quotes in Muscat for new rims, he routinely gave me parts for at least half the price of his counterparts in Muscat. Additionally, I always got a free cup of tea and a good conversation about life in America. Unlike my mechanic in Muscat, he could say immediately if something could be done, do it when he said he would, and then give me the local price.

On Christmas eve, I had just gotten my car back from Muscat after a month of repairs and red tape, only to suffer a blowout driving around town. Yet this was no ordinary blowout. This blowout happened to sever the gas line between the fuel cap and tank, resulting in a trail of diesel accenting the tire shrapnel now littering the road. Despite it being during the local naptime (similar to Siesta, but occurring between 1 and 4 pm when everything closes), I called Badr, to ask about a possible repair. Within, 5 minutes, he was there with a tow truck, two friends, and a smile.

"small problem we'll be done in 10 minutes" he said calmly in Arabic. Small problem and ten minutes in Arabic is almost always completely inaccurate and could be said for how long it takes to make a cup of tea to you'll never see your car again. Yet he was completely right. It took exactly ten minutes counting the tow, the reattachment of the fuel line, and the new tire and wheel he game me. In addition, he asked for no money, told me to return the next morning to get a new spare, and offered to personally go with me to buy new tires in order to guarantee me a good price.

Some would call this a Christmas miracle or his gift to me for buying most of my parts from him and talking with him in Arabic every time I came by. Yet really, it's the Arab hospitality that I really think is at the root. In most of the Gulf, Arab hospitality is thrown around and seen as being an obligatory cup of tea or coffee. Yet in the mountains and small villages without foreign fast food or malls, almost all of the customers are local friends and family. Anyone else is a traveler, and according to the true rule of hospitality, they must be helped. In a harsh climate, it makes perfect sense. Without any help from other locals during travel, you will die. After so many cold experiences seeing foreign workers treated inhumanely and western expats being continually ripped off, it's incredibly uplifting to know that admirable and altruistic traditional values from the Arab world still persist outside of the boom towns lining the coast.

young men have many of the same restrictions...

Here is another great article from the New York Times on the Middle East, this one on young men in Riyadh. Much like the previous article on young female flight attendants, this one focuses on the young men from Saudi Arabia. Having lived in Saudi Arabia for almost a year, I can say that I'm both thankful for the experience and glad not to make it a permanent home.

Last year, I lived and worked in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which is certainly more liberal than Riyadh but also still very much a part of Saudi Arabia. The picture painted by the New York Times is quite familiar to the lives that most of my students lived, with a few exceptions. Some of the students do routinely claim to date girls, and its very possible to see a few brave young men and women eating together in the malls around Khobar.

My friends regularly spoke about how the religious police had really toned down their pressure on social activities in the past 5 years in the Eastern Provence (which includes Khobar, Dammam, and Dharan which is home to the largest oil production facility and company in the Kingdom.) That said, the affect of the occaissional vice bust or worse, social policing by family and community members prevents almost all interaction between men and women at all times.

The result is a bizarre partioned world reminisent of segregation from my American history books. Instead of "whites only" signs, there are "singles section" and "family section". In nicer restaurants, they have seperate entrances, and if you are an unlucky brave sole who isn't married or related to your date, occaissionaly police check id cards to ensure nobody sneeks in. As a westerner, I knew of friends who had broken rules before, but I was terrified when a woman once asked me for directions. Even worse was walking around a mall and hearing loud whispers in Arabic saying "ohhh, welcome my love" and giggling. But for all of the talk of people getting busted, I had several students who clearly broke rules, I went to an underground rock concert, and never once was I ever hassled by the police, religious or not.