he is probably at the crawford ranch drinking blood out of a 24 karat gold challis with platinum and diamond settings.
interesting. i'll have to read the article. ive been doing a lot of reading about the plight/treatment of women in islamic countries, specifically saudi arabia. one of the books went into some detail about fighting within the royal family and the different factions. its been interesting reading.
okie, i have a neighbor who is a jordanian woman i was talking to last night about the same subject, very interesting stuff. Started the conversation by asking what her religion is, and she is muslim, so i asked her if muslims believe that the proof of god is actually the koran itself, she said yes, and started going really deep into the treatment of women in jordan and the middle east, and in the islamic religion itself. She also said that islamic mosques divide the women and men, but that according to the koran women are supposed to have more rights. really neat stuff.
This is a big deal. Bandar is probably the most influential Saudi other than the King. He was ambassador to the United States for many years and has immense influence in the West, sometimes called Bandar Bush after his close relationship with Bush 41. He is easily the most pro-western Saudi royal and most of his immense fortune is invested in the United States. His father, Prince Sultan, is crown prince and next in line for the throne. His brother Prince Khalid commanded the Arab forces in the Gulf War, but fell out of favor with the King shortly thereafter. I was always hoping that Bandar would end up King some day. This is not good.
one that i just finished reading for the second time is called "princess: a true story of life behind the veil in saudia arabia". it is about one of the many female cousins in the house of sa'ad and her treatment as a woman in the culture and things that she has been witness to. her diaries and notes were pretty much smuggled out to the author jean sasson. there are two follow up books that i have on order now. i also have another on the overall treatment/rights of women in the muslim cultures by a different author that i am looking forward to reading. ill let you know how they are. it is a chick book, but still, the things that she recounts are horrifying. i also just finished one (again sasson is the author) about a woman in iraq who back in the days of the hussein attempted eradication of the kurds, married a kurdish resistance fighter and took up the cause with him. again, a lot about the treatment of women, but mainly about growing up as a half iraqi/half kurdish person in iraq and the treatment of the kurds.
those do sound kinda like chick lit, but i am gonna take a shot anyways, i just reserved "mayara, daughter of iraq" at my local library. i particularly am intersted in kurds. kurds are cool as far as i can tell. thanks dude.
i would like to read an english translation of the koran but my understanding (from my reading) is that there are many translations and a lot of it is considered "untranslatable". but has anyone read an english translation and can they recommend a version? from one of my books, sasson quotes a few parts of the koran, and some passages that deal with women. for instance, a couple of verses to do with sex crimes and action to be taken against men and women. actual (translated) verses from the koran: sura iv, 15: if any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you, against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them. this was dealth with specifically in the recounting of what the subject of the book witnessed. a friend was "convicted" of lewdness and was confined to a room in her house that was converted into a padded cell, with only a small opening at the bottom of the door with which she was served food/water. there was no light (at all, not even artificial), and there was no contact with others, and no way to even hear the sounds of anything other than food being pushed through the door. complete and total isolation. forever. a long slow way of basically going crazy and dying. however, the punishment was different for men. basically a slap on the wrist. sura iv, 16: if two men among you are guilty of lewdness, pinish them both, if they repend and amend, leave them alone.
