• Hoping For Peace But Preparing For War
• Saudi Arabia Keeps Options Open on Role in Iraq War
• Saudi Arabia Wants UN Evidence Iraq Has Mass Destruction Weapons Before Deciding on Involvement in War 
• Saudis Earn Political Points, Revenue With Extra Oil 
• Saudis Tread Lightly on Use of Prized Airbase 
• While Lieberman Hasn't Declared, He's Already in Middle East Quagmire 
• Who Will Control Iraq's Oil? 
• U.S. Sees Opportunity to Transform Mideast 
• Highlight Truth of Islam: Abdullah 

In Depth Reporting, Analysis & Commentary

• Reports on Saudization
•     For Saudi Youths, No Job is Menial Anymore
      By Sal Kurdi, Special to Arab News
•     Saudis As Domestic Helpers
      Dr. Khairiyah Al-Saqaf/Al-Jazirah
• Reforms Vital To Boost Economic Growth in Kingdom
  By Mushtak Parker
• Sad Case of Muslim American Charities
  By Fawaz Turki, Special to Arab News

SAUDI ARABIA KEEPS OPTIONS OPEN ON ROLE IN IRAQ WAR
"...the powerful spotlight beamed from a largely hostile US media which accused Saudi Arabia of fostering terrorism has forced a change in attitude. Early attempts to cope brought faltering and often ambiguous statements from uneasy senior officials. However Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Tuesday went further than ever before in clarifying Saudi Arabia's position, even if it is still wide open... ...If the United States asked Riyadh to join a war on Iraq, "we will not join," Prince Saud told reporters at only the second of his weekly briefings, a new move to push the kingdom's point of view... ..."If the United Nations asked Saudi Arabia to join, depending on the material breach that they should show and prove, Saudi Arabia will decide in accordance with its national interests," the minister said... ...In other words, the kingdom will not decide until it absolutely has to..." Source: AFP [Jan. 9, 2003]

SAUDI ARABIA WANTS U.N. EVIDENCE IRAQ HAS MASS DESTRUCTION WEAPONS BEFORE DECIDING ON INVOLVEMENT IN WAR
"Saudi Arabia wants to see U.N. evidence Iraq has been developing weapons of mass destruction before deciding whether to participate in any U.S.-led war against President Saddam Hussein, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said [Jan. 7]... ..."We will not take part in a war against Iraq upon a U.S. or a British request," Prince Saud told a news conference in the capital, Riyadh. But if there was a U.N. request, he said the kingdom would study U.N. evidence Baghdad has been developing banned non-conventional weapons before making its final decision. "If the United Nations asks Saudi Arabia to join, depending on the material breach they show and depending on the proof they show, Saudi Arabia will decide," Prince Saud said..." Source: AP

SAUDIS EARN POLITICAL POINTS, REVENUE WITH EXTRA OIL
Apparently anxious to win favor with the US, Saudi Arabia is quietly acting behind the scenes to get more oil into world markets, making up for the shortages caused by Venezuela's political crisis and sparing the Bush administration from pressure to tap its strategic petroleum reserves. While the Saudis continue to maintain that they would not allow US troops to use their territory to attack Iraq, they seem to be making up for it by responding to requests for more Saudi oil, taking some of the heat off oil prices... ...the Saudis' market moves, confirmed by traders, reflect a growing concern within the Saudi leadership that the kingdom could be "excluded" from consultations in the aftermath of an impending war with Iraq... ..." Source: Energy Intelligence Briefing [Jan. 9, 2003]  [Expired Link]

SAUDIS TREAD LIGHTLY ON USE OF PRIZED AIR BASE
"PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia -- The U.S. jet fighters that roar off from this base in the barren center of Saudi Arabia to patrol the southern 'no-fly zone' over Iraq could star in any U.S.-led war on the regime of Saddam Hussein. But adding that duty would require Saudi permission, a sensitive issue amid rising resentment toward America in the country and a worsening of U.S.-Saudi relations.... ...Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said Wednesday that no 'official request' had been made for use of the base, but affirmed general support of American interests. 'I think we both understand that our cooperation is solid for 60 years, and we both consider each other's concerns and interests,' he said at his Riyadh office. 'Based on that, I am sure our leadership will reach the best solution...'"  [Expired Link]

