If Islam is such a powerful religion then why has it not positively impacted

the usual behavior of Muslims – the practitioners of Islam?

My friend, Mr. Rana was staying with his family in Toronto, Canada. One Sunday afternoon
he heard the door bell ringing, as he opened the front door he found two ladies standing
there. One of the ladies asked Mr. Rana, “If you don’t mind, we would take only two
minutes from your precious time to say something?” Mr. Rana said, “Sure”. The lady recited
couple of verses from the Bible, handed over a leaflet to Mr. Rana, and expressed her
thanks and left smilingly. The whole conversation took precisely two minutes.

Next Sunday, the same incident was repeated at the same time at the front door of house
of Mr. Rana. However Mr. Rana’s family did not approve it that Mr. Rana had started
listening to the Christian preachers.

Next Sunday at the same time again, the same ladies were standing at the front door. But
this time, Mr. Rana’s son opened the door and told the ladies “don’t you know we are
Muslims, you are just wasting your time”. The ladies apologized to the young man and
walked away.

Next Sunday, the ladies came to visit again. However this time Mr. Rana received them by
himself. After saying hello to each others, the head preacher smilingly asked, “Mr. Rana, we
know you are a Muslim then why did you listen to us on the pervious Sundays?” Mr. Rana
told, “Sure, I’m a Muslim and I had listened to you earlier because I wanted to learn more
about Christianity so as to compare it with the Islamic teachings”. Then the lady said:

“Mr. Rana, some time ago I read Quraan and was so impressed by it that I wanted to
become Muslim. When I expressed this desire to my fiancé, he told me that better I should
first visit some Muslim countries in order to understand the Islamic Teachings & Practices. A
few months later, I joined a culture study group that was touring the Middle East. I visited
three Arab countries during this trip and closely observed the Arab Islamic Culture and their
religious practices. I was though very impressed by observing the Islamic practices such as
offering payers in groups at mosques, fasting passionately and spending generously during
the month of Ramadan,…; but I must say, I was disappointed to observe that the Muslims
usually don’t keep their promises, generally tell lies and accept lies, cheat in commercial
dealings, show arrogance and sometime bigotry when addressing the matters of intellectual
nature, treat their women folks like a property, and as such I found the equity & justice was
hardly visible in their public & private life. After this eye opening visit to the Middle East, I
therefore decided not to become a Muslim. So, tell me Mr. Rana, if Islam is such a
powerful religion then why has it not positively impacted the usual behavior of
Muslims – the practitioners of Islam?”

Mr. Rana feeling a bit embarrassed told the lady preacher, “I’m sorry, right now I can not
offer an answer to your question, however, I’ll get back to you when I’ll find the answer.”

Page 1 of 11
About a month ago, Mr. Rana told me the above story and asked for a rational answer to
the question of the Lady Preacher.

I have been thinking over the question and so far, the following answers have come into my
mind:

Answer # 1: If I was Mr. Rana, then immediately I would have asked the Lady
Preacher, “Do you believe, is it because of Christianity that the
Western Society has developed to its present level of prosperity
& civility?”

Answer # 2: When I deeply thought over the Question, I was able to develop a
“Naïve Reality” for an answer to the question as follows:

European ‘Idealism’ in its form and manifestations whatsoever is an outcome of the

Renaissance and Rationalism – encompasses a set of certain ‘Secular Good Values and the
Sociopolitical Philosophies’ derived from the Greek Philosophy & Art, the Roman Law &
Government, and the Middle-Ages Muslim's Intellectual Development Contributions [refer to
the works of Ibn-e-Rushd, and other Muslim scholars & scientists, nonetheless European
Philosophers call Ibn-e-Rushd 'the Spiritual Father of Renaissance']; the Idealism that the
West (particularly the Western Europe) started pursuing (systematically under a certain
discipline) after the 16th Century had enabled the West to presenting a reasonably 'civilized
secular welfare society' in terms of its culture & political-economics [core values: rule of
law, modern science, competition, work ethics, and consumer rights protection
organizations] by end of the 20th Century.

