Saudi telecom stops text vote for Arab talent show

Mobily stopped a text messaging vote because of an Islamic decree labeling the popular TV show immoral.

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[wazzledoozle]

If single women people arent allowed in public

How do they meet potential husbands? I bet there is a lot of inbreeding in that society.

or...

There maybe alot of arranged marriges. At any rate I'm sure they don't get the chance to know their future partner in life much before marriage. Kinda problematic don't you think? I feel it's sad for modern day societies.

[zaznet]

Put yourself in their situation...

A facet of religious control is over the increase in numbers of faithful. In order to spread, you need children to be raised in it. This is a big reason marriage is a central part of any organized religion.

You are a guy in Saudi Arabia. You have never seen a woman before (save for the eyes from behind a mask). You get married to some woman you've never met, and get to see her "entirely" on your first date... Let your imagination go from there. :)

[baloushi]

By reputation

When a man looks for a woman, he search for one by asking his female relatives to search for him. When they suggest for one, he'll go and sit with her, discuss things and agree on things before they get married.

This is better than having a relationship with some one to discover after marriege that it has all been lies and acts.

Just goes to show

It just goes to show how that religion has not changed or evolved in 1000 years. That's why I belive in science, because science admits when it's wrong or when a theory changes to adapt to new circumstances and realities. Why do they resort to these measures to control their society? People who scrifice freedom for security will have neither and deserve none.

[pjianwei]

Its not so much security

than for power and politics. Sacrificing freedom for security is more the British way of dealing woth terrorism.
But then again i believe it is as hard for most Saudis to think that veiling of women is wrong as creationists of ID or secularist of evolution.
You are bombarded with a single way of thought all your live than some people who have totally different beliefs come around and say that u are wrong, who will not get defensive?
If people start thinking that religions and political differences are just like vegetarian and non vegetarian, the world and humanity will be a much better place. An excerise in hope and sadly in futile. Since when man agree with one another, when we all want to be different?

[MEmediaCommentator]

Silver Lining

Guys and Girls -- not to worry. While Saudis won't be able to text and vote for their favorite stars-to-be, they will still be able to view Star Academy on satTV. They will watch millions of other Arabs vote, and when their favorite Saudi amateur doesn't win, they will feel revolted -- and perhaps revolt. Mobily's action is really just a finger in the ****.

[zaznet]

Wait until they get MTV!

Just wait until MTV finally gets into their TV sets. That may be the fastest way to take over a country, forget all these billion dollar wars, just give them all FREE CABLE! It'd be a heck of a lot cheaper.

[MEmediaCommentator]

they already have MTV

Saudi households have about an 80% adoption rate of satellite TV, and these households receive about 200 channels free-to-air (no monthly subscription costs). MTV is one of those channels along with about a dozen other Arab MTV-ish channels. One of the major channels is Rotana. They have a web site here:

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.rotana.net/index_e.asp" target="_newWindow">http://www.rotana.net/index_e.asp</a>

Does anyone know if Saudis can text to these channels?

[Earl Benser]

Last time I checked....

... Saudi Arabia didn't have to get anyone's approval for how the
Saudi leadership runs the country. Saudi Arabia in NOT a
democracy, it is a religiously based kingdom. The Quran is used
to guide the people in all thigs, based upon the interpretation of
the Quran by the local religious leaders, the biggest of which in
the King himself. The King of Saudi Arabia is considered to be
the primary defender if Islam for all Islamic people.

So when the Saudi scholars decide that a titlating TV show is
'culturally inappropriate', then that's how it goes. Objections
from those outside Saudi Arabia are irrelevant and a waste of
time.

I would agree that the Saudi civil rights, especially for women,
need drastic improvement. But that improvement has to come
from within the society, not from without. And it will take some
time. After all, it's been like this for 600 years.

[pjianwei]

I dun think it is a religious or social problem

over at Saudi Arabia. It is more of a political problem. Of course the best scenario is that "international political pressure" forces the the house of Al-Saud loosen its stranglehold on the population, democracy take roots Saudis determine their own life.
However is it likely that pressure will come from the world who is dependant on Middle East oil?
Will the Saudis vote for a moderate secularist government into power, noting the extreme form of Islam being preached n internalised for decades if not centuries? Or will a religious government similar to the current clerics take hold of government?
Saudi Arabia is near to Iraq where Al Queda is running amok, the group had its roots in Saudi. Iran,arch rival for power in the middle east would like to see a weakened Sunni powerhouse in Saudi, Afghanistan is not far off, imagine through very unlikely or even remote, Osama taking over from Al-Saud.(Going a bit too far i have to say)
What will the world have? A more peaceful world than the one we are having?
Being rather selfish i have to say sorry, Saudi Arabia is too important to implement regime change even by its own population. Sometimes we can never be in a perfect world where not a single soul is abused, no one in the entire world have the guts or heart to dare hope to achieve that.
Atrocities happen all over the world during all eras, under all governments, I am both ashamed and delighted to say that only when the benefits to standing against atrocities outweights the costs then would actions be taken.

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[baloushi]

What to follow?

When some say there should be democracy in Saudi Arabia, do they know what they are talking about?
When we (in the middle east) look at the western countries, what we see is an alarming rate of crimes, rapes, diseases like AIDS, and alot of other things. We don't want that.

Women have more rights in islamic cultures than in the west. In islam, women don't have to work at all. They have the right to sit at their homes and their husbends, fathers or brothers have to pay their expenses. In the west, they don't have that.

In life, there are more important things than MTV, and the cheap trade of womens bodies. How about morals? These are being forgotten these days.

If you want Saudis and other nations to follow your lead, then you should show them something worth following. On the other hand, did you ever think about the chance they might be right and they might have things worth following? Why not looking at the good side instead of flaming anyone who is different from you?

This might be the time for you to rethink the whole thing.