WHILE LIEBERMAN HASN'T DECLARED, HE'S ALREADY IN MIDDLE EAST QUAGMIRE
"When John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, some asked if a Catholic candidate would be beholden to the Catholic Church and the pope. If Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) announces his candidacy for president - as he is expected to do later this month - he may try to prove that he is not beholden to Israel or the American Jewish lobby... ...analysts say Lieberman may need to measure his comments carefully to avoid accusations that he is a pawn of Jewish interests. To win the confidence and support of some voters, Lieberman, an observant Jew, will need to prove that he would be serving the United States, not Israel, analysts say... ...When Lieberman toured the Middle East late last month, he still wasn't a candidate for president. Yet he was more than just another visiting politician... ...He also expressed support for a Saudi Arabian initiative that offers the prospect of peace with the Arab world if Israel gives up all the land it won in the 1967 Six-Day War, among other conditions. Israel and many American Jewish leaders oppose a full withdrawal, saying it would jeopardize Israel's security..." Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency [Jan. 6, 2003]

WHO WILL CONTROL IRAQ'S OIL?
"'The preferred slogan of those opposed to war with Iraq is 'No blood for oil'--an explicit assumption that the Bush administration, dominated by former oilmen, is going to war primarily to secure Iraq's copious reserves for U.S. oil companies. 'Regime change to a pro-U.S. government would permit the privatization of Iraq's state-controlled oil resources--and a bonanza for U.S. oil companies,' warns Miriam Pemberton of Washington's left-wing Institute for Policy Studies. Administration officials, on the other hand, reject any oil connection whatsoever. When asked, on CBS radio, whether the likely war is over oil, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld replied, 'It just isn't. There are certain things like that, myths that are floating around. I'm glad you asked. It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil...' ...The neoconservatives don't worry about offending potential critics in Iran, Saudi Arabia, or Syria because they think of them as enemies who should eventually be swept aside by the installation of a democratic, free-market Iraq on their borders... ...And, if Iraq left OPEC, that would mean that two of the world's largest oil producers (Russia is the other) would be outside of the cartel, fundamentally undermining its ability to regulate world output and prices. That would probably mean lower oil prices, but, more important to the neoconservatives, it would undermine Saudi Arabia's economic and political clout and perhaps endanger the Saudi regime itself. Says one senior official, 'I don't think an upheaval or splitting apart of Saudi Arabia would be the worst thing. I don't see a graceful exit for them. ... I would expect them to align with Syria and Iran and Libya to bleed us in Iraq. They may become a real enemy in five years. I don't think we can get more mileage out of this relationship.' This official said he was speaking for himself, but other neoconservatives, including Wolfowitz, share a similar outlook. They see the fall of OPEC and of the Saudi regime as a desirable outcome of a U.S. ouster of Saddam... ...There can be little question that the neoconservative hawks have played a decisive role in supplying the rationale for invasion. But, in the end, as with the diplomatic buildup to war, it is likely that when it comes to determining the contours of a post-Saddam Iraq, the doves will come out on top. When oil is involved it is realists, not radical idealists, who usually carry the day..." Complete report...

U.S. SEES OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM MIDEAST
"Buoyed by the experience in Afghanistan and harking back as far as post-World War II Japan and Germany, Bush administration officials are expressing growing confidence that they can remake the face of the entire Middle East if Saddam Hussein is overthrown--a notion derided by critics as dangerously naive... ...'I favor regime change. But I can tell you that I have nothing but contempt for people who say it will be really easy or that it's going to miraculously solve all these other problems,' said David Mack, vice president of the Middle East Institute and a senior State Department official during the 1991 Persian Gulf war. "To say that it will inevitably lead to democratic reforms throughout the Arab world and Iran or that it will lead to Arab-Israeli peace is just simplistic."  [Expired Link]