‘Pragmatism’ has been derived from the ‘necessity and purpose to survive & sustain and
preserve & propagate oneself, and mange the practical consequences thereof’, which is to
be pursued on the basis of 'SMART (specific, measurable, agreed to, realistic, and time
bound) Objectives' WITHOUT any consideration of and due regard to the proclaimed &
pronounced ‘moral values and/or ideals’ whatsoever.

United States of America, due to her geography & land resources, history, and
heterogeneous cultural compulsions together with the slogan of “land of opportunities”,
started pursuing and effectively practicing the ‘American Pragmatism’ together with its
deduced ‘Pragmatic Political-economics Philosophy’ in every sphere of life after the ‘War of
Independence’ (though the term ‘American Pragmatism’ was formally realized after the
WW-I). And therefore, the USA was able to emerge as the 'sole super power' of the World
(thanks to the windfall benefits resulting out of the WW-II) by end of the 20th Century; but
on the other hand, the US ended up therewith presenting a 'Barbaric American Society',
prosperity & political economics of which mostly depends on its 'capitalist liberal culture –
competition, rule of law, modern science, work ethics, and consumer rights protection
organizations, etc'.
Page 2 of 11
Deen-e-Islam is the ‘Divine Ideology and Discipline leading to a Hassanah & Peaceful Way
of Life on the Earth’ – the Ideology that Allah is the Absolute-One and the Only One, Who is
the Creator, the Owner, the Administrator & Regulator, the Sustainer, the Knowledgeable &
Wise, the Judge,…, that man has to accept and obey Him in totality; and the Discipline in
the form of His Laws – the Laws of Nature that Allah has devised for every entity to govern
& regulate all systems of the universe and the nature and His Principles & Codes of Conduct
for the Mankind that man has to observe & follow accordingly in order to achieve the
purpose & object of man being the ‘Allah’s Vice-gerent (Khalifa) on the Earth’, which
Ideology & Discipline Allah has revealed in the shape of the Holy Quraan as practiced and
implemented by His last Prophet, Mohammad (Peace be upon Him).

‘Islamic Idealism’ is based on the 'Quraanic & Shariah's Fundamental Principles of

Knowledge & Wisdom (both, the acquired one based on human senses, intellect and
intuition, and the Divine one as revealed unto the Prophets), Equity & Justice, and
Empathy’; primary focus of which is to establish "the beautiful (Hassanah) & peaceful
society" on the Earth thereby pooling, sharing, and applying the collective knowledge &
wisdom (Mushawarat) in the light of Quraan and Sunnah (practices of the Prophet
Mohammad PBUH); so that each and every citizen of the society should have sufficient
liberty for pursuing his/her individual & family life at ‘Hassanah (the beautiful) Peace’ in this
world in order to end up at ‘Hassanah Peace’ in the metaphysical world thereafter.

If we critically review the early history of Deen-e-Islam, we will observe that the Islamic
Idealism together with its deduced ‘Islamic Sociopolitical Philosophy’ was religiously pursued
& practiced until the era of Hazrat Omer (the 2nd Ameer-ul-Momineen/Caliph), which had
resulted into providing "the beautiful & peaceful society" - flourishing and expanding beyond
the Arabian Peninsula at that time.

But soon thereafter, this beautiful & peaceful society and its political-economics started
giving in to the Pragmatism and consequently, degenerating into a 'Barbaric Muslim Society
- proclaiming & pronouncing the Islamic Idealism on one hand, and practicing the
Pragmatism on the other’, in terms of its culture and political-economics. Therefore, I'm
tempted to label this paradigm shift as the "MUSLIM PRAGMATISM", which the Muslims
had started practicing, particularly after the era of "Khulafa-e-Rashideen", in its
manifestation as follows:

1. To proclaim, pronounce and propagate the 'Islamic Idealism' as deem fit at every
level and in every walk of life;

2. To survive & sustain and preserve & propagate the ‘self-interest’ and manage the
practical consequences thereof WITHOUT any consideration of and due regard to the
proclaimed & pronounced “Islamic Ideals & Values (‘Aqql’, equity & justice, empathy,
democracy, telling the truth honestly, keeping the promise & commitment always,

Page 3 of 11
 earning the livelihoods by honest ways & means, respecting others' life, honor and
property in the same manner one would like others to respect his/her own, etc.)”;

