http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=83800&d=21&m=6&y=2006
Thursday, 15, June, 2006 (19, Jumada al-Ula, 1427)
Can We Shift Thursday to Saturday?
Qenan Al-Ghamdi . Al-Watan, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
According to statistics published recently by business experts, the
private sector in Saudi Arabia only seems to be working three days a week:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Simultaneously, other government departments that work in conjunction
with the international business community function only two days a week or
two-and-a-half at the best. The reason is the different time zones and the fact
that operating hours within the public sector end at 2.30 p.m. In addition many
employees consider Wednesday as part of the weekend and excuse themselves from
either turning up to work or leave early.
This subject was discussed several years ago in our national media. I
don't remember who discussed it or wrote about it, but it was discussed at a
time when the United Arab Emirates weren't even thinking about it. The issue is
clear and isn't rocket science. The world we connect to through our huge
business relations in the private and public sectors work five days a week
starting from Monday morning until Friday evening. In Saudi Arabia, we end up
interacting and working with this world for only three days a week because our
weekend includes Thursday and Friday whereas theirs include Saturday and
Sunday. I really don't understand why people didn't notice this before and try
adjusting our weekend according to what best suits the international business.
It seemed and it still looks like we are acting as if ours is the
strongest economy in the world and that the world is desperately in need of us
and therefore they have to adjust their weekend according to ours and not
vice-versa. The UAE has come to realize this and understand that power lies
with the rest of the world and that as a growing economy they are in need of
them and must modify their working hours. Changing the weekend to Friday and
Saturday instead of Thursday and Friday would give us the chance to gain one
working day, Thursday.
When the UAE announced its decision, which it hopes to implement shortly,
our local newspapers vigorously discussed the possibility of implementing the
same decision in Saudi Arabia. Business experts here intuitively know the
answer.
The humorous thing is that some newspapers started asking scholars of
Shariah and Islamic jurists as if they were sensitive to the legal angle of the
issue. Is it permitted or forbidden? Fundamentally, this is the result of a
narrow mindset that we pray God to save our country from. But the hilarious
situation is that some official business sectors didn't even bother to talk
about the issue. Newspapers didn't ask them their opinion and they didn't even
bother taking the initiative to discuss. I'm referring to the Ministry of
Finance and Economy, the Higher Economic Council, the Investment Authority and
the Capital Market Authority.
I believe that a decision to change the weekend would benefit Saudi
Arabia and wouldn't harm people in any way. The change would oblige people to
shift their Thursday sleeping and partying hours to Saturday, nothing more and
nothing less.
Therefore, is it permissible to change one day of the weekend into a day
of the week? Could psychologists, sociologists and scholars allow the decision?
Does the decision need legal opinions from either one of them? Or is it a
fundamental economic interest?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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