HIGHLIGHT TRUTH OF ISLAM: ABDULLAH
RIYADH, 10 January 2003 - Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, said yesterday that Islam is a religion of tolerance and mercy and called on Muslims to be forgiving and avoid disputes. He also urged Muslims to shun violence and extremism. Prince Miteb ibn Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard for military affairs and the deputy chief of the supreme committee for the Janadriah festival, made this call on Prince Abdullah's behalf yesterday at the Janadriah festival, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. Prince Abdullah's statement said it is the collective responsibility of Muslims to highlight the truth about Islam and clarify the doubts raised about it..."  [Expired Link]

REPORTS ON SAUDIZATION

FOR SAUDI YOUTHS, NO JOB IS TOO MENIAL ANYMORE
By Sal Kurdi, Special to Arab News

JEDDAH, 10 January 2003 - Sary Nazmi, 22, joined a restaurant in one of this city's prominent malls last year as a food service worker.

His job description included waiting tables, mopping the floor and preparing food. He was also responsible for cleaning the grills and washing the kitchen after the restaurant had closed.

Nazmi is a Saudi, and he was doing the kind of work which, until very recently, almost all Saudis considered beneath them. His salary was SR1,900 a month.

Fahad Al-Ghamdi, 26, is a Saudi taxi driver. In the morning, he teaches elementary science to children in one of Jeddah's public schools for a monthly salary of SR5,000. His classes start a 7 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. He then takes to his taxi, and on average makes an additional SR3,500 a month from that job.
"First, I had to get a driver's license from the Traffic Department," Al-Ghamdi told Arab News. "I had to insure my driver's license with a higher premium than the regular insurance. Finally, I had to decide if I wanted to be self-employed or employed by a company."

Both of these last options have their merits, he added, but "if you choose to be self-employed, all of the above costs are going to be self-incurred. In addition, you will have to buy your own taximeter. All that will set you back about SR5,000."

The government recently announced that the taxi sector is to be Saudized completely within two years, and so there are likely to be many more drivers like Al-Ghamdi on the road in the near future. There are presently an estimated 45,000 taxi drivers in the Kingdom, only a small number of whom are Saudis.

With the Kingdom's population rate of 3.3 percent, one of the highest in the world, the result is a society in which the under-15s make up 42.4 percent of the population. With unemployment on the rise, Saudization is set to remain a key government policy.

The booming local retail industry has created many job openings for Saudis and it is now common to walk into a retail outlet and be greeted by a bilingual Saudi assistant.

Emad Nasir, 25, started working at Al-Baroom shopping center here three years after graduating from high school. Nasir is also enrolled in night classes at a local college. He makes about SR3,500 a month.

Ali Mubarak Al-Zubaidy, 20, has been a Saudi security guard for four months. He recently moved out of his parent's home as his salary of SR1,800 allows him to rent a one-bedroom studio. He is trying to complete his high school education but finds that his 12-hour work shift is getting in the way.  However, his job gives him the benefit of health insurance and a clothing allowance.

"Working as a security guard is an easy task," he says. "I'll be promoted in eight months, then I'll get a month's vacation."

Until then, Zubaidy will be working seven days a week.

Back in the shopping mall restaurant, Sary Namzi has been promoted to assistant manager trainee and is now working a 60-hour week for SR5,400. In addition to working full time, he is studying at King Abdul Aziz University for a degree in business administration.

Nazmi recalls that his parents were very reluctant to see him take a job in the service industry. And his clients were even more uncomfortable when they found that it was a Saudi who was waiting on them.

But his friends were supportive, as they were facing similar situations in their own lives.

Indeed, with more and more of his friends taking up jobs that were once deemed fit only for an immigrant labor force, Nazmi no longer feels that he was doing something out of the ordinary.

Source:  Arab News

SAUDIS AS DOMESTIC HELPERS
Dr. Khairiyah Al-Saqaf/ Al-Jazirah

The time has come for us to establish special training centers to provide employment opportunities for Saudi women willing to work as domestic helpers. We need qualified and trusted people to take on such jobs as cleaning, cooking, baby-sitting and other household chores.

