Saif al-Arab
BANNED
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2015
- Messages
- 8,873
- Reaction score
- 5
- Country
- Location
Next page, since there are only 6 days to go, lol;
I am reading published scholarly reports about those topics in the Arab and Western media, following Twitter accounts of leading universities in KSA and the Arab world (obviously not all but some of those that have the best rankings worldwide), following Twitter accounts (mainly) of influential people, Twitter accounts such as the "Made in KSA", "Made in Egypt" and otherwise just the media. As far as "grassroots movements", I am looking for public opinions on social media and forums among Arabs and influential thinkers. I follow some popular Islamic scholars to see how they see such topics although most try to keep out of politics and just focus on the religious aspects. Some however do not.
Yes, KSA is a huge country for Arab and Muslim standards. 12th largest in the world. I believe that only Algeria is larger and landlocked Kazakhstan (which has a big Russian minority and which is a typical Soviet Block country in mentality and viewpoints).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area
Yes, KSA is actually several distinct historical regions (you can call them past countries) that are now united into a large state. Hence the diversity of KSA in terms of geography, history, dialect, cuisine, culture etc. I look at KSA as a blend of all the historical regions of Arabia, Sham and Mesopotamia, Egypt and other influences from around the Muslim world (due to Hajj and Umrah) although with a distinctive culture of its own.
You might find those two threads interesting then;
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/saudi-arabia-in-pictures.222471/page-100
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/tour...nities-and-challenges-open-discussion.564089/
Yes, indeed. I wonder if the wife will call the shots now in that marriage?
LOL. I know what you are thinking about and I have seen those type of people here in Europe as well. The biking lot and culture. Some of them have ties to organized crime but most just have this lifestyle as a hobby.
In KSA it is a rather small "niche culture" for now and mostly a thing among the youth but not only. Some expats (mainly Westerners) also do this. There are clubs in various Saudi Arabian cities where they meet and ride together.
There is a club in Jeddah too;
Yes, that's probably about right. But we could use more careful riders. You know Arab riders and how reckless many of us are. Not to mention the temper at times. It's quite a culture shock whenever you return.
Yes, the native population will approach 30 million soon and I believe that KSA will one day aim to attract fellow Arabs into the country (when the country becomes even more influential and powerful) due to its religious and historical status as a sanctuary for Arabs. I would personally like to see that as I am not too obsessed about modern-day states as I prefer to look at shared millennial old history, ethnic ties, tribal ties, cultural, linguistic, religious, geographic etc. Basically our past, present and future as Arabs are tied especially the Arabs in the Middle East (Arabia, Egypt, Sham and Iraq). The past 100 years in terms of people movements etc. have been an anomaly. Until recently it was easier for the average Saudi Arabian to visit London than relatives in Iraq for example. It should not be like that.
Obviously we also need to solve the Palestinian conflict which I consider as the key conflict but also as the most complicated ones for various reasons that we both know. I believe that more needs to be done and sacrificed as if one part of the body is sick, it can and often will impact the healthy parts. The Arab Spring comes to mind.
UAE outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi is actually a quite rich country and quite diverse for its size.
Case in point;
Emirates such as Fujairah and Sharjah are more authentic than Dubai although that city has its charm too occasionally and obviously people in the world are fans seeing that it is one of the most visited cities in the world (top 5 if I am not wrong).
As for the migrants, before the oil boom in the 1970's, Saudi Arabians (natives) were doing every job on their own without a problem. Due to the oil boom an ENORMOUS building boom occurred seen in very few places in history (maybe comparable to economic booms in the US decades ago and China recently) and since KSA's population was rather small back then and not as educated as today (naturally), cheap manual labour from abroad was imported as well as specialists, mainly from the West. Then the year 1979 happened and the Sahwa movement started and this created an abnormal and unnatural culture in KSA (largely) that the country is now slowly escaping (thankfully) and returning to the old and normal. It will take a few more years but a lot is going in the right direction.
And honestly, 2/3's (at least) of all the expats currently in KSA are not necessary and locals could take over here and now. Saudi Arabians on average are more educated than the vast majority of Muslims. Most people have higher degrees. Especially the youth that make up 70% of the population. Structural changes are needed (which are being changed as we speak) so well-educated natives, especially women (hence the ambition to increase the women workforce) do not walk around unemployed or are forced to go abroad. Many stories of now successful engineers, doctors, teachers leaving for the West or even other Arab countries and succeeding due to being given a chance. It should not be like that. KSA does not owe any expats anything. It should be the priority of every state to care for its people (citizens) first and foremost. However it would impact the economy negatively on the short run (negatively) but on the long run it would be better.
