Saudi Ambassador: We Won't Take Lectures from UK

Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdelaziz has complained
of 'lack of respect' for his country's law and traditions 

SOUTH WALES ARGUS: Saudi Arabia's ambassador has warned of "potentially serious repercussions" of a breakdown in relations with the UK and complained of a lack of "mutual respect".

Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz singled out the cancellation of a deal to train prison staff in the Gulf state as he railed against an "alarming change in the way Saudi Arabia is discussed in Britain".

In an unusual public intervention, he wrote an article for the Daily Telegraph in which he warned the wealthy kingdom would not be "lectured to" and urged respect for its strict system of Sharia law.

He said: "One recent example of this mutual respect being breached was when Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Opposition, claimed that he had convinced Prime Minister David Cameron to cancel a prison consultancy contract with Saudi Arabia worth £5.9 million."

"This coincided with speculation linking the contract's cancellation to a number of domestic events in the Kingdom. "If the extensive trade links between the two countries are going to be subordinate to certain political ideologies, then this vital commercial exchange is going to be at risk.

"We want this relationship to continue but we will not be lectured to by anyone. Hasty decisions prompted by short-term gains often do more harm than good in the longer term." » | Press Association 2014 | Monday, October 26, 2015

Jemima Khan on Saudi Arabia , on Being a Woman There, and on UK-Saudi Relations
Congratulations, Jemima, on writing this excellent article. Just one thing, though: You share your view of Islam with Pollyanna! Oh, and one more thing: You state: ""...the rules there [Saudi Arabia] have got nothing to do with Islam." Really, Jemima? Go tell that to the Wahhabis!

THE TELEGRAPH: King Abdullah arrived at Heathrow last Wednesday morning for the first State Visit to the UK for 20 years – five planes, 13 family members, an entourage of several hundred. No women.

I've been to Saudi Arabia a few times. It's not much fun being a woman there. I suspect it's worse being a Saudi woman. And worse still being her migrant maid.

It's a mad place and the rules there have got nothing to do with Islam.

I've had my feet beaten, not once but twice – first by a stick-wielding crone at Mecca for not wearing socks, then by a pool attendant when I (swathed entirely in compulsory trick-or-treat black) took my son to the hotel pool for a paddle.

I've heard old ladies complain that they are so harassed at night by the frustrated male youth of Jeddah that they have to take their scarves off and reveal their raddled faces just to scare them off. The irony of having to show your face to protect your modesty was entirely lost on them.

I've also woken up mid-flight on the plane home from Jeddah to London and discovered that the passengers who embarked in full hijab have all been replaced by Bond Street babes.

In Saudi Arabia, a woman can't travel abroad, leave the house or even be examined by a doctor without the express permission of her husband. She cannot be seen with any man except a close family member, the only exception being her chauffeur – and that's a necessity because legally she's not permitted to drive. She cannot marry a non-Muslim (or even a non-Sunni Muslim). And she cannot wear anything other than a long black cloak and headscarf in public. Although women account for 70 per cent of all graduates, they make up just 5 per cent of the workforce. If they contravene the strict laws, they risk public floggings or execution. Britain’s love affair with the Saudi Kingdom (more)

Mark Alexander