The need for trained women domestic workers is no less important than hiring qualified men and women for any other job.

The nature of the lives we lead today with all their complications and restraints makes such a project imperative. We must not forget the social problems which have resulted from our heavy reliance on foreign workers, especially domestic helpers. The risks that families - and in particular children - face because of foreign workers are substantial. There is also the problem of working Saudi mothers who find themselves forced to hire domestic helpers or take extended leave from work and perhaps risk losing their jobs.

In the absence of a child care system that gives working women enough time to look after their children, many women are forced to stay at home. When they are finally free to return to work, they often find they no longer have a job.

Setting up centers for training domestic workers should be seriously considered. Women willing to work as helpers in families should be given special training before being allowed to care for children whose parents are away at work - or to do any other house work at all. Terms of employment must include working hours, salaries, days off; everything must be clearly defined so that all parties know what is required and expected of them. Apart from giving jobs to Saudi women and providing families with trained and trustworthy workers, such an arrangement would reduce dependence on foreign workers and protect our children from abuse.

Work is worship and God created people to do different kinds of jobs according to their physical and mental powers. There is nothing wrong with our women taking such jobs as long as the job allows them to live decent lives without being dependent on others.

Arab News, From the Local Press, January 8, 2003 

LONDON, 6 January 2003 - With the threat of war against Iraq looming ominously over the region, and stability continuing to be undermined by the ongoing "war against terrorism", the Gulf region is faced with a difficult year ahead in 2003.

The cushion of rising oil prices, due to the Iraq crisis and the prolonged strike by oil workers in Venezuela may give a false sense of economic security, underpinned by an immediate upward pressure on crude oil prices in first quarter 2003. By Jan. 1, 2003, the price for Brent blend crude was hovering over the $30 per barrel mark.

External factors apart, countries such as Saudi Arabia are faced with daunting internal economic challenges which are more to do with structural reforms than with the benchmark price of Brent crude.

Reports from Japan suggest that Saudi Aramco plans to cut oil exports to Japan, South Korea and Thailand, its three main Asian customers, in January 2003 by 22 percent. This apparently in line with the new OPEC agreement to cut production to sustain realistic world oil prices and to offset the impact of quota cheating by other countries.

While Asian economies, save Japan, are projected to enjoy the best GDP growth rates in 2003 by far, the impact of the sluggish recovery of the US, European, and Japanese economies may yet burst the projected Asian growth bubble, especially if the US, Europe and Japan sleepwalk into recession. The net impact would be a downward pressure on Asian oil imports.

Economists commend the Kingdom's recent economic reforms including the adoption of a new foreign investment law; allowing foreigners to own land; and the introduction of a comprehensive privatization strategy. But they agree that the pace of reform has to be much more urgent, and reforms transparent, realistically budgeted, refined, and professionally implemented.

This was also the unequivocal message of the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF's) Article IV Consultations on Saudi Arabia. The fund in addition recommended removing further barriers to entry, and urgent fiscal transparency and reforms.

At the 'Future Vision for the Saudi Economy' symposium organized by the Planning Ministry and the World Bank in October in Riyadh, speakers overwhelmingly acknowledged the problems facing the Saudi economy; the gaps in policy making; and the need for change to meet the challenges of a rapidly growing population, of which some 70 percent is under 25-years-old. In this context, compared to only two years ago, the Kingdom's business and financial environment has changed significantly for the better.

During 2003, a new insurance law, stock exchange law, and capital markets law, will almost certainly be promulgated. According to Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Jaafary, chairman of the Finance Committee of the consultative Shoura Council, all 67 articles of the draft Stock Market Law, for instance, were debated and approved at end December 2002. A key provision of the new law is the establishment of a Stock Market Commission with judicial powers and reporting directly to the Council of Ministers, the Saudi Cabinet.