Personally too, although I am not a xenophobe, I will never hide or be ashamed of the fact, that I would prefer to only mostly welcome fellow Arabs (millions are already here) over anyone else and only if very necessary, foreigners whether they are Westerners or others. That too (if they want citizenship), they should embrace KSA and not see it as a piggy bank. Tiny countries (population wise) such as the smaller GCC states, have a different reality, so they do things differently but KSA should not look at them and emulate them. Besides KSA is not tiny Qatar (350.000 natives) that all are millionaires. We have almost 30 million native mouths to feed on a territory the size of half of Europe. Many people have their struggles too and it does not help that they cannot get jobs due to employees and firms preferring cheaper foreign labour. A bit like how Eastern Europeans screwed up the job market on many fronts in Western Europe and lowered the pay, forcing many locals out of their business. Similar story in the US with the illegal migration although the US is a different beast for many reasons (330 million people to begin with, lol). My 2 cents about this issue.
Let's not forget future technology that will replace most manual jobs not far from now. Quicker than most people imagine.
EDIT: Salah should have scored there. Arab teams have no luck so far. I told people (fellow Arabs in real life) that Russia is not a bad team. They are proving it again. Home teams are always strong and Russia do not have bad players at all. A very strong collective and hosts always play with an extra gear (see South Korea in 2002 as the best example of a underdog reaching the semifinals - with great referee help but whatever, Putin has done his part in this regard most likely too, lol)
I find those interesting too but where do you keep up with such developments? I occasionally see some news regarding domestic developments in some nations but most of the news I see is related to political developments. I wish the best for the people of Saudi Arabia, I hope to be able to visit again and spend more time. It is a rather large nation and there is much to do that I couldn't get to. I enjoy the desert scenery and other scenery there as well as would like to see some historical religious sites and learn more about the history.
Nice S class .
Okay now this is weird, because when I think Harley Davidson I think this:
That is exactly how every single Harley rider in the US looks like, so it's very odd seeing an Arab woman riding one of those, lol.
Incorrect, women are worse drivers but men are more reckless.
That's hard to deal with but I can understand locals need some of those jobs until the economy is modernized. Your population needs to increase a bit too. Overall you have a promising future, most of all though I felt like Saudi's had a rich culture as opposed to Emirates for example. I hope you guys retain that going forward, UAE felt too artificial for me if that makes sense. That culture with modernized economy will make for a pleasant place to live in and makes it unique in an age where local culture is losing relevance.
I am reading published scholarly reports about those topics in the Arab and Western media, following Twitter accounts of leading universities in KSA and the Arab world (obviously not all but some of those that have the best rankings worldwide), following Twitter accounts (mainly) of influential people, Twitter accounts such as the "Made in KSA", "Made in Egypt" and otherwise just the media. As far as "grassroots movements", I am looking for public opinions on social media and forums among Arabs and influential thinkers. I follow some popular Islamic scholars to see how they see such topics although most try to keep out of politics and just focus on the religious aspects. Some however do not.
Yes, KSA is a huge country for Arab and Muslim standards. 12th largest in the world. I believe that only Algeria is larger and landlocked Kazakhstan (which has a big Russian minority and which is a typical Soviet Block country in mentality and viewpoints).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area
Yes, KSA is actually several distinct historical regions (you can call them past countries) that are now united into a large state. Hence the diversity of KSA in terms of geography, history, dialect, cuisine, culture etc. I look at KSA as a blend of all the historical regions of Arabia, Sham and Mesopotamia, Egypt and other influences from around the Muslim world (due to Hajj and Umrah) although with a distinctive culture of its own.
You might find those two threads interesting then;
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/saudi-arabia-in-pictures.222471/page-100
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/tour...nities-and-challenges-open-discussion.564089/
Yes, indeed. I wonder if the wife will call the shots now in that marriage?
LOL. I know what you are thinking about and I have seen those type of people here in Europe as well. The biking lot and culture. Some of them have ties to organized crime but most just have this lifestyle as a hobby.
