The young Saudi who went on LBC TV to brag about his sexual conquests has not been jailed—yet—according to Arab News. Since the outburst following his appearance, he has made media appearances expressing his contrition and blaming the Leb...

The Washington Post runs a piece from the Associated Press on the many ways Bahrain draws Saudi Arabs to its shores—and not all of them are alcohol and women! Saudis behaving badly are a problem, though. So much so, in fact, that Bahrain is sta...

The Arab News piece notes the incongruities and even paradoxes involved in arguing against Saudi women’s participation in sports. Walking in public places, the author writes, is approved, but sports, in secludes areas and under the eyes of fema...

Realizing that there are serious problems within Saudi society dealing with the treatment of domestic—and almost always foreign—workers, the Shoura Council has come up with new laws. The laws are a start, but I hope not the last word. Acc...

When Ruwaida al-Habis’ father and two brothers were badly burned in a fire, she had no choice but to break Saudi Arabia’s ban on women drivers to get them to a clinic.

The fates are telling me to not try posting new stories today. My cable Internet connection is down. My DSL connection isn’t connecting. My WiFi laptop is working so slowly that it’s impossible to post. I can handle comments through my iPhone—and...

Misk Lake, the sarcastically named sewage retention pond to the east of Saudi Arabia’s second city, is the subject of several pieces in Saudi Gazette/Okaz. The lake presents a number of hazards, from a collapse of retaining walls to providing a...

Arab News runs an interesting piece on minarets, written by an assistant professor at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. The article delves into the history of the minaret—the earliest mosques lacked them—and suggests that they developed as a...

The US has seen several dozen arrests of American Muslims over the last year, all charged with various terrorism-related crimes. So far, those arrested have predominantly been of Somali or Pakistani origin, though several have been American-born...

Saudi Gazette runs a piece on ‘mixing’ of the sexes in public places that really kicks down the door of stereotypes, particularly those held by many Saudis. The head of the religious police, formally the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and...