However, implementation of new legislation has been erratic in some recent instances. The adoption of compulsory motor insurance from November 2002 was both confusing and shambolic. Is the NCCI (National Company for Cooperative Insurance) the sole provider of the ruksha (insurance) or not? Is the ruksha issued against the driving license, driver, or vehicle? Is the cooperative insurance Shariah-compliant? These are perhaps questions to be answered in a separate analysis, but they were certainly not forthcoming at the time of their introduction. The reality is that Saudi police on the ground are now accepting motor insurance certificates issued by all legal insurance providers, not only NCCI, despite the latter's earlier pronouncement that it's ruksha is the only legally acceptable one.

There would be no room for such confusion when the capital markets and stock exchange laws are promulgated. Otherwise it will have the opposite effect and frighten investors and companies away. Without a flourishing capital markets, the growth of the financial services sector in the Kingdom will remain stunted and largely parochial. This in turn will affect the asset quality and product innovation of the sector in the long run.

In the area of foreign investment, while the establishment of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in April 2000, headed by Governor Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal, has gone some way in making the Kingdom a more investor-friendly environment, the acid test for attracting greater foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are the all-important economic reform package and regional stability.

In the period April 2000 to early September 2001, the value of FDI investments in the Kingdom reached $9.2 billion, according to SAGIA. However, since 9/11, this figure had dropped dramatically to $3.5 billion at the beginning of December 2002. While the fallout of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington was undoubtedly an important factor, foreign investors continue to be frustrated by the agonizingly slow pace of socio-economic reforms in the Kingdom.

The new foreign investment law, for example, was widely welcomed, but its so-called 'Negative List' which stipulated those sectors of economic activity still barred to foreigners, though reviewed and revised a number of times, continues to be a point of friction. Telecoms, insurance, oil exploration, security, retail, education, transport are just some of the 19 economic sectors still barred to foreign investors, and there has been no indication from SAGIA or the Supreme Economic Council of further reforms with respect to the list.

Many bankers and corporates, including some in the Kingdom, would like it to be abolished outright, with the government retaining control through a golden share in strategic sectors such as oil exploration, and perhaps transport.

The Kingdom's aggressive Saudization policy too is a negative for foreign companies, who prefer to operate in an open labor market, dictated by experience, qualifications, and the rubrics of market supply and demand.

These problems are exacerbated by the poor perception of Saudi workers among both national and expatriate managers; and an over-protective Saudi labor legislation which is a disincentive for foreign firms hiring locals because it becomes almost impossible to terminate the employment of unreliable and inefficient workers. The government to be fair has launched a training and education fund aimed at tackling unemployment.

Another area for urgent reform is that of statistics and information. Very often these are inadequate, non-transparent in terms of collation and methodology, too optimistic, and very poorly disseminated. An open statistical culture is seriously lacking, and this applies in general both to government departments and to private-sector corporates. Of course no one expects companies and agencies to divulge intellectual property, but information as to policy, strategy, performance, terms of trade, indicators and so on, ought to be in the public domain, and should be a right enshrined in law.

The lack of transparency in statistics is underpinned by the generally poor and under-developed corporate communications culture at the agencies and companies. After all, quality, reliable, independent, and up-to-date information is a resource and a vital tool which companies and agencies can use in formulating investment, manufacturing, marketing and other strategies.

Saudi Labor & Social Affairs Minister Ali Al-Namlah, for instance, admitted in October 2003 that "we don't know the exact rate of unemployment due to the absence of correct information on the number of job seekers and vacant positions."

Nevertheless, in the Saudi context the minister should be commended for his candor, and has now suggested ways how labor statistics and data could be better collated "by linking all labor offices in the Kingdom with the ministry's database."

Unfortunately, that would not suffice, for it is the methodology and criteria for collation that is important. In the UK, for instance, unemployment figures are based on the number of people signing on for benefits and seeking employment at job centers.

There is no distinction between male and female workers, although gender employment analysis can be extrapolated.

In Saudi Arabia this is not possible because there is no benefit system as in the UK. The official government estimate for Saudi male unemployment is 8 percent. However, most bank analysts put the figure at double the official rate at about 16 percent, while others still talk about 25 percent and higher levels of male unemployment.