In KSA it is a rather small "niche culture" for now and mostly a thing among the youth but not only. Some expats (mainly Westerners) also do this. There are clubs in various Saudi Arabian cities where they meet and ride together.
There is a club in Jeddah too;
Yes, that's probably about right. But we could use more careful riders. You know Arab riders and how reckless many of us are. Not to mention the temper at times. It's quite a culture shock whenever you return.
Yes, the native population will approach 30 million soon and I believe that KSA will one day aim to attract fellow Arabs into the country (when the country becomes even more influential and powerful) due to its religious and historical status as a sanctuary for Arabs. I would personally like to see that as I am not too obsessed about modern-day states as I prefer to look at shared millennial old history, ethnic ties, tribal ties, cultural, linguistic, religious, geographic etc. Basically our past, present and future as Arabs are tied especially the Arabs in the Middle East (Arabia, Egypt, Sham and Iraq). The past 100 years in terms of people movements etc. have been an anomaly. Until recently it was easier for the average Saudi Arabian to visit London than relatives in Iraq for example. It should not be like that.
Obviously we also need to solve the Palestinian conflict which I consider as the key conflict but also as the most complicated ones for various reasons that we both know. I believe that more needs to be done and sacrificed as if one part of the body is sick, it can and often will impact the healthy parts. The Arab Spring comes to mind.
UAE outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi is actually a quite rich country and quite diverse for its size.
Case in point;
Emirates such as Fujairah and Sharjah are more authentic than Dubai although that city has its charm too occasionally and obviously people in the world are fans seeing that it is one of the most visited cities in the world (top 5 if I am not wrong).
As for the migrants, before the oil boom in the 1970's, Saudi Arabians (natives) were doing every job on their own without a problem. Due to the oil boom an ENORMOUS building boom occurred seen in very few places in history (maybe comparable to economic booms in the US decades ago and China recently) and since KSA's population was rather small back then and not as educated as today (naturally), cheap manual labour from abroad was imported as well as specialists, mainly from the West. Then the year 1979 happened and the Sahwa movement started and this created an abnormal and unnatural culture in KSA (largely) that the country is now slowly escaping (thankfully) and returning to the old and normal. It will take a few more years but a lot is going in the right direction.
And honestly, 2/3's (at least) of all the expats currently in KSA are not necessary and locals could take over here and now. Saudi Arabians on average are more educated than the vast majority of Muslims. Most people have higher degrees. Especially the youth that make up 70% of the population. Structural changes are needed (which are being changed as we speak) so well-educated natives, especially women (hence the ambition to increase the women workforce) do not walk around unemployed or are forced to go abroad. Many stories of now successful engineers, doctors, teachers leaving for the West or even other Arab countries and succeeding due to being given a chance. It should not be like that. KSA does not owe any expats anything. It should be the priority of every state to care for its people (citizens) first and foremost. However it would impact the economy negatively on the short run (negatively) but on the long run it would be better.
Personally too, although I am not a xenophobe, I will never hide or be ashamed of the fact, that I would prefer to only mostly welcome fellow Arabs (millions are already here) over anyone else and only if very necessary, foreigners whether they are Westerners or others. That too (if they want citizenship), they should embrace KSA and not see it as a piggy bank. Tiny countries (population wise) such as the smaller GCC states, have a different reality, so they do things differently but KSA should not look at them and emulate them. Besides KSA is not tiny Qatar (350.000 natives) that all are millionaires. We have almost 30 million native mouths to feed on a territory the size of half of Europe. Many people have their struggles too and it does not help that they cannot get jobs due to employees and firms preferring cheaper foreign labour. A bit like how Eastern Europeans screwed up the job market on many fronts in Western Europe and lowered the pay, forcing many locals out of their business. Similar story in the US with the illegal migration although the US is a different beast for many reasons (330 million people to begin with, lol). My 2 cents about this issue.
Let's not forget future technology that will replace most manual jobs not far from now. Quicker than most people imagine.
EDIT: Salah should have scored there. Arab teams have no luck so far. I told people (fellow Arabs in real life) that Russia is not a bad team. They are proving it again. Home teams are always strong and Russia do not have bad players at all. A very strong collective and hosts always play with an extra gear (see South Korea in 2002 as the best example of a underdog reaching the semifinals - with great referee help but whatever, Putin has done his part in this regard most likely too, lol)
Last edited:
....
