This is an interesting video interview with Prince Turki bin Faisal al Saud, KSA's former ambassador to the USA and also the former Chief of Intelligence for Saudi Arabia. The interview was conducted by Al Jazeera English TV host Riz Khan, who has also worked for both the BBC and CNN.
Very interesting! I thought the prince was very articulate. I didn't hear him take an explicit stance on any of the domestic, cultural issues as he did the foreign issues, but very good interview I thought.
ReplyDeleteI am biased..no comment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Susie.
I have just returned to live in Jeddah after 15 years away. I am British and spent 4 happy years in Jeddah in the 1990's. I plan to spend at least 5 years here. I found Prince Turki's interview interesting especially since he gained a lot of bad press and accusations these past 8 years. A large part of the Western public bias is rooted in the bias and unobjective stance taken by US and UK based national & international media. We have extremists in our own countries hiding behind religious or political ideals.I commend the Prince for an honest & open interview. The Saudi people are a good people and Islam is wonderful religion with some good guiding principles on how to live in this world .... even for non muslims. With God's grace they will find a way to balance of culture & tradition with modernization such as womens rights. My company employs Saudi women and find them to be smart & motivated. We want to recruit more. I am pleased to say our Saudi men have been welcoming and willing to see women as equals at work. These small steps are good signs for the future.
ReplyDeleteI think Saudi Arabia should not only focus on modernizing the country in terms of building roads, skyscrapers or those hi-tech stuffs, etc..., those are not the only things that make a country "modern". I'm talking about the heart and soul of this nation.
ReplyDeleteThey should also 'modernize' the way they treat expatriates, coming from different parts the world from different cultures and religious backgrounds(and I'm not just talking about westerners, I'm talking about the invisible members of the society or what others call 'little people'- the maids, drivers, street sweepers etc..
This country should create new laws that will protect the rights of expats and will look after their welfares. This is one of the best ways to make Saudi Arabia a great nation and a modern one.
What an intelligent and well-spoken man.
ReplyDeleteI think much of the world would be surprised at the level of of said qualities in thiis Saudi man and perhaps Saudis in general.