Because unemployment is a sensitive issue in any economy, a key policy objective is to try to create jobs. In the Kingdom, most Saudis are employed by the state and its utilities. This, together with high defence commitments and the sluggish performance of the non-oil sector, puts pressure on public expenditure, which cannot be sustained through oil revenues only because of their volatility and dependence on world crude oil prices. With the result over the last decade or so, the Kingdom has had almost a persistent budget deficit, forcing the government to borrow more from local banks.

In 2001, for instance, according to the IMF, the Saudi budget showed a deficit of 4 percent of GDP. With the result that the government's domestic debt increased to a staggering 92 percent of GDP in mid 2001. Only Italy of the G-10 countries has a domestic debt comparable to that of Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom's own forecast for this year suggests a smaller deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2002 than the earlier estimate of $12 billion, thanks mainly to rising oil prices. Revenues for FY2002 were projected at $41.9 billion against expenditures of $53.9 billion, but on the basis of an oil price of $16-$17 per barrel. Saudi oil prices have been hovering above the $25 per barrel since August 2002, and last week Brent blend crude prices were quoted at $30 per barrel.

Firmer oil prices into 2003 should mean a knock-on effect on reducing the budget deficit in FY2003. A recent Saudi British Bank study projected oil revenues in 2003 to jump to $54.7 billion. But expenditure too is projected to increase to $58.2 billion.

Increased oil revenues is not a panacea. It depends on how the extra revenues are utilized and whether public spending can be controlled. Any increase in the latter will immediately offset the windfall revenues. Not surprisingly, the IMF has strongly recommended a more efficient use of temporary unanticipated windfall rises in the oil price. Instead of using such revenues through stop-gap measures, it could be invested in a special Saudi Arabia fund to smooth out any budgetary shortfalls on a permanent roll-over basis. Because of non-transparency in fiscal policy, it remains difficult to assess allocation of resources. In fact, the fund rightly calls for government expenditure to be subject to explicitly defined rules and regulations.

In 2002, firmer oil prices will no doubt improve the fiscal situation. The IMF also projects the Kingdom to achieve non-oil GDP growth of 4 percent in 2002. The Saudi British Bank, however, in a recent study, projected that the Kingdom's non-oil sector GDP growth in 2003 will fall to around 3.5 percent. This on the condition that economic fundamentals such as inflation, trade balance, buoyant oil revenues and good domestic liquidity, remain strong.

There is a clear acknowledgement by Riyadh that dependence on oil and gas for revenues is no longer a sustainable economic strategy. Saudi Finance & National Economy Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, speaking at the symposium in Riyadh, concurred that "dependence on oil revenues and consequently public spending as the main driving force for economic activity has made our economy vulnerable to changes in international oil markets. Heavy dependence on a main source of revenue linked to the developments in the world economy and conditions in oil markets constitutes a major challenge to the fiscal policy of the Kingdom."

Privatization, another potential source of revenue, also is not the panacea that some monetarist economists would like us to believe. It is fraught with both structural, political and market risks, depending on which sector and utility. The slow uptake of the recent Saudi Telecoms (STC) partial sell-off is a poignant reminder of that. It is unlikely that the Kingdom will even contemplate the introduction of marginal income tax. But the pressure may be on to introduce an interim sales tax (VAT) during the coming year.

The economic forecasts for FY2003, in the Saudi context, are not going to change dramatically over the span of one year. It is too short an economic cycle. What the Kingdom needs is a definitive long term plan such as Malaysia's 2020 Vision, not only for the macro economy, but also for the financial and other sectors.

This would give a clearer timetable and target for the introduction and implementation of reforms.

Source:  Arab News

Can you pare down the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights to a manageable, no-nonsense six? Well, not really, but government authorities sure as heck can try that under the table, especially when it comes to dealing with those dreadful "Middle Eastern types" running around the country. For surely you have read about what had happened to those equally dreadful Italian, Irish, Jewish and Japanese types before them early in the last century.