3. To establish & promote a strong nexus between the Kingship/Autocracy and the
Clergy so that the Clergy should certify the King/Autocrat enjoying the 'Divine
Blessings';

4. To convert the Mosque (‘the Muslim’s Community Center for establishing the
Institution of Sallat - an Ideal Social Organization at Community Level’ as it was
established by the Holy Prophet) into the 'Muslim's Worship Place' thereby appointing
state sponsored Imams (prayer leaders) and declaring the Mosque as the ‘House of
Allah’, thus compromising the whole concept & purpose of the Mosque and as such
purging the ‘Institution of Sallat’ [find out the 1st Muslim Ruler who had nationalized
the mosques thereby appointing the state-employed Imams throughout the Muslim
Empire];

5. To promote confusion & falsehood in the interpretations of the Holy Quraan, the
Sunnah (the practices of the Holy Prophet) and the Fundamental Principles of Deen-
e-Islam and the ‘virtuous advocacy as deemed fit for the purpose’ through the state
sponsored Clergy and pseudo intellectuals;

6. To replace the education of Holy Quraan with that of the Hadith (the sayings of the
Holy Prophet, as narrated) and controversial interpretations of the Quraanic &
Shariah's principles of jurisprudence in the form of Fiqha thereby promoting
dogmatism and bigotry in the society;

7. To keep the masses uneducated of the knowledge of mathematics, science &

technology, and philosophy (logic, ethics, politics, esthetics, and metaphysics), and
to impose upon them 'an absurd education system based on rote learning', and to
discourage the 'inquiry based learning' thereby preventing the masses from
developing a 'liberal & rational thinking' in their minds;

8. To promote & propagate the notion that whatever happens, good and bad, is due to
the 'Divine Intervention' though people have directly caused the same by
themselves;

9. To promote the value & security of material resources supreme over the value &
security of life and liberty of the people;

10. To create & propagate confusion between the ‘historical-cum-cultural identity’ and
the ‘ideological-cum-religious identity’ of the people thereby tempering &
commingling the historical facts with their religious beliefs & practices;

Page 4 of 11
11. To systematically inculcate a ‘sense of despondency’ and ‘disdain for liberty’ among
the masses for creating a ‘slave mentality’ so that they could accept the despot
(King/Autocrat) as ‘fate accompli’;

12. To oppressively resist to ‘change’ and crush ‘civil rights movements’ in the so-called
‘national/public interest’ albeit for the sake of maintaining the ‘ oppressive status
quo’;

13. To buy or silence every dissenting voice against the ‘ruling authority’ thereby
adopting 'caret & stick' and 'divide & rule' policies;

14. To value & reward 'the loyalty' instead of appreciating & valuing an 'honest & rational
criticism';

15. To limit opportunities for developing the intellectual capacity and economic
empowerment only to a select group of people loyal to the ruling authority and that
too in a controlled manner;

16. To propagate the perception – the weak (poor & ignorant- the powerless) is to ‘Live
& Die by Chance’, and the strong (rich & educated- the powerful) is to 'Live & Die by
Choice';

17. To govern the State by 'law of the rule' NOT by 'rule of the law', and 'justice is to be
blind (rather sleepy)' for the powerless NOT for the powerful;

18. To providing a reasonable 'Social Security' to citizens ought to be the responsibility

of individuals NOT of the State;

19. To label and brand as 'Islamic' every secular thing/event/process - concerning with
history & culture, entertainment & sports, science & technology, political-economics,
law & justice, government, trade & commerce, banking & insurance, arms &
ammunitions, products & services, ..., to the extent of branding/trade-marking
natural honey as "Islamic Honey"; and last but not the least

