Ramadan and the Sighting of the Moon
ABU MUHAMMED: if you really want to know when Ramadan begins do what many of us do–go out on the 28th of Shaaban just before sunset and look for the new moon.
Literacy: The Fatal Flaw At Heart of Saudi Academia
ABU MOHAMMED: The way in which Saudi university students is taught simply does not encourage independent, critical thought. Maybe not a problem.
The Joys and Challenges of Raising Expat Kids
ABU MOHAMMED: Raising children in the United States provides challenges that are all too familiar. Raising them in Saudi Arabia brings different issues, however.
Disaster: ‘Wasta’ Undermines Saudi Education System
ABU MOHAMMED: I couldn’t help myself. The culture of cheating induced a rant at my students. They didn’t understand. ‘This is life’, one of them replied
A Helpful Guide On How To ‘Drive Saudi’
ABU MOHAMMED: It’s a severe test of all of your senses, powers of observation and self-control – yes, driving in Saudi Arabia is an experience
Not For the Squeamish: The Power of Bawl
ABU MOHAMMED: Older Saudis know it as an elixir of good health. Their modern counterparts take a bit of persuading, however.
Thuwal Beach: An Eldorado for Jeddah Citizens
ABU MOHAMMED: Finding a pleasant, uncluttered, litter free beach near Jeddah seemed impossible. Then a friend pointed me in the right direction
Treatment of the Other: Everyone’s Responsibility
ABU MUHAMMED: Do you need the formal authority of being a King or Prime Minister to stand up for what you know is right?
Jack Daniels In Arabia: No Thank You
ABU MOHAMMED: Alcohol is banned in most Islamic countries but it still wreaks considerable damage since it can still be accessed relatively easily
Challenging Thinking: What is the Kaba?
ABU MUHAMED: I ask one question; having little to do with their world view they seem so dead set on believing. The question I ask is: “What is the Kaba?”
Saudi Women Driving: A Counter View
ABU MUHAMMED: Opening the door to a situation without fully considering the consequences and preparing for them is likely to cause more harm than good.
Rethinking Education To Build Real Saudi Prosperity
ABU MUHAMMED: The only thing stopping Saudi from becoming a superpower is Saudi. A nation cannot truly be great until it can educate its own.
Contrarian View: Why Women Shouldn’t Drive
ABU MOHAMMED: It is a cultural narcissism which has driven the west to annihilate countless peoples and their cultures in the name of so called modernization.
Time for GCC Citizens to ‘Walk the Walk’?
ABU MOHAMMED: The initiative to limit the amount of money expats can send home is another diversion away from the real issues.
The Unappealing Prospect of ‘Western Democracy’
ABU MOHAMMED: If there’s one thing calculated to get up the nose of just about every Arab it’s the supercilious lecture by a Westerner on the superiority of their democracy over all other forms of government. ‘Oh really?’
The Insidious, Corrupting Nature of Wasta
ABU MOHAMMED: Wherever you go in the Gulf you’ll hear the term – wasta. Is it really so bad? And isn’t everyone using it or trying to use it?
Could Now Be the Time for an American Spring?
ABU MOHAMMED: What I miss the most is her promise to be able to live a good life, no matter who I am or was, as an equal to other men.
A Promise Deferred: Special Needs in Saudi
ABU MUHAMMED: As a rule, Gulf Arab countries talk big when it comes to doing something about its disabled population, but very little materializes
The United States: A Nice Place to Visit, But…
ABU MUHAMMED: Guys from India and such places in the Far East generally have the worst time with me popping their soap bubble of hope of the United States as being a paradise on earth…
The Grade Factories of Education: Saudi Schools
ABU MUHAMMED: Eventually I figured out why no one seemed receptive: The first is that most government and private schools are being run for profit.
