Arab News picks up the story about fraudulent degrees purchased from an American ‘diploma mill’, offering Saudi government response to claims that at least 70 Saudis had partaken of the forbidden fruit. The government promises an investigation. It also asks Saudi media to not accept ads from sketchy organizations offering degrees.
The problem is complicated by several factors. In the US, there is no single, federal agency that establishes school curricula and course requirements. Each of the states has its own Dept. of Education that does this. Universities are not graded or accredited, per se, by the federal government. This is handled by a handful of regional accreditation bodies. Things get even more complicated when you take into account that not all students signing up for courses are looking for academic credits or degrees: they want only to learn new things. The states, therefore, do not limit educational institutions to only those offering degrees.
The problems arise when people try to game the system by offering more than they are legally permitted to offer. Sometimes (often) it’s out-and-out fraud. Sometimes, though, it’s a misunderstanding between the institution and the student, with the student not understanding the limits of what’s being offered.
In this instance, there’s not much question about the intent of the organization. It was offering counterfeit degrees from real universities as well as phony degrees from imaginary schools.
Fake-degree mill in US leads to Saudi inquest
Fatima Sidiya I Arab NewsJEDDAH: A long list of people who had purchased or attempted to purchase fake university diplomas in the United States has spurred the Saudi education authorities to launch an investigation into the issue of Saudis and expatriates who may be working in the Kingdom on counterfeit certificates.
However, Shoura Council member Abdullah Al-Tuwairqi called the reaction to the list “disappointing,” and expressed concern that education officials would have a death-by-committee mentality in addressing the issue.
The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Washington state recently obtained and posted online a list of nearly 10,000 names of people who had spent $7.3 million on purchasing or attempting to purchase fake diplomas from an illegal operation. The US Department of Justice shut down the illegal enterprise and compiled a list of its clients. The list was then leaked to the newspaper, which posted it online at: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/data/diploma-mill/.
The list contains at least 70 Saudis, or persons who listed their country of residence as Saudi Arabia. For example, one of the names on the list is a Saudi woman who bought degrees in obstetrics and gynecology. The newspaper reported that US federal investigators do not know if the woman is currently working as a medical doctor in the Kingdom.
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The Washington Post has a good article on the brouhaha surrounding the publishing (or not) of a novel about the Prophet Mohammed and his young wife Aisha.
A Book Too Hot Off The Presses
Random House Feared Radical Muslim Backlash
Michelle BoorsteinOnce upon a time, Sherry Jones was a Montana newspaper reporter who dreamed she could contribute to world peace with a novel about the prophet Muhammad and his feminist leanings. Then she wrote it. Today? She’s the target of a Serbian mufti and a Middle Eastern studies professor with a lawyer.
Life has been a roller coaster lately for Jones, 46, who went from being a Book-of-the-Month Club pick to seeing her novel dropped by Random House, which said in a statement it had received “cautionary advice” that the fictionalized story of one of Muhammad’s wives might “incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.”
A Random House spokeswoman said she could not think of any other time the company had canceled a book because of such fears.
Jones and her novel, “The Jewel of Medina,” are subjects of debate from Egypt to Italy to Serbia, where 1,000 Serbian-language copies were printed before the local publisher backed out, too.
Finger-pointing abounds. Feminist Muslims are blaming censorship; Jones and her agent are blaming the Middle Eastern studies professor; and Random House is saying that Jones — who says she doesn’t fear Islamic retaliation — should honor a non-disclosure agreement and stop talking about their dispute.
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Interesting piece in the US entertainment trade paper, Variety. It’s about a documentary film being made about Muhammad Asad, born into the family of Orthodox Jewish rabbis in Ukraine, who converted to Islam in the 1920s. He became friends with King Abdul Aziz and wrote several books, most famously, The Road to Mecca. Asad is still viewed with great favor in Saudi Arabia. I can’t count the number of copies of The Road to Mecca I’ve been given by Saudi friends and contacts.
The film being made is an Austrian production. I don’t think it will get much play in the US, on cinema screens or TV, but the fact that it is being made, now when parts of Europe are in the throes of fear of Islam, is interesting in itself.
