Saudi Businessman Blasts US Double Standard
Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 8 July 2007 — Blasting the United States for its double standard in the Middle East policy, a Saudi businessman has said that while the country has a department of public diplomacy to try to undo the damage done to its image as a result of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it persists in its pro-Israeli tilt along with a hostile attitude toward Muslims.
This is one of the points raised by Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed, chairman of Riyadh-based Golden Grass Inc., an agricultural company, in a letter sent to all US congressmen. A copy of the letter was also received by Arab News.
Al-Rasheed, who also runs two websites, wrote to the congressmen in the context of the recent House of Representatives vote prohibiting any aid to Saudi Arabia. The legislation calls for a blockage of any further financial assistance extended by the US government.
His letter to the congressmen comes at a time when US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes invited 24 women from Harvard University in the United States and Jeddah-based Dar Al-Hekma College who met in Jordan recently to take part in a “Habitat for Humanity” building project.
The joint effort, called the “Hekma-Harvard Women Build”, provided an opportunity for women from both cultures not only to help build two homes in the community of Ghor Al-Safi, but also to exchange ideas and experiences through this unique international project.
The two groups were linked initially through a teleconference by Hughes who visited Dar Al-Hekma College in 2005. Eager to find a way to link women in Saudi Arabia with their counterparts in the US, Hughes’ office contacted Harvard University, where the idea for the joint build was circulated to students at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Habitat for Humanity became involved when Hughes’ office contacted Habitat for Humanity International in Washington, DC.
Such an initiative to enhance its public image in the Middle East, it is pointed out, is nullified by its blatantly pro-Israeli Middle East policy and its continued moves toward pre-emptive strikes against states deemed hostile to US interests. Iraq was one of the victims of such invasion waged on a false pretext.
In his letter, Al-Rasheed said: “We are told that your government provided $2.5 million to this training program in 2005 and 2006, which the US House of Representatives seeks to block in future. While the ban on such aid would not have even the slightest impact on a rich country like Saudi Arabia, what bothers me is the argument advanced in justifying such a ban.”
The letter has provoked strong comments, both for and against, from the congressmen.
Al-Rasheed said that “when we talk of religious intolerance, the US, unfortunately, projects a poor image of a country that has become increasingly intolerant of Islam and symbols identified with this faith.”
In this context, he quotes the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) “which has documented numerous cases of Muslims being harassed in the US, mosques damaged, women in veil being humiliated, and others discriminated against in schools and offices on grounds of their religious belief. No one ever hears of any gentleman wearing a skull cap being the subject of individual or media attention.”
Referring to the charge of religious intolerance, he said congressmen have to remember that Saudi Arabia is the home of the Islamic world’s two holiest mosques.
“Its position is similar to that of the Vatican, which is the seat of the Catholic world. I do not think that nuns in Rome or anywhere else in the world, including Muslim countries, would ever invite hostile attention for moving about with their faces covered. After all, such an appendage is part of their faith, which they must practice.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=93300&d=8&m=7&y=2007
Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 8 July 2007 — Blasting the United States for its double standard in the Middle East policy, a Saudi businessman has said that while the country has a department of public diplomacy to try to undo the damage done to its image as a result of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it persists in its pro-Israeli tilt along with a hostile attitude toward Muslims.
This is one of the points raised by Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed, chairman of Riyadh-based Golden Grass Inc., an agricultural company, in a letter sent to all US congressmen. A copy of the letter was also received by Arab News.
Al-Rasheed, who also runs two websites, wrote to the congressmen in the context of the recent House of Representatives vote prohibiting any aid to Saudi Arabia. The legislation calls for a blockage of any further financial assistance extended by the US government.
His letter to the congressmen comes at a time when US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes invited 24 women from Harvard University in the United States and Jeddah-based Dar Al-Hekma College who met in Jordan recently to take part in a “Habitat for Humanity” building project.
The joint effort, called the “Hekma-Harvard Women Build”, provided an opportunity for women from both cultures not only to help build two homes in the community of Ghor Al-Safi, but also to exchange ideas and experiences through this unique international project.
The two groups were linked initially through a teleconference by Hughes who visited Dar Al-Hekma College in 2005. Eager to find a way to link women in Saudi Arabia with their counterparts in the US, Hughes’ office contacted Harvard University, where the idea for the joint build was circulated to students at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Habitat for Humanity became involved when Hughes’ office contacted Habitat for Humanity International in Washington, DC.
Such an initiative to enhance its public image in the Middle East, it is pointed out, is nullified by its blatantly pro-Israeli Middle East policy and its continued moves toward pre-emptive strikes against states deemed hostile to US interests. Iraq was one of the victims of such invasion waged on a false pretext.
In his letter, Al-Rasheed said: “We are told that your government provided $2.5 million to this training program in 2005 and 2006, which the US House of Representatives seeks to block in future. While the ban on such aid would not have even the slightest impact on a rich country like Saudi Arabia, what bothers me is the argument advanced in justifying such a ban.”
The letter has provoked strong comments, both for and against, from the congressmen.
Al-Rasheed said that “when we talk of religious intolerance, the US, unfortunately, projects a poor image of a country that has become increasingly intolerant of Islam and symbols identified with this faith.”
In this context, he quotes the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) “which has documented numerous cases of Muslims being harassed in the US, mosques damaged, women in veil being humiliated, and others discriminated against in schools and offices on grounds of their religious belief. No one ever hears of any gentleman wearing a skull cap being the subject of individual or media attention.”
Referring to the charge of religious intolerance, he said congressmen have to remember that Saudi Arabia is the home of the Islamic world’s two holiest mosques.
“Its position is similar to that of the Vatican, which is the seat of the Catholic world. I do not think that nuns in Rome or anywhere else in the world, including Muslim countries, would ever invite hostile attention for moving about with their faces covered. After all, such an appendage is part of their faith, which they must practice.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=93300&d=8&m=7&y=2007
