The other day we noticed a post on the Saudi Jeans blog referring to New York Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd’s visit to the Kingdom, and a link to a story and photo of her (sans abaya) in AlWatan. So we were holding our breath for the inevitable column that would be the result of her tour d’Kingdom. Yesterday “Loosey Goosey Saudi” hit the pages of the Times.
In it she reviews developments in the Kingdom through the lens of a visit with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who we’re happy to learn is owner of one “oversized white bunny.” Ms. Dowd reviewed the bidding on standard issues: women driving, religious police, gender mixing, and so forth. The verdict seemed that she saw change was happening, albeit at the Saudis’ “galactically glacial pace,” led by “King Abdullah, with a harem of wives” who by Saudi premodern standards is “a social revolutionary.”
Surf over to NYT for a read – click here.
For another view on change in the Kingdom may we also suggest you read Ambassador Chas Freeman’s essay, “Saudi Arabia: The End of Progress Without Change” over on the mother site (SUSRIS.com). Click here.
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