Saudi Bin Mourning

“Teacher, we are very sad today”, “Teacher, America very bad”, “Teacher, in 5 years... I kill Obama”

It’s fair to say the reaction to Bin Laden’s death is pretty different here in Saudi Arabia than it appears to be elsewhere. I’m not sure what I was expecting when the news broke. I certainly wasn’t expecting scenes akin to those we saw outside the White House; people celebrating and rejoicing over a death. While I think rejoicing at the death of an enemy lacks taste and class, I have slightly more sympathy with those doing it than I do with the numerous Bin Laden sympathisers I’ve encountered since his passing.

Those who start ranting about America as soon as Osama’s name is brought up seem to be completely missing the point, and implying that his actions were in some way justified. As for those who paint him as some kind of freedom fighter; I’m just glad that my judgement isn’t as warped and clouded as that. I’m in no way “pro-America”, their government has done some terrible things over the years, particularly the previous administration, but that is in no way an excuse (let alone a reason) for the slaughter of thousands of innocent people, worldwide.

A misconception you may have, reading the first couple of paragraphs of this blog, is that Saudi’s are bad people, who lack morality. This isn’t the case. They’re by no means perfect (racism and laziness are particularly rife here), but their core values are the same as ours, the same as all people around the world. They take care of their family and friends, they’re kind, they’re extremely generous and very accommodating. Their religion teaches them to lead good, honest lives. However, they have grown up in a society which completely brainwashes them. Go to the Saudi Arabian museum in Riyadh and read the (almost comical) propaganda about Kind Abdul Aziz, ask someone their views on Saddam Hussein or even Hitler (or Israel), and it will quickly become clear they’ve been fed twisted information from a young age. Censorship and totalitarian oppression in the Kingdom have restricted their access to the outside world, and in turn coloured their views. Not all of the Saudi students here at Al Jouf University support Bin Laden, the teachers of the higher ability groups (probably not a coincidence) tell me that a lot of their students are glad to see the back of him, and realise that what he did was wrong.

The practical implications of the reaction have not affected us (the Western teachers) too much. We have doubled the security at our compound, and put up an extra gate. Our proposed camping trip the desert has also been postponed until further notice. While some are suggesting the death of Bin Laden will reignite Al Qaeda, I cannot see it happening. I read an article the other day suggesting that the rise of democracy in the Middle East did more harm to Al Qaeda’s long term ambitions than anything the American government did. Forward thinking and democratic ideals go completely against what Al Qaeda stands for, and the uprising of various Middle Eastern nations against their oppressive regimes has proven these fundamentalist ideas could not flourish on a large scale as it wouldn’t receive popular support. Of course I’m not naïve enough to think the death of one extremist, whose power had already been marginalised, will bring an end to terrorism. However, I am pleased the world is rid of one of its most evil inhabitants. Someone who has caused suffering to thousands of innocent families all over the world and whose death shouldn’t evoke an ounce of sympathy from anyone, anywhere.

Unfortunately support for Osama hasn’t just been confined to a handful of Middle Eastern countries, as the picture below shows. On the anniversary of the July 7^th London bombings by Al Qaeda, people marched on the streets of London, celebrating the life of Bin Laden and holding an unofficial funeral for him, vowing to take revenge on America. Perhaps more sickening than the fact they’re taking advantage of democratic rights they’d never be allowed if Al Qaeda had their way, to voice their disgusting opinion, is the fact they’re giving their fellow Muslims a bad name, and fuelling the fire of sensationalist/racist newspapers like the Daily Mail, and moronic groups like the EDL. This small minority are making life difficult for the vast majority of Muslims who live their lives like anyone else, and follow their religion the way it should be followed.

This was a serious post! I’ll get back to more trivial, entertaining stuff tomorrow, Insha’Allah of course