A Road to Mecca –The Journey of Muhammad Asad
ALISSA SIMONA Mischief Film production, in cooperation with ORT, Arte, NMO, supported by Vienna Film Fund RTR — Fernsehfond Austria. (International sales: Autlook, Vienna). Produced by Ralph Wieser, Georg Misch. Directed by Georg Misch. Written by Misch, Miriam Ali de Unzaga.
With: Samuel Honigsman, Martin Goldenberg, Abu Moussa, Arnon Soffer, Ahmed Zaki Yumini, Ikram Chaghatai, Talal Asad, Malise Ruthven, Sonia Muyal.
Narrator: Georg Misch.
(English, German, Urdu, Ukrainian, Spanish, Arabic dialogue)An Ashkenazi Jew’s transformation into one of the most influential thinkers of modern Islam is explored in Austrian helmer Georg Misch’s provocative docu “A Road to Mecca — The Journey of Muhammad Asad.” Placing its fascinating subject (born Leopold Weiss) and his ideas in the context of contemporary history, this well-judged combo of travelogue and biopic artfully blends candid interviews with archival footage, photos and apt quotations from Asad’s extensive writings. A natural for specialist fests, cable and the educational market, the lively, informative pic should enjoy a long life in ancillary. A 52-minute version exists for broadcast.
Weiss, a descendant of Orthodox rabbis, was born in 1900, in Lvov, Ukraine, then a distant outpost of the Austro-Hungarian empire. His strict family fled to Vienna before World War I. He studied journalism in Berlin and traveled to Palestine in 1922, where he was fascinated by his first contacts with Arabs and Muslims, in particular the camel-riding Bedouins.
When Weiss converted to Islam in 1926, taking the name Muhammad Asad, his family disowned him. Attracted to Islam’s ideals of peace and brotherhood, he traveled widely throughout the Middle East, conferring with kings and political leaders as well as common people, and later joined philosopher-poet Muhammed Iqbal (his collaborator on the 1934 book “Islam at the Crossroads”) in planning the creation of Pakistan.
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‘Dueling fatwas’ once again in Saudi Arabia. This time, the Grand Mufti is rejecting a fatwa issued by a prominent Saudi Islamic scholar on the issue of birthday parties and wedding anniversaries. According to the Grand Mufti, there are only two occasions worthy of celebration by Muslims: Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr. Anything else, he says, is ‘un-Islamic’.
Does every single moment of life in Saudi Arabia have to be ‘Islamic’ or ‘un-Islamic’? Can there not be things on which Islam has no pertinent dictate? Of course there can be. Islam recognizes five types of actions: those things strictly forbidden; those things that aren’t all the great but don’t condemn one to Hell; neutral things; good things to do that bring merit in the afterlife; good things which are obligatory for Muslims to do. Surely, parties celebrating happy events can be put into the neutral category, though of course excess could move them to a less meritorious status.
The Grand Mufti did not address the issues of wedding parties. They are—as many Saudis note—occasions for rampant excess, something that necessarily moves them along the negative side of the ranks. Will he forbid them next, finding them ‘un-Islamic’?
Grand mufti rejects Al-Oadah’s fatwa
JEDDAH: Celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries has no base in Islam, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Alsheikh has said.
The mufti made the comments while answering a question from Al-Madinah newspaper after prominent Qassim-based scholar Salman Al-Oadah issued a fatwa saying that celebrating such occasions was not against the rules of Shariah.
“Such a call is against righteousness. A Muslim should thank Almighty Allah if his children are healthy and if his married life is stable as the years pass by. He should say: Alhamdu Lillah for His generosity and kindness,” said Al-Alsheikh, who is also the chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars and the head of the Presidency for Scientific Research and Religious Edicts (Dar Al-Ifta).
Speaking on satellite television last week, Al-Oadah, who is the general supervisor of the Islamtoday.com website, created controversy after ruling that there is nothing un-Islamic in celebrating wedding anniversaries and birthdays.
“It is normal for a son or daughter to celebrate birthdays. They can invite their friends for a meal on this occasion. I see nothing wrong in this,” he said.
