By Barie Fez-Barringten
www.bariefez-barringten.com
I strongly encourage anyone wanting an in depth understanding of Arabs, Bedouins, Saudi Arabia and/or Islam to surf the web and visit a good library to read the many ancient and current books written by scholars, anthropologists and explorers.
Basim Hakim is one such Iraq/American scholar. Here is shown in our Al-Khobar apartment with his daughter shortly before I drove them to the airport for their final departure.I myself have written articles and read books written and translated by Iraq, Egyptian, and Dutch writers. However the following may be a useful summary giving perspective to the experiences you are reading about in this book.
In 1973, Saudi Arabia played a leading role in an oil boycott against those Western countries that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. This resulted in oil prices four times higher than earlier. This boycott put People’s Protective out of business and impacted our tenure in Tennessee. It was then that I sketched many pen and ink drawings of the desert and Arab cities.
And in 1974, Saudi Arabia takes over more of the control over ARAMCO, and revenues increase greatly.
Tragically in 1975 King Faisal was murdered. Khalid became the new king, but his weak health made his half brother Fahd the true exercising power.
Shortly before we arrived in 1980, Saudi Arabia took full control over ARAMCO. It was then that Saudi began to employ enormous numbers of expatriate workers and I was given offer in July 1981 and joined ARAMCO in Houston orientation. On August 3.1982: King Khalid died and was succeeded by Fahd. We had only been in the kingdom just a few months when along with the announcement of this event we received a full month’s salary as a token portion of his legacy as a member of kind of communal heir in the form of a bonus for the death of King Khalid. The University of Petroleum and Minerals just recently open by King Khalid and named after him changed its name. We saw King Khalid’s procession pass along King Abdul Aziz Boulevard and the many decorative gate structures from our window.
About five years on July 31, 1987 later we were no longer residing in the Eastern Province but were now in the Central Province in Riyadh when there was the very extraordinary television, radio and newspaper coverage that 400 Iranian pilgrims were killed after clashes with Saudi security forces in Mecca. There were pictures and descriptions; yet some said the news of this event was announced but with very little detail. The days of easy oil money and tightening of purse stirrings hit me much earlier in 1983 and ever since. I have not known Saudi when “anything goes”. I’ve always seen the kingdom’s stewards buy at lowest of prices and sell at the highest price possible.
There are informative footnotes below:
Footnote: #1: Bible view of Saudi History:
Enclosed by quotation marks and italicized are excerpts from Saudi Arab government ministry web sites, which I find convenient and somewhat accurate. I have always found the Saudi government’s official and considered publications to be informative and interesting. Consider that many of the writers are western writers or western educated.
They say, “It is believed that Arabia is the homeland of the Semites, to which many peoples of the Middle East belong, with Arabs and Hebrews as the most known”.
In fact, the bible teaches that Ur in the south of the fertile crescent in what is now Iraq where we may find the origins of Abraham and therefore the Jews and Arabs. For Jews and Christians we descend from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Arabs: Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael with further descendants from Jacobs’s brother Esau, who we can trace to Jordan and Northern Saudi Arabia.
Of course we must go back before to trace the places of Noah’s sons, particularly Shem for his sons and the settlements that ensued. Tracing the three sons and their descendants of Noah namely: Japheth, Ham and Shem are helpful to understand the subtle difference in the Semite tribes depending on the great grand children and their character.
It should be noted that Canaan, the son of Ham was proclaimed by Noah to serve Shem and Japheth.
It is also interesting to note that Ham’s naughtiness earned him Africa while Japheth Europe and the Baltic to dwell in the tents of Shem and served by Canaan.
As for Shem, the Semites are remarkably divided by Eber known as the Hebrews on the other side of the Euphrates and Aram the many countries around Palestine and Yemen.
The bible gives us a very good perspective on the complexity of the identity and potential diversity of character of Genesis 10:
This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
The Japhethites
2 The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. [2] 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
I am personally very interested in Rodanium (sometimes spelled Dodanium used by the people of Troy in Homer’s Iliad).
But Rodanium suggests the Island of Rhodes, which is the place my grandparents migrated from to the USA. The place containing the great colossus which is reincarnated as America’s Statue of Liberty”.
