Hajj News

It's that time of year again.  The Hajj has started and people are flooding in to Saudi Arabia.  The Kingdom is trying to control the huge number of pilgrims, but illegal ones are also getting in.  The Saudi's are going more high-tech, by creating a light rail system to aid pilgrims.  It's not yet fully operational, but should be for next year.  The first part is called the Mecca Metro.  Really.  More rail info.

The president of Sudan has said he is going on Hajj this year.  He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, but some African and Middle Eastern countries have refused to arrest him.  Since this is the Hajj, I expect Saudi Arabia to not arrest him as well.

The Saudis have also been preparing for attacks by al-Qa'eda.  According to Yahoo!:

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula responded with an Internet statement Sunday saying it would never target pilgrims and accusing the Saudis of spreading lies.

Hajj photo gallery on ArabNews.com

Tourists Snatched in Egypt

Last week a group of European tourists was kidnapped in Egypt. There were 11 tourists and 8 Egyptian guides. They were in southwest Egypt, in an empty section near the borders of Libya and Sudan. On Thursday the BBC said the group had been moved to Libya after being in Sudan. Sources said that the kidnappers sounded like Darfuri rebels. The BBC said the tourists were freed today, after a lucky break when the Sudanese army killed some of the kidnappers.

I'm glad the tourists made it out alive. Hopefully the guides are safe too. I don't want to place blame, but when you go out into basically the middle of nowhere, an area that's not that far from Libya and Sudan (which has been having a lot of problems) then you are taking your life in your hands. You have to pay attention to these things.

Sudanese teddy bears

There's been a big to-do in Sudan because a teddy bear was named Muhammad. See articles by the BBC and Gulf Times. Apparently an Englishwoman asked her class to name a teddy bear, and they chose the name Muhammad. The school secretary complained to the police and the teacher was accused of insulting Islam and inciting hatred, etc. She could have faced being flogged, but instead will serve 15 days in jail and be deported.

Analysis: First of all, I do not agree with what is happening to this woman. There was no ill intent on her part or on her students' part. But there are laws in Sudan against insulting Islam and naming a teddy bear Muhammad was deemed insulting. Think about it - many Americans would be insulted if you named a teddy bear Jesus (and does anyone remember the elephant dung Virgin Mary?). You need to remember that not every country in the world has the concept of free speech. In many Middle Eastern countries pornography is illegal and will get you jailed or deported. Whether you agree with it or not, if you get caught that is what will happen to you. It's the same concept with insulting Islam. The courts in Sudan felt that the teacher had insulted Islam, and I think she was lucky to get off with such a light sentence. When you live and work in countries that are radically different from what you are used to, you have to be careful. Especially if they are under religious law. It wasn't that long ago that the US had some religious laws of its own. In some areas it was illegal to work on Sundays. And it wasn't that long ago that you could go to jail for having an affair (adultery) or having consensual anal sex with your wife. There are still counties in the US where you cannot buy alcohol. This event has already started more talk in Sudan about discrimination against non-Muslims, so maybe some change will come of it.

[Note: does anyone remember the American kid who was supposed to get caned in Singapore?]