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An interesting pair of articles caught my eye this morning. One is an editorial from The Washington Post on the shame of Saudi Arabia not having women in its Olympic delegation of athletes. The other is a commentary on the issue in Saudi Gazette that laments that the West is beating on Saudi Arabia once again.
The editorial from The Washington Post is pretty much what one would expect. It points out that the lack of female athletes puts the Kingdom in violation of two Principles of the Olympics. As a result, the paper suggests, the Saudis should not be permitted to take part in the 2012 Olympics in London.
The piece from Saudi Gazette is interesting in that the writer, Sabria S. Jawhar, seems a tad thin-skinned, over-defensive and slightly logic-impaired. She complains, for instance, that the criticism is unfair because no Saudi woman would likely qualify for the Olympics in the first place.
To quote Homer Simpson, ‘Doh!’
Saudi women are not permitted to take part in organized athletics once they get beyond grade school. How, pray tell, might they develop the athletic skills needed to compete in the Olympics?
The writer does believe that Saudi women should take part in the Olympics—if they’re modestly dressed, of course—but wishes the West would stop picking on Saudis. She lays pretty flamboyant allegations about drug abuse by Olympic athletes and suggests that the West put its own house in order before it criticizes the Kingdom.
The problem of Saudi women being shut out of athletics is a problem worthy of international attention. Saudi attitudes and practice put the country well outside the norms of 21st C. behavior, well outside the norms of basic human rights. Regardless of what problems may prevail in the West, the glaring example of Saudi Arabia’s lack of concern about women is fair game for criticism.
Saudi Arabia, along with Brunei, are the only countries in the world to not send female athletes to the Olympics. Other Islamic countries—including theocratic Iran—seem to have found a way to reconcile modesty with athletics. It’s time for Saudi Arabic to get with it.
Interesting story in Saudi Gazette on follow-up of a US investigation and prosecution into an American diploma mill that gave fraudulent degrees and diplomas to more than 9,000 people, including some 69 Saudis. The story is sourced to an article appearing in ‘a Washington paper’—likely this piece from The Examiner—though as it’s an Associated Press story, it got nation-wide distribution.
What’s interesting is that the Saudis’ names popped up as the result of concern about terrorism. Having advanced degrees makes it easier to obtain certain kinds of US visas, so it’s a legitimate concern that terrorists could make use of the fraudulent documents to enter the US.
Fake degrees represents a different kind of problem for the Saudis, though. Many jobs are filled on the basis of academic achievement, so fraudulent documentation could easily put unqualified people into positions where their lack of knowledge could create havoc. The article focuses on teachers, but I suspect the average Saudi would not be pleased to learn that his doctor had a fake degree.
This does bring up a question about ‘over-credentialing’ jobs, of course. Requiring documents of educational achievement beyond what the job actually requires is its own problem. The US government is not immune to this. I found it ironic that for most of the staff jobs in my office in Riyadh, I could not qualify for them as I lacked the academic degrees that were being demanded. I’m clearly not the only one to notice this as the criminal investigation identified several US federal employees who had obtained fake degrees from this diploma mill.
Ministry to probe 69 fake degrees
Riyadh – Following accusations in the US of 69 Saudis holding fake degrees from American Universities the Ministry of Higher Education confirmed that it will probe the allegations, Al-Watan reported.
A newspaper in Washington published the list of 180 people who purchased fake high school and college degrees. Sixty-eight from the UAE were also identified as well as others from around the Gulf.
The fraud came to light following the indictment and conviction of eight people involved in running the scam after being apprehended by the US Attorney’s Office in “Operation Gold Seal.” The ringleader of the scam, a 58-year-old high school dropout, has been jailed for three years, the Washington newspaper reported.
Muhammed Al-Awahli, undersecretary at the Ministry of Higher Education for Educational Affairs said the ministry will examine the credibility of the list of suspected fake degree holders especially for those teaching at Saudi universities.
He said some of the people listed may not be working in higher education but any who are found with fake degrees will be dealt with through the proper channels.
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I’ve just reviewed Wolves of the Crescent Moon, by Saudi writer Yousef Al-Mohaimeed. You can find my full review here.