20. Inequality & injustice, ignorance & illiteracy, character disorder, vice, discrimination
on the basis of class, color, creed, social status, gender, and religious beliefs,
impatience & haste, intolerance, indiscipline, complacency, apathy towards life and
environment, intellectual bankruptcy, economic disparity & dispossession, arrogance,
dogma, bigotry, coercion, greed, stealing & grabbing, cartelized monopolies, criminal
negligence, misconduct & breach of trust, corruption, tax evasion, hoarding, 'might is
right', romanticism, mysticism, traditionalism, skepticism, extremism, mullahism,
sectarianism, cronyism, nepotism, tribalism, feudalism, etc., are to be acceptable
norms of the society as long as they do not pose a terminal threat to ‘legal authority
and state control’ of the mighty autocratic rulers.
Page 5 of 11
However, when I look at the political thoughts of European Schools in Politics (considering
politics is the ‘study of ideal social organization’), I find two extreme views:

Rousseau School arguing that:

- Nature is good, civilization is bad;

- By nature all men are equal;
- Becoming unequal is only by class-made institutions; and
- Law is an invention of the strong to chain and rule the weak.

Nietzsche School claiming that:

- Nature is beyond good and evil;

- By nature all men are unequal;
- Morality is an invention of the weak to limit and deter the strong;
- Power is supreme virtue, and supreme desire of man; and
- Of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is the aristocracy.

On the other hand, I find the English School while differing from the above two, presenting
its own version of politics, i.e., ‘Democracy’ (actually originating from the popular demand
of “no taxation without representation”). However to my understanding, the English School
in Politics (read: the Anglo-American School) advocates that:

- Nature is beyond good and evil;

- Society by itself is to determine what is good or evil, and morality for itself;
- By nature all men & women (read Caucasians, the white people) are equal; and
- State is secular; and of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is
the Democracy (rule of the people, by the people, and for the people) albeit the
rule of ‘democratic aristocracy’.

Insofar I have understood the ‘Islamic Idealism’ provides the following political philosophy:

- There is only ‘Absolute-One God (Allah)’, Who has created the universe
comprising of every and all types & kinds of spaces, matter, energies whatsoever
in a ‘certain order of nature, substance, behavior and purpose and the
methods/laws that govern & regulate the same’ (‘Allah is the Khaliq and
Qaader’);

- Allah is the “Universal Administrator & Regulator of all Systems (Rab-ul-

Aalameen)” of the universe and everything whatsoever in it, and the nature in
accordance with His Laws (the laws of nature);

Page 6 of 11
- Allah has created ‘Man’ being ‘the Superior Creature’ thereby empowering
him/her with “Aqql (the Intellect for acquiring knowledgeable & wisdom) and
Freewill”, and deputed him/her on the Earth as ‘His Vice-gerent (Khalifa)’ for a
predetermined time period (Yaum) and the purpose to lead a Hassanah &
Peaceful Life in accordance with ‘His Discipline (Deen)’;

- Allah has created ‘good’ in the form of all angelic/beneficial forces, i.e., the
‘forces of good’ in nature and within the human entity, and made these forces of
good (allegorically ‘the Angels’) to submit to Man so that he/she should make
best use of them in his/her life on the Earth. Also, Allah has created ‘evil’
allegorically the “devil (Iblees)”, who represents all ‘forces of evil’ in nature and
within the human entity, thereby giving a free hand to the devil to try & test the
“Aqql & Freewill” of Man on the Earth [Refer to Al-Quraan, Surah Al-Isra (17),
Ayah 61 – “AND LO,WE said unto the Angels, Prostrate yourself before Adam’
whereupon they all did except Iblees (the devil),…”];

- Allah has blessed Man with the ‘Divine Ideology and Discipline leading to a
Hassanah & Peaceful Way of Life (‘Deen’)’, which He gradually revealed unto Man
over a period of time through His various Prophets as the human civilization had
progressed in stages and finally, He completed the ‘Deen’ at His last Prophet,
Mohammad PBUH, thereby naming it ‘Deen-e-Islam’;

- Man is to establish a “Beautiful (Hassanah) & Peaceful Civilization” on the Earth in

accordance with the fundamental principles of Deen-e-Islam as revealed in the
Holy Quraan and practiced by His last Prophet (Mohammad, PBUH) in order to
providing a conducive socioeconomic & political environment to everyone to lead
his/her life at the ‘Hassanah Peace’ within;

- Allah has created all men & women equal by nature, therefore, the State shall
treat every citizen equally and justly in accordance with the fundamental
principles of Deen-e-Islam as revealed in the Holy Quraan and practiced by His
last Prophet (Mohammad, Peace be upon Him);

