Re: 1,000 lashes for Saudi man for talking about sex
I wonder how the Saudis deal with / talk about Arabian Nights?
Reason - of all the countries in the world, KSA should be the last one to worry about economy/funds for the foreseeable future. Every living and just born is per capita richer there than most other parts of the world by sheer oil. yeah oil will depete at somepoint but not before Social Security become bankrupt in the US. Saudi royals may be hypocrites and tyrants but they are not fools. Where do you thing Saudi wealth is invested in?
It is heights of irony but in a way KSA is the least islamic of the current bunch of so called islamic countries -
- they are wealthier than almost all others
- they rarely suffer have terrorist attacks (yet osama is from there!)
- they are closest to the USA - even closer in respects than Israel (whether Bush or Obama!)
- they're teh seat of Mecca yet they get along better with the non-islamic West and the East better than almost anyone else
- they are Wahabi yet war on terror doesn't affect them at all
Imam Ali (as) said: "Hokomat kufr kay saath ki ja sakti hay- magar zulm ka saath nahi ki ja sakti".
Strong and sustainable systems can never be built upon values such as suppression, oppression, fear, hypocrisy; irrespective of how "solid" they look on the outside. My family is settled here in KSA for more than past 4 decades and trust me, this system is built on extremely wrong values.
Al-Sauds enjoy a great friendship with the US/UK. This partnership actually goes back to the last century when the British used the Al-Saud, a Najidi tribe (who were the most notorious tribe, well known for looting, raping, and destroying- basically Bedouin decoits) aiding them financially and with weapons to topple Sharif Hussain of Mecca and take over Hejaz (read history for more interesting details. One good read is: Two faces of Islam by Stephen Schwartz).