The Hamites
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Mizraim, [3] Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush:
Seba (Southwestern Arabia as Yemen), Havilah (Dammam, Khobar, Jubail: central Arabia bordering the Persian/Arabian gulf), Sabtah, Raamah (South Arabia) and Sabteca (Southeastern Arabia).
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush (Ethiopia) was the father [4] of Nimrod (Built Babylon, Assyria including Rebboth, Caleh and Rosen), who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in [5] Shinar. [6] 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, [7] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
13 Mizraim (Hebrew word for Egypt) was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites (Lehabim or Lubim: Libyans as in Omar Khadafy), Naphtuhites, (Northern Egypt; as Alexandria) 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan (Phoenicians (Lebanese), Syria, and Palestine) was the father of
Sidon his firstborn, [8] and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was [9] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem (The Semitic Nations):
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. [10]
24 Arphaxad was the father of [11] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg (means division and he stayed in Mesopotamia while the Joktanites migrated to southern Arabia as Yemen), because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan (father of Joktanites Arabs). 26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal (SAnah, the capital of Yemen), Diklah (part of Arabia where there are many palm trees), 28 Obal (Ebal, founder of an Arabian tribe), Abimael (Arab tribe), Sheba, 29 Ophir (There is lots of gold in Saudi Arabia and this area south of Arabia near Indian Ocean also was accessible from Red sea), Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha (Near Yemen) toward Sephar (the port of Zafar, near Indian Ocean near Yemen), in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
Note that Shem had five sons, four grandsons, one great grandson, two great grand sons and thirteen great great great grandsons for a total of twenty direct descendants. Keep in mind they each would have regions of land and people. The Hebrews' were derived from only one of the five, Eber and his twenty, while the other four procreated and occupied land of there own.
Footnote: #2; The Saudi Ministry
The Saudi Ministry describes very early history of the Arabs in Saudi Arabia beginning with the 1st millennium BCE in which Minean kingdom in southwestern Arabia where the Mineans economy was based upon nomadic lifestyles and trade of incense. In this 1st century BCE the Nabatean kingdom established to the north of the Minean. The eastern parts of Arabia were dominated by Dilmun, covering parts of the mainland and the island of Bahrain. In 570 Muhammad was born who would become the Prophet of Islam. In 1269 the region is subverted by the Mamelukes of Egypt.
Later in the 15th century the Saud dynasty founded in the region around today's Riyadh. Then in 1517 control passes over to the Ottomans, when they conquer Egypt, but they hold only parts of the region under direct control.
By the mid 18th century Abu l-Wahhab, a religious leader established a sect, the Muwahhiduns that was supported by the Saudis. This movement soon established a national state in Najd, the center of Arabia.
Then, in 1802 Mecca is conquered by the Wahhabis. In 1812 the local population drives the Wahhabis out of Mecca. In 1818 the Wahhabis and Saudis found their capital in Riyadh. Slow reconquering starts from here.
In 1902 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud retakes Riyadh and in 1906 the Saudis once again control over Najd and in 1913 they Conquer Hasa, the region east of Najd and 1921: Conquer Jabal Shammar, the region northwest of Najd.
Just two years later, in 1923, Britain stops transferring money to both Abdul Aziz and the Hashemite king of Hijaz, the Sharif.
This tilts the power balance in favor of Abdul Aziz and in 1924 The Sharif declares himself Caliph and October 13, Mecca is conquered bloodlessly, and Abdul Aziz declares himself guardian of the Holy Places.
Later in September 23, 1932 the conquered territories are unified, and named Saudi Arabia. Abdul Aziz takes the name king of Saudi Arabia. The years from 1924 saw that Abdul Aziz broke with the Wahhabis, and allowed the introduction of modern inventions, things that the Wahhabis looked upon as non-Islamic. And, in 1938 oil is discovered. I was born in 1937 and this discovery marks the beginning of a new era of a new kind of power and energy in the world.
In 1939 oil exploitation starts and Abdul Aziz starts a large-scale modernizing program and 1940-45, Saudi Arabia is on the allied side during World War II, giving room for a US air base in Dhahran.