- At the end of the day, Allah is going to hold a ‘Day of Judgment’ whereby all men
& women shall be held accountable for their deeds in this life, who will then end
up either in heaven or hell (reward or punishment) forever according to the
Judgment of their deeds; and

- Democracy is the wisest and most natural form of government, which shall begin
at the community level of Mosque [the ‘Imam or the community leader is to be
the elected one] and shall extend to all levels of the statehood/government in
similar fashion. All the public office-holders, be an Imam or ‘Ameer’ (the head of
state) shall act as ‘Ameen’ (trust holder), who will hold the public offices as long
as they enjoy trust of their electorates.
Page 7 of 11
Contrary to the above, the “Muslim Pragmatism” manifests its own kind of a ‘pragmatic
political philosophy’, that:

- Allah is for good, the devil is for evil;

- Man is to err, Allah is to forgive;
- By nature all men (including women) are unequally equal – ‘unequal in sense,
equal in substance’;
- The ‘Religion of Islam’ is an ‘ideal tool of political power’;
- The powerful (the so-called ‘chosen/blessed one by the Divine Authority’) has an
inherent right to rule the powerless; and
- Of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is the “Khilafat
(Kingship/Emirate/Religious Autocracy/Dictatorship that enjoys support of the
Clergy)”.

Definitely the European Idealism and its deduced Sociopolitical Philosophies had a great
intellectual impact and played a major role in reshaping the Western Societies. Also, the
American Pragmatism together with its deduced Pragmatic Sociopolitical Philosophy had its
own kind of positive impact on the development of political-economics of the USA. However
one cannot simply ignore the significant role of European’s and American’s ‘inquiry based’
education systems, which transformed their respective societies into the ‘knowledge-based
societies’. And at the same time, their ‘Industrial Revolution’ including development of
modern science & technology, mining & metallurgical infrastructure, manufacturing of
industrial goods and military hardware, shipping & navy, commerce & trade, and research &
development in all socioeconomic sectors - all this had occurred due to occurrence of a
‘change’ in their minds therewith the enlightenment of ‘objective knowledge’ and ‘subjective
ideals’, which the West had realized over a period of time after having suffered a lot from
the ‘nexus of king & clergy’.

On the other hand, the Muslims altogether had failed to discern and enlighten their minds
with the true teachings of the Holy Quraan and to act accordingly, for brining about a
positive change into their political and socioeconomic conditions. For example, Surah Al-
Faatir (Ayahs 27-28) stresses on carrying out mining and understanding of zoology and
ecosystems. Surah Al-Hadeed (Ayah 25) is for making the best use of Iron and establishing
the metallurgical infrastructure. And there are so many other Ayahs of the Holy Quraan that
directly concern with the importance of knowledge of human life and other life forms (life
sciences & environment), mathematics, physical sciences, material sciences, astronomy &
cosmology, philosophy, history, sociology, economics, defence, agriculture, etc. Nonetheless
the Ayah 164 of Surah Al-Baqrah of Quraan speaks out by itself; however when this Ayah
was revealed unto the Holy Prophet PBUH, he specifically told the Sahabah (the original
followers & companions of the Holly Prophet):

Page 8 of 11
“Last night, I received an Ayah, and Wail (the misery & humiliation) upon that person who
reads this Ayah and do not think over and act upon it accordingly; that person shall be
condemned to the Wail (the misery & humiliation) twice and thrice.”

The Ayah says: “Verily, in the creation of space systems (samawaat) and the earth, and in
the alteration of night and day (the change in time zones), and the ships that sail through
the seas with that which is of use to mankind (the usefulness of sea-lanes & shipping and
navy), and the water which Allah sends down from the sky (rain) and makes the earth alive
therewith after its death (water being the main source of life and the water cycle for
receiving potable water on lands), and the moving creatures of all kinds (all organic life
forms) that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds (the weather
system & climate change) which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayaat
(proofs, evidences, signs, etc. of His blessings) for the society of those who apply Aqql (the
society of intellectuals).”