I found the book to be interesting for its insight into the lives of those cut off from Saudi mainstream society because they are considered social outcasts: a former slave, a Bedouin denounced by his tribe, an orphan. All lack status and all have exceptionally difficult and precarious rows to hoe in managing life in the city. Lack of connection leaves them variously bruised and on edge, with little hope for improvement in the future. I don’t find the book a particularly good novel, but I think it an excellent look at a segment of Saudi society too often ignored—by Saudis as well as outsiders.
Financial Times reports that due to the crisis of confidence following the collapse of the Saudi stock market in 2006, not only the Saudi government, but those of the other Gulf States have moved toward a climate of more transparency in finances. the goal is to get rid of insider trading and market manipulation, and to develop confidence in the markets by both domestic and foreign investors. It’s a very good start, and Saudi Arabia has taken the lead.
Gulf regulators crack down on abuse
Robin WigglesworthAs regional equity markets experience a period of summer turbulence, Gulf regulators are stepping up efforts to repair a reputation for insider trading and market manipulation.
To improve transparency, the Saudi Capital Markets Authority this week started to disclose the names of shareholders who hold more than a 5 per cent stake in listed companies.
This revealed the fact that several government agencies are leading holders of Saudi stocks. One of these institutions, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, owns SR377bn ($101bn) of shares in 18 companies.
Other regulators are moving against insider trading and market manipulation – most notably in the United Arab Emirates – to level the informational playing field for foreign investors.
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Saudi Gazette, translating a piece from Asharq Alawsat, reports that the city of Jeddah’s infrastructure cannot support the building of high rise buildings. Whether it’s the road grid, sewage, or water distribution, the city just cannot handle the additional burdens skyscrapers would demand.
This will serve to push the limits of the city outward, as well as encourage the development of places like Rabigh, one of the ‘economic cities’ now under construction. With contemporary planning philosophies, the new cities should be able to handle increased demand more efficiently and effectively.
Jeddah - Adel Bashnaq Chairman of the Infrastructure in Jeddah’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned against the construction of skyscrapers in the coastal city because of technical difficulties, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
Bushnaq said one of the major technical difficulties limiting the construction of skyscrapers in Jeddah is its weak infrastructure.
He pointed out that Jeddah’s master plan doesn’t include mega consuming outlets and service facilities.
“The skyscrapers will further worsen the flow of traffic because the limited capacity of the roads and transportation networks. The infrastructure doesn’t match the needs of the current population density.”
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As I write this on Monday, Tropical Storm Fay is moving north in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Some of today’s models of the storm (which are very disparate), show it making landfall in Sarasota, Florida, where I live. The storm’s intensity is not very clear: by the time it gets here, it could be just a tropical storm or it could be a Category-1 hurricane. A few models suggest it could become a Category-3 hurricane. The storm’s uncertainties, oddly enough, have pushed up the price of oil!
Whatever intensity of the storm, it means that there will be a lot of rain and heavier-than-normal winds. I’m not particularly concerned about damage to me or my place of residence. What is likely, however, is that the electric systems will go down. During the hurricanes of 2004, power was down for three days following hurricanes that passed 60 miles to the south, east, and north.
I’m prepared to deal with the inconveniences of that—no air conditioning in 90° F (32°C) temperatures with 90% humidity (just like Jeddah!), no refrigerator, no electric stove, no cable TV, no phones. What I cannot do is access the Internet with no electricity, thus, no blogging.
So, be advised that Crossroads Arabia may become inert for a few days if the storm does its worst. I’ll try to ‘pre-post’ some materials today so that you’ll have new pieces to read, but my last-minute preparations today might hinder that. [UPDATE: The most recent models suggest that the storm might hit as early as tonight.]
If Crossroads Arabia goes dark, it will only be for a matter of days. I’ll be back ASAP.
UPDATE: Monday, 17:30 The latest predictions are that the storm will not reach hurricane proportions and that it will hit land about 60 miles (100 km) to the south. Not great news for the people down there, of course, but not too bad for me.
