Untuk tambah pengetahuan lihat juga : http://uk.youtube.com:80/watch?v=p94t2YkoGQo http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/10/opinion/edeltahawy.php
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=120358&d=16&m=3&y=2009&pix=community.jpg&category=Features Monday 16 March 2009 (20 Rabi` al-Awwal 1430) Tackling discrimination issues in Saudi Arabia Najah Alosaimi I Arab News Book Cover: Helat Al-Abeed (Slave District) by Tareq Al-Haydar. (AN photo) THERE has been little public discussion about discrimination against people of African descent in the Kingdom in the past. However, the election of the US' first black president, Barack Obama, has led Saudis to begin tackling the issue. Tareq Al-Haydar has previously experienced racism, particularly when he visited Seattle, United States, in 1996. "Someone out of the blue called me a sand-nigger," said the 29-year-old English lecturer at King Saud University. Al-Haydar feels the US has come a long way in eradicating the problem. Al-Haydar has recently written a novel - "Helat Al-Abeed" (Slave District) - that is being sold at the ongoing Riyadh International Book Fair, to stop racism in Saudi society. The 160-page novel describes a young Saudi named Yusuf who, unintentionally involved in his mothers' death, suddenly finds himself with only one friend - Raja, who is of mixed Saudi and Mauritanian parentage. Yusuf's relationship with Raja leads him to closely observe the social discrimination his friend, who is seen as black and foreign, experiences. The novel, the title of which is taken from the name of a Riyadh district, sold out at the fair within six days. Adel Al-Hoshan, marketing director of Dar Tuwa publishing house, said the novel is one of the best selling publications this year with more than 800 copies sold. Helat Al-Abeed is an old area of Riyadh, which was formerly a location to a slave market that no longer exists. The area is now home to restaurants serving local delicacies such as lambs' heads and hooves, and camel liver, as well as shops selling musical instruments and fruit-flavored tobacco. The local authorities have changed the name to Helat Al-Ahrar (District of the Free), but the name has never caught on and people still refer to it as Helat Al-Abeed. "Yes! We are like other societies which suffer from many forms of racism," said Al-Haydar, adding that many people think Saudi society only suffers from "tribalism." Al-Haydar said black people suffer discrimination partly because of their color, and also because they do not belong to a tribe, which is still important to many Saudis. "Blacks are seen by many people in the Kingdom as inferior," said Al-Haydar, who holds an MA in English from the UK. "This is clearly observed through the names which many Saudis use to call or describe a black person," he added. Even though slavery has been abolished, the word "abd" (Arabic for slave) continues to be used to describe a black person. Al-Haydar said many Saudis like to define their identities in opposition to the other. "People gain their sense of self-worth from the fact that there are others who are lower than them on this (arbitrary) hierarchical tree," he said. "The word 'khadheeris,' meaning 'questionable lineage,' was always used to describe a person who doesn't belong to a tribe and there is no way a family descended from a tribe would allow their daughter to marry a man of questionable lineage," he added. The Riyadh-based writer pointed out that racism in the central region is, unlike other parts of the world, more verbal than physical. Al-Haydar says he feels Saudis live in contradiction. "We pride ourselves at being Muslims, but Islam ended slavery," he said. Perhaps racist views are culturally inherited. However, not too long ago, Saudi Arabia was, for the most part, a desert with warring tribes and clans. In that climate, people clung to their tribes to survive. As a modern nation with people living in an urban setting, the survival element has gone, but the mode of thinking and behavior remains. Last March, Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani was appointed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah as the first black imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Al-Haydar said racism is a social phenomenon. "People didn't believe that a black man would have such a position but I think the fact that he's black should be an afterthought, a nonissue," he said. He thinks Saudis can change the way they think about racism and tribalism. "I think it has to start with raising awareness. Islamic scholars should tackle this issue head-on and explain to people how this kind of behavior is un-Islamic. Also, schools should be firm in tackling these issues. Moreover, the government needs to establish rules to stop these kinds of attitudes," he said. Al-Haydar has still not secured the right to distribute his novel in bookstores from the Ministry of Culture and Information. It is, however, available for sale at the Riyadh International Book Fair. "I have very little control over this, but of course I would love to see my novel sold at local bookstores and hopefully available at school libraries," he said
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