This history is well documented in photographs and artifacts exhibited in Dhahran’s Petroleum Museum, US Embassy, etc. It shows President Roosevelt and the King of Saudi Arabia with smiling faces enjoying each other’s company.
In 1951 a new agreement with ARAMCO (Arabian American Oil Company) gives Saudi Arabia 50% of all earnings from the oil, as ARAMCO starts paying tax to Saudi Arabia instead of to the US government.
On November 9, 1953, King Abdul Aziz dies and is succeeded by his son Saud and in 1957 as a result of a visit by King Saud to USA, relations with USA are enhanced. This especially involved increase in Saudi buys of US military equipment. Later this year Saudi Arabia declared that the Gulf of Aqaba was Saudi territory.
This was followed in 1958 by a change in the constitutional construction, where the king’s absolute power was reduced, and legislative and executive powers were transferred to the Prime Minister. A couple of months later a cabinet system was introduced.
In 1960 Saudi Arabia participates in the construction of OPEC in Baghdad, in order to help sustain international oil prices and in October 1962, King Saud is forced to transfer effective power to his brother, Faisal. The background for this is Saudi’s total lack of control over economy.
Faisal introduces a system of official institutions handling economical functions:
— Relations with Egypt are severed after Egypt and Saudi Arabia support each their part in the Yemeni revolution — Saudi Arabia supports the imam of Yemen. This conflict escalated to a level where Egypt went on to bomb Saudi towns. Followed in 1963 by Saudi Arabia mobilizing its army after the deteriorated relations with Egypt.
In 1964, Prince Faisal replaces Saud as king. The political system of Faisal is the system that has been used up to our times. So many reforms were enacted including Manuism abolishing slavery
Migrants from what is now southern Iraq first settled parts of what is now eastern Saudi Arabia in the fourth or fifth millennium BC. The Nabatean had the biggest of the early empires, stretching as far as Damascus around the first century BC.
In 1938, Chevron found commercial quantities of oil in Saudi Arabia, and when W.W.II started oil production really took off. By 1950 the kingdom's royalties were running at about US$ 1 million a week, and by 1960, 80% of the government's revenues came from oil. The Arab oil embargo, in 1973-74, increased the price of oil fourfold and Saudi Arabia became something of a world power.
As the government raked in the cash, a building boom began and Saudi Arabia became one immense construction site. But the oil boom attracted a lot of interest from outside the country, and Saudi Arabia's relations with its neighbors became increasingly strained. The massacre of 400 Iranian pilgrims at the 1987 hajj resulted in Iran boycotting the pilgrimage for several years.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Saudis started getting nervous, and asked the USA to send troops to defend the kingdom. Although Saudi Arabia was not invaded, the crisis stirred up demands for political change, and in 1993 the king set up Consultative Council - members are appointed by the king and can comment on proposed laws.
The days of easy oil money are just a fond memory and the country's population is growing rapidly (the average Saudi woman bears six children), presenting the Saudi Arabia and the aging King Fahd with an impressive challenge.
Two generations of generous public assistance haven't inculcated the country's youth with the strongest work ethic, either. In 1999, the first high-end tour groups entered the difficult-to-visit nation, but visas remain officially restricted to business travelers, Muslims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, and those few lucky folk able to convince a Saudi national to sponsor their visit.
The one and only religion allowed in Saudi is Islam, which is one of the world's great monotheistic religions and has Saudi Arabia as it
s heartland.
The Saudi government says the followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe in God, -- in Arabic, Allah -- and that Muhammad is His Prophet. Today, the worldwide community of Muslims, which embraces the people of many races and cultures, numbers approximately one billion. They also claim that Ibrahim is buried in Mecca and buried in the Kabla around which they circle on the month of Ramadan.
Historically, Saudi Arabia has occupied a special place in the Islamic world, for it is towards Makkah and Islam's most sacred shrine, the Ka'abah, located in the Holy Mosque there that Muslims throughout the world turn devoutly in prayer five times a day.
