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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2002
Column: Our Life and Times by Kevin A. Barry and
Mary Holmes
Saudi executions As the Bush administration
seems poised to attack Iraq, few any longer note that 15 of the 19 September 11
hijackers, plus bin Laden himself, were from oil-rich Saudi Arabia. For over
half a century, this absolute monarchy has, with massive Western military
support, implemented a harsh religious totalitarianism based on the Wahabi form
of Islamic fundamentalism. Women have few if any rights in a system of gender
apartheid. On Jan. 1, the government
beheaded three men it accused of homosexuality. Despite protests by Act Up and
Human Rights Watch, these executions received little media attention. There are
also frequent executions for "adultery" (any form of sexual relations
between unmarried people) and "apostasy" (daring to renounce Islam). Both the government and this rich country's numerous religious charities support and propagate retrogressive and violent forms of Islamic fundamentalism in dozens of countries. Even when their aid is seemingly more benevolent, as in their assistance to embattled Bosnia, it always comes with conditions. Thus, Bosnian women widowed by Milosevic's genocide can today receive a Saudi monthly pension, on condition they wear "proper" clothing as defined by the Saudis. |
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