The Children of Mansour & Fatima

It took four years for logic and justice to prevail in the case of Fatima and Mansour but no less it prevailed. For those who don’t know the case here is a brief summer:

Fatima and Mansour got married with the approval of Fatima’s father and were happy together with 2 kids. After the death of Fatima’s father her half brother went to court asking that the marriage of his sister be abolished under the claims that Mansour lied about his heritage and that he is not worthy of his sister. Keeping in mind that the couple were happy and refuse to separate the judge granted the divorce. Ever since Fatima has been in jail ever since with her youngest child refusing to leave jail except with her husband who has been raising their eldest child alone. An appeals court held the divorce valid but the supreme court just voided the divorce and reunited the couple. This officially ends the case.

This is only one case of many in Saudi Arabia of such stupidty, hopfully this is the begining of a trend to stop families from forcefully and lawfully divorce a happy couple.

A link to a news item in a local English newspaper: http://bit.ly/dCQDP2

Shaik Said AlMadluh

Story

A Saudi judge in AlQatif region of Saudi Arabia annulled the marriage of a 14 year old girl from her 70 year old husband. Apparently the girl who is living with her father after her parents divorce was forced by her father to marry the old man who is about 56 years older then her. After the weeding the girl ran away to her mother who later took her to court demanding an annulment which the judge Sheik Said AlMadluh accepted her request under the reason that she was forced into this marriage out of fear.

Commentary

Now this is great news finally a judge with brains and the courage to do something about these stupid and disgusting marriages. However, I do need to wounder if this is an exception because what isn’t said in the news article and I had to research my self is that the judge is a Shiite judge and not a Sunni judge as AlQatief is a Shiite region. Will the Ministry of Justice interfere and over turn the judgment or would they accept it and adopt it to the rest of the country as an example? Only time will tell.

Saudi Arabia does not have written criminal law to deal with terrorism offenses, and many terror suspects are never tried in court, he said.

“Their best bet of coming out is to go through a religious re-education program,” he said. “The Saudis like this (program), but we’re more skeptical.

“Telling a detainee that he’s all wrong about religion can’t take the place of any judicial hearing.”

Source CNN.com

Commentary

I’m no fan of Human Rights activists as the majority of them are argent people that think they know whats rights and wrong and everybody else is wrong. However I have to agree with them here that these prosecutions are way over due and religious re-education is not the correct path.

Ali AlKhudair

Story

An update to an earlier story about Saudi Arabia turning the cases of terrorists to the Judaical system shows that the official count of terrorists being prosecuted is 991 and the number of judges presiding on these cases 6 judges. These number could increase according to official sources. These terrorists were responsible for over 160 failed terrorist acts, over 30 successful terrorist act. The death of 74 Saudi officers and wounding of 657 others, the death of 90 civilians and the wounding of 439 others. The Saudi authorities have also confiscated from the terrorists tons of explosives and thousands of weapons and ammunition. To note Saudi Arabia has been struggling with a rise in terrorist attacks starting in 2003 and with the efforts of Saudi law enforcements such attacks have decreased dramatically during the last couple of years. To note a news sources mentions the names of a few religious leaders who have provided the terrorists with religious approval for their acts. Some of the names mentioned are Naser AlFahad, Ali AlKhudair, and Ahmad AlKhalidy.

Commentary

Now that’s a large number, its about time they got these criminals to court to face justice and their victims. I hope these prosecutions go without any trouble.

Riyadh General Court

Today Monday October 20th 2008 Saudi authorities started the prosecution of 70 terrorists who have supported or performed terrorists acts in Saudi Arabia during the last few years. This has been an overdue prosecution as some of these men have been in prison for years with no official charges which has upset many human rights organizations. The Judaical authorities have assigned 10 judges to

look into these cases and the security around the court house has increased.

Commentary

This has been long overdue. The Saudi government has been using the excuse that investigations were not completed and that many of these terrorists had information that was helpful in cracking down their colleges. That is understandable but it only made other terrorists more dangerous. As for the last few years many who were arrested were freed for good behavior and for abandoning their terrorist believes as long as they didn’t help to kill or killed anyone. Compassion and help is not what terrorists need, what they need is an iron fist and the death penalty to know where they end up with such horrifying acts.

Sheikh Saleh Al-Luhaidan,

Story

The head of the Saudi Judaical System issued a fatwa on a radio show declaring that the owners of TV station who broadcast material deemed inappropriate may be punished by death.

“If the evil of those who promote corruption in belief and actions cannot be held back through lesser punishments, then they can be put to death through the judicial process,” Lohaidan, head of the Supreme Judicial Council said.

The reaction to this fatwa has gained national and international reaction.

“The extremist elements will take advantage of the fatwa and start recruiting our young people to bomb the locations of such TV stations,” al-Obeikhan, who is also an adviser at the Saudi ministry of justice, was quoted as saying to the Saudi Al Jazeera newspaper.

Commentary

So this is basically old news by now but its important. Of course I followed this fatwa as it happened but decided to hold back posting it and commenting on it due to my unbalanced negative reaction to it and I didn’t want to say something that I would regret.

Plain and simple this is the most idiotic fatwa I have ever heard and a very dangerous one. I quoted part of the fatwa in the story however it might not sound as bad translated and only showing a part of it. When the fatwa in its whole and in Arabic is repeated it sounds even worse. Even though the fatwa does say that the death of the owners must be through the courts it is so open to translation that fundamentalist and terrorist organizations could use it as a support to killing and blowing up TV stations and their owners.

The truth of the matter is that the courts would never be able to prosecute any of the TV station owners let alone pass the death penalty against them as the government would never allow this. Luhidan knows this just as everybody else in Saudi Arabia knows this, so why a fatwa declaring death to TV station owners when he knows it will never happen? Clearly its a message for fundamentalist and terrorist organizations to take matters into their own hands.

Luhidan did come on TV the next day to clarify his fatwa however his explanation was complete bull s*** as it was most about how great he was and how knowledgeable and sticking to his fatwa just clarifying that it is for the Judaical system to follow it and not individuals.

Its time for Luhidan to resign and have someone with more sense take over the Judaical system.