An appreciation of Islamic history and culture is therefore essential for a genuine understanding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its Islamic heritage and its leading role in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Footnote: #3 The Saudi government offers an account about the Coming of the Prophet Mohammed
The Saudi Government which favors Mohammed as the final and last prophet, and therefore later in time than the book of revelation which, as, most Christians recall ends with Revelation 22:
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The government’s account continues:”
Around the year 570 A.D., Mohammad was born into a family of the ruling tribe of Makkah. Makkah, a caravan city in the western region of Arabia, grew around the Ka'abah (the House of God), a shrine of ancient origins built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. Pre-Islamic Arabia was polytheistic and idols used to be housed in and around the Ka'abah.
Orphaned as a child, Muhammad spent several years among the Bedouins of the desert, developing a love for the rich Arabic language. As a young man, Muhammad traveled widely with the trade caravans before dedicating his life to Islam.
In 610 God revealed His word to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. In this way, Muhammad became the chosen bearer of the divine message and began proclaiming the oneness of God.
The name of this new religion, Islam, means "submission to God" The followers of Islam are called Muslims, meaning "those who submit.
God's message as conveyed through Muhammad was not unanimously accepted in Makkah. Pagan worshippers threatened by the new monotheistic religion and merchants anxious to preserve the profitable pilgrimage trade intensified their opposition to the followers of Islam.
To foil an assassination plot against him, Muhammad and a small group of his dedicated followers emigrated to Madinah. This, the Hijrah or emigration, dates the beginning of the Islamic calendar and the history of the Islamic community. In 629, the Prophet Muhammad reentered Makkah without bloodshed, destroying the idols in the Ka’abah and the inhabitants of Makkah embraced Islam.
The Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah provide the framework for Shari'ah, the sacred law of Islam, which governs all aspects of the public and private, social and economic, religious and political life of every Muslim.
Islam is at once a religion and a total way of life. It prescribes order for individuals, societies and governments and codifies law, family relationships, and matters of business, etiquette, dress, food, hygiene and much more. The ummah, or community of believers, is unified across national boundaries by its conscious acceptance of the oneness of God and its dedication to the teachings of Islam. There is no human hierarchy that intervenes between the individual and God; in the eyes of Islam, all people are equal.
The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, is the Word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabic language. It is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final Prophet. For 14 centuries the Holy Qur'an has illuminated the lives of Muslims with its eloquent message, shaping their everyday lives, anchoring them to a unique system of law and inspiring them by its guiding principles.
The Sunnah (teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) complements the Holy Qu'ran as it embodies his meticulously documented teachings that were preserved by his companions in a body of writings called the Hadith.Again, all of the words in italics are taken verbatim, cut and pasted off of the world wide web.
It is interesting to see the five pillars of Islam enacted in real-time in Saudi. In the other sections I have tried to describe life amongst the Arabs and of the Arabs. Hopefully this detailed explanation of the five pillars of Islam will enhance these descriptions and explain the reasons for some of the behaviors and customs. I have always believed and taught a doctrine of laise faire amongst our hosts.
It has helped Christians promulgate their faith because they recognize their limitations and work within the limitations. Most do not try to be radical and eccentric in sync with Islam but see Islam as God’s divine dispensation into which they must present the gospel. I am sure that Mohammed (PBUH) did not present the Antichrist doctrine but since he ordains all leaders and allows all things, and since all things work to the good that are called according to His purpose Christians have been able to love the Muslims and expose Christ’s grace and mercy for eternal life. Not as another and confrontational religion but as the incarnate Emanuel come to rescue and save ALL from eternal damnation.
I have never taught this but think that as we effectively explain to the Hindus that they can stop their chanting and efforts to achieve Samantha because God meets us right where we are and freely gives us our salivation with out us doing anything to earn it; salvation is not earned it is a free gift from our creator called grace.
Foot note #4: The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam define the basic identity of the Muslims -- their faith, beliefs, and practices -- and bind together a worldwide community of believers into a fellowship of shared values and concerns. Islam has five primary obligations, or pillars of faith, that each Muslim must fulfill in his or her lifetime. They are as follows:
• Shahadah, profession of faith, in the first pillar of Islam. Muslims bear witness to the oneness of God by reciting the creed "There is no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This simple yet profound statement expresses a Muslim's complete acceptance of and total commitment to Islam.
• Salah, prayer, is the second pillar. The Islamic faith is based on the belief that individuals have a direct relationship with God. The world's Muslims turn individually and collectively to Makkah, Islam's holiest city, to offer five daily prayers at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening. In addition, Friday congregational service is also required. Although Salah can he performed alone; it is meritorious to perform it with another or with a group.