In mid-December, hundreds of visitors and would-be immigrants were arrested by the Immigration and Naturalization Service a day after they showed up in response to a government-mandated registration drive for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries who were in the United States on temporary visas. After being photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed, they were taken into custody and charged with overstaying their visas, though many, according to press reports, had nearly completed the process for legal residency. The INS said about 7,500 immigrants from these countries would, in due course, be similarly affected nationwide.

Sure, since Sept. 11, the name of the game has been security, security, security. And you let that slide.

Outside the US, at secret CIA interrogation centers around the world, from Bagram in Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, terrorist suspects are "sometimes kept standing or kneeling for hours, in black hoods or spray-painted goggles ... or held in awkward, painful positions and deprived of sleep with a 24-hour bombardment of lights - subject to what are known as 'stress and duress' techniques," wrote Dana Priest and Barton Gellman in a front-page report in the Washington Post, Dec. 26.

Those suspects who do not cooperate are turned over ("rendered" in CIA parlance) to foreign intelligence services whose practice of torture has been documented by the US government and human rights organizations.

And sure, you say again, these are difficult times we live in, America is threatened, and though these practices are egregious, they could be, if not justified, at least explained.

And since Sept. 11, hundreds of suspects have been rounded up and held in federal jails around the country without access to lawyers, relatives and even to news media, a policy that is not only short-sighted, but lacks any valid penological objective.

Yes, troubling, but you argue once again that, well, America can't afford to let its guard down.

But what of the assault on Arab-American Muslims, whose faith requires its adherents to observe zakah, the donation of a portion of their annual income to charity? Should Muslims nationwide be considered supporters of terrorism because they had donated to charities that, after Sept. 11, became designated as conduits to terrorists?

Looks like it.

Since those planes crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, virtually all Muslim charities in the US have been designated as financiers of terrorism, and in some cases their officers arrested and charged, including the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, the largest and most respected Muslim charity in the country, the equivalent of the Christian United Way and the Jewish United Jewish Appeal.

Spokesmen for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a Long Beach, California group that lobbies for Muslim causes, have told the press that among American Muslims, particularly those from the Middle East, there is a feeling that were they to write checks to their favorite charities these days "the government will come after us." Though Muslims in the US are not by any means a homogenous community, coming as they do from different countries and ethnic backgrounds, with different cultures and different languages, they now are beginning to feel a homogeneity that they had not felt before, identifying with one another in no small part because the US government, and in many cases American society in general, are treating them as one.

In effect, by waging the battle for homeland security, the US may be forging a new minority identity.

As Peter Sherry, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, wrote recently in the Washington Post's Outlook section: "We are pushing these groups together into a political coalition around grievances against the government that will not soon be forgotten. The outcome will almost certainly be a new minority group whose claims against America will be a source of rancor and division long after the current crisis has ceased."

This was evident at the MPAC annual conference in Long Beach during the last weekend of December, which attracted 1,500 attendees, where the defining theme was the need for American Muslims to forge an overarching group consciousness. It appears that whereas, in the past, America's Muslims had never felt an urgent need to unite, now being subjected to intimidation by law enforcement agencies, from the FBI to the INS, will reinforce that need.

And make no mistake about it, intimidation there has been.

One well-known Muslim American entrepreneur in Florida, Jesse Maali, was arrested recently and his home searched for allegedly donating lavishly to Palestinian and Muslim charities. The prosecutors even brought up the nebulous issue of a letter that Maali had written to an Arab newspaper in London in which it was claimed he had supported suicide bombers.

So what happened to the First Amendment that prohibits government abridging the freedom of speech of citizens? You would think that Maali should be free to write whatever the heck he darn well pleases, wherever he pleases, wouldn't you? And while we're at it, what has happened to the Fourth Amendment that affirms "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures"?

As more and more Muslim charities are shut down, with their assets frozen (the Benevolence International Fund being the latest victim) we wonder about all that.

All of us wonder about it - those of us who believe in America, whether we were born, grew up, or came here fresh off the boat.

( disinherited@yahoo.com )

Arab News, Opinion, January 9, 2003