This part of Florida has most of its service lines—electricity and phone—run on poles. The water table is too high to bury them as in many cities of the world. That leaves them liable to damage from falling branches and blowing debris, as well as water being blow at high speed. Even though the storm may not hit here directly, it is still likely to take down electrical services. So, while I might escape the worst of the storm, I’ll probably be without power for some period of time—extent still to be determined.
Here’s a link to my local TV station, ABC-affiliate WWSB. The site has lots of weather maps, if you’re interested in that sort of thing, including live radar and (during daylight hours) satellite photos. For the most authoritative news about the storm, the National Hurricane Center can’t be beaten. Its site, however, can be overloaded… I ran into some difficulties accessing the page earlier today. It seems that immediately following updated reports, they get a little more traffic than they can bear.
Here, though, is a nifty weather radar map which should update regularly. It shows Sarasota receiving scattered rain right now, which is also what I see from my window.
UPDATE: Tuesday, 08:30 Well, it looks as though Sarasota has dodged a bullet again. The most recent predictions show the storm going either past us to the East or hooking around us. None show it coming to pay a visit. Four-eight inches of rain and breezes of up to 24mph are the most we can expect. The electric company should be able to deal with that!
The Washington Post’s Saudi correspondent points out that women are not totally absent from Saudi Arabia’s Olympics efforts: there is one woman, Arwa Mutabagani, who is in Hong Kong as a member of the Saudi Olympi Committee. She’s not in competition, but she believes that her presence represents the opening of a door to future participation by women in competitive events. Interesting, surprising, and worth reading.
An Olympic Door Opens for Saudi Woman
Faiza Saleh AmbahJIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The first female member of a Saudi Olympic delegation is spending her days with the equestrian team in Hong Kong, checking on horses, encouraging riders, planning training schedules and meeting with officials.
Arwa Mutabagani, 38, a professional show jumper, became a member of the Saudi Olympic Committee after her appointment in April to the government body in charge of sports in Saudi Arabia, another first for a woman.
Saudi Arabia has long been criticized for being one of a few countries that ban female athletes at the Olympics, but Mutabagani said her role is a sign that Saudi Arabia is trying to open the way for women in sports.
“The door has been opened. I want to work hard and prove I’m not just a token woman or figurehead,” she said.
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American magazine ‘Fortune’ has a piece on how the Saudis are seeking to diversify their economy, moving away from petroleum as the sole source of income. The country is rich in minerals, including gold, aluminum, and phosphates and the government seeks to capitalize on that. The piece notes that the Saudi gold mines are also ancient, perhaps comprising the legendary King Solomon’s Gold Mines. According to the article, Saudi Arabia seeks to become the world’s leading exporter of diammonium phosphate, a fertilizer, and become a major aluminum exporter as well. The article also points out that the value of the ores is one thing, but processing them—through energy intensive production—gives the country a real relative advantage.
These industries, however, are capital intensive, not labor intensive. That means they will not do a lot to alleviate unemployment pressures. Perhaps up-line industries might develop from them, though—things like jewelry making and the production of aluminum utensils—providing a little help on that front.
Saudi Arabia’s new gold mine
Forget oil. Prospectors are looking to strike it rich off of gold - the shiny kind
Barney Gimbel(Fortune Magazine) — A new generation of fortune hunters is seeking riches under the sands of Saudi Arabia.
But this time they’re searching for gold - the shiny kind, not the black, liquid variety - and potentially even more lucrative metals and minerals. “Gold, copper, phosphate, bauxite - this place could be the next Canada or Australia,” says Inés Scotland, CEO of Citadel Resource Group, an Australian company that is mining copper in the kingdom. “The geology here is fantastic.”
Prospectors have been extracting gold in Arabia for more than 3,000 years - some say King Solomon’s riches came from here - but the Saudi government only recently opened up the land for large-scale commercial exploration and production.
“Saudi Arabia is the size of a small continent,” says Abdallah Dab-bagh, CEO of the state-run mining company, Ma’aden (whose name means “minerals” in Arabic). “But if you look at the amount of exploration drilling that has been done here from 1945 until today, it’s the equivalent of what happens in Canada in one year.”
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