• It is permissible to pray at home, at work, or even outdoors; however it is recommended that Muslims perform Salah in a mosque.
• Zapata, almsgiving, is the third pillar. Social responsibility is considered part of one's service to God; the obligatory act of zata enshrines this duty. Zakat prescribes payment of fixed proportions of a Muslim's possessions for the welfare of the entire community and in particular for its neediest members. It is equal to 2.5 percent of an individual's total net worth, excluding obligations and family expenses.
• Swam, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, is the fourth pillar of Islam. Ordained in the Holy Qur'an, the fast is an act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a richer perception of God. Fasting is also an exercise in self-control whereby one's sensitivity is heightened to the sufferings of the poor. Ramadan, the month during which the Holy Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, begins with the sighting of the new moon, after which abstention from eating, drinking and other sensual pleasures is obligatory from dawn to sunset.
• Ramadan is also a joyful month. Muslims break their fast at sunset with a special meal, iftar, perform additional nocturnal worship, tarawih, after evening prayer; and throng the streets in moods that are festive and communal. The end of Ramadan is observed by three days of celebration called Eid Al-Fitr, the feast of the breaking of the fast. Customarily, it is a time for family reunion and the favored holiday for children who receive new clothing and gifts.
• Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, is the fifth pillar and the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity in the world. For those Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey to Makkah, the Hajj is a once in a lifetime duty that is the peak of their religious life. The Hajj is a remarkable spiritual gathering of over two million Muslims from all over the world to the holy city. In performing the Hajj, a pilgrim follows the order of ritual, which the Prophet Muhammad performed during his last pilgrimage.
The Holy Qur'an is the constitution of the Kingdom and Shari'ah (Islamiclaw) is the basis of the Saudi legal system. Saudi Arabia is a leader in the pursuit of worldwide Islamic solidarity.
It hosts the Muslim World League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference; institutions dedicated to preserving Islamic interests. In many respects, the Kingdom has been responsive to the needs of the Islamic world. Saudi Arabia contributes generously to the Islamic Development Fund, which provides assistance for community infrastructure projects; to the Islamic Development Bank, headquartered in Jeddah, and to the Islamic Organization for Science, Technology and Development.
Saudi Arabia is the home of two of Islam's holy sanctuaries: Makkah the Blessed and Madinah the Radiant. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, enclosing the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, completes the trio of venerated shrines in the Islamic world. According to Mohammed al-Awad, my colleague at KFU, before Mecca this was the direction of prayer.
To Saudi Arabia, caring for the holy cities of Makkah, the birthplace of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, and Madinah, the Prophet's burial place, is a sacred trust exercised on behalf of all Muslims. Recognizing the unique and historic tradition these holy sites represent, King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz adopted the official title of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as an expression of his deep sense of responsibility toward Islam.
The vast financial and human resources Saudi Arabia has committed to the Hajj reflect the dedication of the leadership and citizens of the Kingdom to the service of Islam and the holy sites and to preserving them as a haven of peace for all Muslims.
Footnote: #6 Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God
Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God and in the Angels created by Him; in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability for actions; in God's complete authority over human destiny and in life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them. But God's final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through Gabriel.
With all respect due to my hosts I have omitted several potentially controversial footnotes but encourage readers to be curious enough to use the World Wide Web, libraries and the new English language free press to get more information. Saudi has several and the one I read often is the Arab News.
Further more, I am not a world–class expert on Islam or Arab culture and only provide this information to my readers to assist in reading my account of our experiences in Saudi Arabia and to encourage further research.
Nothing that I have ever said, while we lived in Saudi nor even in these writings is meant to cause angst, dissension or in any way detract from the creativity, generosity, trust and good will the Saudi’s have shown to me. Thank God, I have always been able to teach, consult and advise my hosts to improve and better themselves and their kingdom. I dedicate these works to my students, colleagues and very generous Saudi business men and their families.,ARAMCO, eastern province, hajj, Hamites, Islam, Kabla, king Khalid, Mineans, pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi government, Shem, The five pillars of I
No comments:
Post a Comment