“The Saudi government tries its best to ensure excellent facilities to Haj and Umrah pilgrims and so it is the duty of all pilgrims not to violate the sanctity of the holy cities and not to create law and order problem. Any act or ideology that aims to disrupt law and order in the Kingdom, which is the home to Makkah and Madinah, is an unpardonable crime,” said Ibrahim Al-Khodairy, member of the Cassation Court in Riyadh.

The imam and khatib at the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, said that some youths were attracted to the extremist ideologies because of weak family control or the failure of schools and mosques to pass the right message to them. “Terror is the bane of the modern age, a cancerous growth that should be removed,” Al-Sudais said.

Ahmad Al-Muwarrae, imam and khatib of a Makkah mosque, said that the extremists send messages to the young people with the aim of recruiting them to perform criminal acts.

“Their aim is to destroy the peaceful life enjoyed by the people in the country,” Al-Muwarrae said.

A lecturer at the Prophet’s Mosque and former professor at the Islamic University in Madinah, Saleh Al-Sehaimi, said that it’s wrong to blame unemployment for these activities, as some scholars think.

“There are certain issue that many of our scholars admit do exist in the society but they could be resolved without resorting to destructive activities,” Al-Sehaimi said.

JEDDAH, 10 June 2008 — The summertime in Jeddah means at least two things: summer vacation and water shortages. And as the temperature rises, the lines at the city’s main water distribution centers grow.

Yesterday hundreds of people were seen queued up in front of the Al-Aziziah and Guaizah water distribution plants. Water supplies have been cut in various districts around the city for the last five days. “I have been standing in this queue for more than seven hours and still I didn’t reach my turn in getting a water tanker,” said Salman Al-Harthi, a resident of Al-Aziziah district.

He said that the water supply is cut and there are not enough water tankers to buy. “This is a crisis,” he said. “We live next to the sea and we are suffering from a lack of water.”

Ahmad Kabir, a Pakistani working as a building supervisor (a “haris”) complained that the distribution plant did not allow expatriates to buy water. He said that after waiting for nine hours, he arrived to the counter only to realize that priority of selling the water was for Saudi citizens. “I have collected the water tanker’s price, which is SR114 from the residents of the building I work for, and now I’m stuck because they won’t sell me water,” he said.

Water distribution centers giving preferential treatment to Saudis was reported last summer, especially during the peak consumption month of Ramadan. The massive traffic jams and large queues of people have even prevented the movement of water tankers that was leaving the plant’s yard for their destinations.

Black market water dealers were dwelling near the water distribution plant offering their payload for exaggerated prices that reached over SR400 for a large tanker truck. (The actual price is SR114.)

“I can’t pay SR400 for a water tanker,” said Abu Saleh, a retired Saudi government employee in his 60s who has been without water at home for three days. “I can hardly afford the normal price and here I am, stuck for many hours without going anywhere.”

Jeddah has municipal water lines, but they serve different parts of the city at different times and at different frequencies. A building in one part of the city may only receive water from municipal lines once a month. In another part of the city, a building may receive water twice per week. When the water comes, building managers fill reservoirs. But when those reservoirs become empty, water must be obtained via delivery trucks from the distribution centers.

Some building managers are more responsible than others when it comes to arranging for the water-truck delivery. The best building managers ensure a constant flow of water, even if it means collecting extra money from tenants to order the water truck. Some managers can leave residents high and dry for days, or even weeks, with dry taps.

When searching for housing in Jeddah, it is highly recommended that you investigate the water situation in the district (to check for the frequency of water delivery via municipal pipes) as well as in the building — to check on the responsibility of the management and the haris to ensuring a constant flow of delivered water).

For the first time in the history of Al-Asyah Society for Memorizing the Holy Qur’an, women graduates outnumbered men graduates: 11 women memorized the entire Qur’an this year against nine men.

The graduates received cash prizes and certificates from Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. There are 12 Qur’an schools for women run by the Al-Asyah Philanthropic Society.

“In Buraidah, there are more than 30 schools for women,” said Ali ibn Mohammad Al-Ajlan, general director of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs’ branch in the city.

Citing the criticism of some writers on the role of Qur’an memorization societies, Sulaiman ibn Abdulrahman Al-Rubei, the head of Qassim Holy Qur’an Philanthropic Society played down such propaganda and described the Qur’an memorization societies as “strong, solid and clean.”

Al-Rubei pointed out that the number of graduates of these societies reached 2,300 in Qassim alone. “Qur’an schools for girls have reached 130 schools in the region,” he added. The number of students at Al-Asyah Society alone has reached about 1,600. They belong to 94 groups in different mosques in Al-Asyah.

More than 150 students have memorized the Qur’an and now lead prayers in local mosques or work as teachers. The society has established 12 centers for women with more than 530 students.

Among the graduates honored is Amanullah Wali Al-Rahman Khan, a 12-year-old Indian student who memorized the entire Qur’an. Amanullah’s sister, Asmaa, is one of the 11 women graduates who were honored at the function.

“I thank God for helping me to memorize the Holy Qur’an at this young age. It is a great pride and at the same time a big responsibility. I thank everyone who has helped me to achieve this goal, including my parents and teachers,” the boy said.

Following instructions from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and recommendations of the Shoura Council, the Saudi Cabinet last week decided to adopt the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The convention, which is to be signed in the near future, will result in the Kingdom abiding by all of its articles. Prior to giving its approval, the Council of Ministers thoroughly studied the Shoura Council’s decision in this regard last January.

The convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 13, 2006, and was opened for signature and ratification on March 30, 2007.

The 50-article convention asserts the rights to education, health, work, adequate living conditions, freedom of movement, freedom from exploitation and equal recognition before the law for persons with disabilities. It also addresses the need for persons with disabilities to have access to public transport, buildings and other facilities and recognizes their capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Dr. Naser Al-Mousa, educational consultant for educational services at the Ministry of Education, who is also disabled, believes the convention will better the plight of disabled people in Saudi Arabia. “The Council of Ministers’ approval is a good step. … Signing the convention and joining other countries will hopefully be the next step,” he said.

“The articles of the convention are comprehensive and tackle every matter in their life… I am so happy about adopting the convention. I am eager to see the implementation of Article 24, which deals with education. We will fight hard to apply it,” Al-Mousa added.

Omar Al-Abdan, 30, is unemployed and uses a wheelchair. He told Arab News that he was thrilled by the news.

He added that he has been unable to find a job, as he was unable to find a working environment that accommodates his needs. “I am really happy to know about this, especially since there are many articles that talk about employment and education,” he added.

“To begin with, the idea of giving support to people with disabilities is originally derived from Islam, which has always urged people to support and cooperate with those who need help,”Al-Abdan said. “I wonder if I will be able to work in a place that suits my disability.”

Despite all the promises of a better tomorrow, some disabled people are concerned that they would not be able to enjoy the rights listed in the convention.

Muhammad Al-Qasim, a 20-year-old wheelchair user, said he was disappointed by the current situation faced by disabled people and did not see any hope in the future. “I think the problem cannot be solved by signing an agreement. The real problem lies in the minds of people who underestimate the disabled,” he said.

“I do not want to jump to conclusions. Who can guarantee me that the agreement will make my life better?” he asked. “I know that the government is doing a tremendous effort to support us. However, people have a preconception that disabled people are incapable… If anyone is able to change an attitude then I am up for change,” he added.

Integration of the disabled in the social and educational life has been among the Kingdom’s main priorities for the past 15 years.

“The initiative aims to promote breastfeeding,” said Dr. Manal Khorshid, coordinator of the breastfeeding program at the Jeddah Directorate of Health.

The law includes 28 articles regarding the marketing of baby milk, food substitutes, baby bottles and pacifiers. It also bans the advertising and the promotion of baby milk and food substitutes, including the offering of free samples at hospitals and clinics.

“Even TV advertisements must be stopped,” said Khorshid.

“Mothers should breastfeed their newborns the moment they deliver them. It is not true that the colostrum milk that the mother produces when she delivers is not enough for the baby. Newborns cannot have more than five to seven milliliters. Their stomach then grows to hold from 27 to 30 milliliters,” she added.

Mothers begin to produce prolactin hormones when they enter their seventh month of pregnancy. “All mothers have these changes but some of them lose their milk because of the wrong methods they use to nurse their babies,” she said.

Hospitals, manufacturers, importers and distributors who break the law would face fines of between SR5,000 and SR150,000, and closure for 180 days.

Some hospitals that are baby-friendly do not allow the distribution of such promotional products. But others, including government hospitals, hand out free samples and feed babies ready-to-drink milk as soon as they are born, rather than giving mothers the chance to breastfeed.

Some mothers lack knowledge of the importance of breastfeeding and the immunity this provides their babies.

The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Commerce and other related bodies will oversee the implementation of the new law. Baby products will also be checked to see if they meet standards set by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization.

The ministry issued an executive bylaw last February for implementing the new law by the end of this month.

“The project aims to train 3,000 young people in 60 programs annually at different regions in the Kingdom. The society would issue certificates called ‘the license for family leadership’ on the successful completion of the course to each participant, Al-Watan daily quoted Al-Rohaily as saying.

The society would work in concert with other governmental and private organizations with the aim of helping people build a healthy family life.

Social experts in the society and volunteers from outside will supervise the program, he said.

In another development, Prince Faisal bin Salman, president of the executive committee of the Charitable Society for Orphan Care in Riyadh (Insan), will open today a branch of the society in Aflaj, according to Saleh Al-Yusuf, director general of the Insan society, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

“Since the founding of the society it has been striving to extend its services to all deserving orphans under a 10-point program and it is with this aim four branches are being opened in the Riyadh region,” Al-Yusuf said.

The first branch of the Insan society was opened in Al-Kharj three years ago. Later the society decided to open three more branches at Al-Zulfa, Aflaj and Dawadmi.

The opening function with the participation of the dignitaries from the Aflaj governorate aims at outlining the branch’s activities in the Aflaj governorate.

The director general appealed to philanthropists to support the numerous charitable and humanitarian activities of the society covering education, recreation, training, employment, aid — both in kind and cash.

The registry’s findings come three days before a conference on women’s health in Jeddah. Princess Al-Anoud bint Abdullah, the wife of Makkah governor, will open the conference on Monday.

More than 300 women doctors and specialists are expected to participate in the four-day conference to be held at Lailaty Hall. Organized by King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Jeddah, the conference will include awareness programs on breast cancer, heart diseases, AIDS and family violence.

It will also offer free diagnosis for breast cancer, blood pressure, cholesterol, and hepatitis-B, organizers said.