Dear Soliman,
Do you and Osama bin Laden have the same barber?
You, yourself, have lived and worked in the United States for many years; you must realize that your appearance leaves many Westerners asking themselves the same question. I guess this is your humoristic revenge on the Western countries who accused you of being a terrorist and shut down your NGO for international relief.
Your story is a sad one and epitomizes the struggles of all the civil society activists fighting to make the world a better place who have been accused of being terrorists. Nelson Mandela was accused of the same crime by PM Thatcher.
Actually closing NGOs which provide funding for people in need in the most troubled regions of the world directly harbours the conditions for hopelessness and terrorism to flourish. Even Fukuyama acknowledged this in his book criticizing his former employer.
I read about the Muslim NGOs in the US shut down based on suspicion – without any proved connection to terrorist groups! I came to Saudi and I met one of them. Inshallah!
Being hosted in your Bedouin-style tent where every day you welcome Saudis from all sectors passionate about improving society, has been another incredible experience which has helped me to better understand what’s happening in Saudi society, especially in the NGOs.
I do understand your anger but I think you need to overcome it. You lay all the blame on the Americans. OK but the world is a bigger place.
I’ve noticed how Saudis are obsessed with Americans. Yes, alright, there are historical reasons for this but it’s about time you move beyond and look for new opportunities.
Today I was in a meeting with Dr Albar of IIROSA. Despite being one the largest NGOs in the country they have never worked or made contact with the EU or European NGOs.
Every NGO in the UK is protected by the Charity Commission and as such are held up as champions of civil society as a result arbitrary closures of Muslim NGOs didn’t happen in the UK. So let’s channel our energies into the establishment of a Charity Commission in Saudi. It doesn’t look too difficult.
There is a fundamental lesson I will take from our discussions: as you summarised: ‘There is no peace without justice’. Justice must be recognized by all the Saudi and Muslim activists who believe in progress and don’t have anything to do with terrorism. This is the duty of the international community.
Btw, I promise I will invite you to London to campaign for your cause… if you trim your beard 🙂
