RIYADH // The appointment of a moderate to head the Saudi religious police has raised hopes that a more lenient force will ease stern social constraints in the kingdom, but human rights activists remain sceptical.
Less than two weeks into his post as chief of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Abdullatif Abdel Aziz Al Sheikh banned volunteers from serving in the commission, a move designed to curb the group's most outrageous violations.
The volunteers, usually ultraconservative and fundamentalist Muslims, have often been accused of abuse and violence against Saudis as they patrol the streets of the kingdom enforcing the strictest interpretations of Islam's social traditions.
"Even the sight of a religious police car approaching fills us with feelings of fear and horror," said Um Ibrahim, a Saudi mother, adding that since Mr Al Sheikh's appointment, "we are already seeing fewer patrols".
"We are very hopeful," she said noting that the number of messages posted by fellow citizens on social networks like Twitter, warning of abuses by the police have "almost disappeared" since Mr Al Sheikh's appointment by King Abdullah on January 13.
Mr Al Sheikh, a member of the kingdom's most powerful religious family, is known for his moderate views on segregation.
In 2010, he backed a religious police official from Mecca who said Islam does not categorically require segregation and that shops could remain open during prayer time.
The religious police prevent women from driving; require them to wear abayas; block public entertainment and force all commerce - from supermarkets to petrol stations - to come to a halt at prayer times.
They have also been responsible for outrageous abuses and behaviour. In 2002, they reportedly prevented firemen from entering an all-girls school because of the segregation-of-sexes policy and blocked girls from escaping the fire because they were not wearing veils.
Fourteen girls were trampled to death and 50 others were injured in a stampede after the fire broke out.
Since his appointment, Mr Al Sheikh has also said he plans to establish a nationwide call centre where all reported complaints regarding inappropriate social behaviour can be verified.
In the past, anonymous callers could randomly contact members of the religious police and make allegations of misbehaviour, a system that resulted in repeated false allegations and excessive responses by individual police officers.
Saudi's religious force, known as the "Mutaween", are often seen patrolling shopping malls and public spaces looking for violators of Islam's rules for social engagement.
Even a simple exchange of words with a member of the opposite sex could result in arrest.
In early January, a video circulated on YouTube showed a mother and father defending their son who was being harassed by police because his hair was too long.
Bariaa Al Zubaidi, a Saudi human rights activist, said the decision by Mr Al Sheikh to ban volunteers from the force was a step in the right direction, but cautioned that the change in leadership amounted to "changing the face" of the organisation, and not "the mentality behind it".
"We don't feel safe" with the religious police on the prowl, said Mr Al Zubaidi. "There are many terrible stories ... their behaviour has been an insult to our dignity, to our religion, and to our country."
As far as the police are concerned, "everyone is guilty until proven innocent", Mr Al Zubaidi said, noting that more serious measures must be taken to bring real change, including the creation of an entity that can prosecute and punish violators.
The Saudi activist Mohammed Al Qahtani, the president of the Saudi Civil Right's Organisation, described Mr Al Sheikh's appointment as a "cosmetic" change to the commission, arguing that the new chief can only "enforce policies decided by top officials".
In the past year, Saudi newspapers have reported heavily on the abuses by the police and are showing greater willingness to criticise the force's actions.
In one such case, Saudi dailies embarrassed the force by reporting the arrest of a young Saudi who kissed his 70-year-old mother's hand after he was released from hospital.
They also reported the arrest of a young woman who was accused of inappropriate contact with a man. She was being escorted by her uncle to a job interview.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
The five pillars of Islam
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