Evidently enough the Muslims have had failed to accordingly act upon the above mentioned
Ayahs of the Holy Quraan and consequently, they have suffered from the miseries &
humiliations so they deserved as per the true saying of the Holy Prophet PBUH as stated
above. Similarly, the Muslim Clergy has so far utterly failed to correctly interpret the true
meanings of ‘Deen-e-Islam’ and ‘Knowledge of the Deen’ [the ‘Ilm-e-Nafay’ or the
‘beneficial knowledge’ (Al-Quraan) - knowledge of the laws of Allah that govern & regulate
all systems of the universe and everything whatsoever in it and the nature, and the Allah’s
principles & codes of conduct for the mankind’]. On the contrary, the Clergy have had given
its own self-serving meanings to the ‘Knowledge of Deen-e-Islam’ being only the ‘knowledge
of the principles & codes of conduct for the mankind as prescribed by Allah’, which too lacks
a consensus within the Clergy. While on the other hand, Europe, North America, Australia,
Japan, China, etc., have had truly demonstrated their discern & appreciation of the
knowledge & wisdom as mentioned in the above said Ayahs of the Holly Quraan and
therefore, these nations have reasonably achieved the present level of their respective
socioeconomic development & prosperity and the political leverage!

Now, therefore, the so-called 'Muslim World' presents an "Orderly Disordered Barbaric &
Hypocrite Society", which has evidently turned into a ‘geopolitical-economics laboratory’ for
testing the ‘Chaos Theory – Butterfly Effect’ and the ‘Game Theory’ in the hands of the USA
in order for serving the ‘vested interests’ of America and its allies?

And unfortunately enough, the Non-Muslims tend to judge ‘Deen-e-Islam’ on the

basis of the Muslim’s proclaimed & pronounced “Islamic Idealism”, NOT as such
on the basis of the “Muslim Pragmatism” and its deduced “pragmatic political
philosophy’ which the Muslims (read the Muslim-Aristocracy) have being practicing
for centuries throughout the Muslim World - hence their behaviors reflect the so-
called ‘Islamic Decadence’ !!!

Page 9 of 11
When I apply the so-called “Muslim Pragmatism” and the deduced “pragmatic political
philosophy” on to my own country, ‘Pakistan (Land of the Pure)’, my mind starts boggling
with certain questions, which I would like to express in the following lines:

Where is the Living we have lost in hope?

Where is the Hope we have lost in Faith?
Where is the Faith we have lost in wisdom?
Where is the Wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the Knowledge we have lost in information?

Where is the Justice we have lost in rule?

Where is the Rule we have lost in law?
Where is the Law we have lost in authority?
Where is the Authority we have lost in morality?
Where is the Morality we have lost in norms?

Where is the Peace we have lost in security?

Where is the Security we have lost in defence?
Where is the Defence we have lost in strength?
Where is the Strength we have lost in discipline?
Where is the Discipline we have lost in unity?

Where is the Prosperity we have lost in political-economics?

Where is the Political-economics we have lost in governance?
Where is the Governance we have lost in democracy?
Where is the Democracy we have lost in ‘the people’?
Where is ‘The People’ we have lost in Pakistan?

“Verily, Allah does not change (for the betterment) a society/nation until & unless that
society/nation changes (for the betterment) thyself within.” [The Holy Quraan]

However I'll appreciate and welcome your comments on my above “Naïve Reality” of the
issue/question in order to further rationalize the same so as to arrive at a truth of the
matter. Nonetheless I’m deeply conscious of my intellectual incapacity and therefore would
like to say: as Nietzsche truly said, “Be not virtuous beyond your ability; demand
nothing of yourselves contrary to probability……. For a long time I ceased not to
strive for my happiness; now I strive for my work.” Thank you,

Sincerely,
Bashir Nadeem
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: 0300-850 7626
December 24, 2010 Email: bashir.nadeem@hotmail.com

Page 10 of 11
PS: Unfortunately enough, the ‘Pragmatism’ has caused ‘decadence’ to the Islamic
Idealism, the European Idealism, and the Asian Cultural Traditionalism. Pragmatism
seems to be the Philosophy of 21st Century, which every developed and developing
nation is pursuing for its own ‘survival of the fittest’ in the global competitive
environment of today. Nations equipped with the same ideological tool of mind and
obsessed with their respective national interests to pursue & promote thereby
coming at cross with each other on the world map, always end up at a disastrous
conflict. Therefore, one can predict the happening of WW-III within next 2 to 3
decades, which would definitely originate from the most ‘politically unstable
socioeconomic region’ like the Middle East (including Pakistan). Nonetheless the year
2011 is going to be the ‘defining year’ for the future of Middle East and Pakistan.

Page 11 of 11
 Abdullah warns against
attempt to de · e kingdom
Announces economic benefits worth tens of billions of dollars
RITADH: Saudi King Abdullah was 10.5 percent last year, but
Friday announced unprece- was as high as 30 percent in the
dented economic benefits worth 20-29 age group with an esti-
tens of billions of dollars and mated 450,000 Saudi citizens
warned against any attempt to without jobs.
undermine the kingdom, as up- Saudi Arabia, which is
heaval swept the Arab world. pumping around nine million
The monarch appeared to be barrels of oil a day, has more
responding to the whirlwind of than $450 billion in assets
regional unrest that has ousted thanks to high oil prices over
autocratic regimes in Egypt and the past decade. The king also
Tunisia, and thrown Bahrain, thanked the religious establish·
~ • Yemen and Libya into bloody ment for helping again t
turmoil. protests through issuing fatwas,
In a speech aired on tate- or religious edicts, outlawing
run television, the king who re- demonstrations. The king for-
turned home in February from bade any criticism of the head
three months of medical treat- of the enior religious scholar,
ment, praised the security Sheikh Abdulaziz al-8haikh, and
forces for preventing protest ordered around one billion
that were planned for March 11. riyals in assistance to various re-
"You are the hitting hand ligious bodies including the reli-
against whoever considers un- gious police.
dermining the nation's security Another decree called on the
and stability," King Abdullah RIYADH: saudi King Abdullah addresses the nation from his office at the Royal Palace, Friday. - Reuters autholities to force the private
said, addressing Saudi security sector to create more jobs for
forces. He rewarded the interior as many as 500,000 housing Saudi Shiites rallied Friday rallied in support of Bahraini Saudis. At present, around 90
ministry by ordering the cre- units. This is in addition to a for a fourth consecutive day to and called for the release of percent of several million jobs
ation of 60,000 more military package of social benefits worth show solidarity with protesters prisoners. In addition to new in the private sector are occu-
and securityjobs in the ministry an estimated 336 billion, mostly in Shiite-majority Bahrain and houses, all civil servants and the pied by foreigners who number
and a large number of promo- aimed at youth, civil servants demand the release of prison- military were gifted the equiva- ix million.
tions for soldiers and officers. and the unemployed, an- ers. lent of two months' salary, and The king also ordered the es-
And he coupled the warning nounced earlier this month. Witne e aid ecurity the same to university students, tablishment of a national anti-
with an announcement of mas- Saudi's oil-rich Eastern forces fired teargas at demon- the king said. corruption authority to be
sive ocial benefits including province, where mo t of the trators in the city of Qateef The monarch also ordered a headed by a high-ranking offi-
higher unemployment pay- country's Shiite minority lives, where shots also rang out. minimum monthly wage of cial in the capacity of a minister.
men better healthcare and im- has been rocked by protes in {arche were also held in the 3 000 riyals ($800) for civil ser- A national anti-<:orruption body
proved housing service and recent days. Tensions have cities of Tarut, Safwa and vants and introduced monthly and the holding of officials to
loans. flared since Saudi forces rolled Awamiya unemployment benefits of account have been major de-
Among other things, he or- on Monday into Bahrain to help A witness said that about 10 2 000 riyals for jobseekers. Pay- mands for reformists in lhe
dered the pumping of 250 bil- the neighbouring kingdom's Saudi protesters were hurt in ments will start after about eight Muslim kingdom. The corrup-
lion riyals ($67 billion) into ac- Sunni Muslim ruling dynasty clashes with riot police on Fri- months. Unemployment in the tion watchdog will be directly
commodation welfare to build crush Shiite-led unre t. day in the city of Omran as they world's biggest crude exporter under the king. - AFP