Question for Walks In Islam.

[Walks_in_islam]

Sorry I was on vacation.

Right now Saudi is quiet but the King just returned from the US and announced a big aid package for the Saudis to stave off any possibility of troubles for the Kingdom.

Bahrain right now is a mess and the unrest there is religious in nature, the Iranians have a lot of influence there religiously and the majority group (Shias) are pressing hard for equal rights and a say in the government. Bahrain is a common destination for westerners in this area and they are pretty much staying out of that country.

Egypt as I understand and the other north African countries are basically police states where the governments are very corrupt and a few people enjoy the wealth while the others live in poverty. This is, I believe, what kicked off Tunisia. Their unrest is across the board and is political for the most part.

Yemen see Bahrain....

Saudi and the UAE are quiet for now so we are not directly effected. We do and always have had an exit plan LOL but that is what you do when you live overseas.

The religious unrest concerns us the most as eastern Saudi along with Yemen and Bahrain are all affiliated with the religious groups that run Iran/Iraq.

Hope that starts clarification

wii

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Walks_in_islam

Sorry I was on vacation.

Right now Saudi is quiet but the King just returned from the US and announced a big aid package for the Saudis to stave off any possibility of troubles for the Kingdom.

Bahrain right now is a mess and the unrest there is religious in nature, the Iranians have a lot of influence there religiously and the majority group (Shias) are pressing hard for equal rights and a say in the government. Bahrain is a common destination for westerners in this area and they are pretty much staying out of that country.

Egypt as I understand and the other north African countries are basically police states where the governments are very corrupt and a few people enjoy the wealth while the others live in poverty. This is, I believe, what kicked off Tunisia. Their unrest is across the board and is political for the most part.

Yemen see Bahrain....

Saudi and the UAE are quiet for now so we are not directly effected. We do and always have had an exit plan LOL but that is what you do when you live overseas.

The religious unrest concerns us the most as eastern Saudi along with Yemen and Bahrain are all affiliated with the religious groups that run Iran/Iraq.

Hope that starts clarification

wii

So, what do you think of what is being proposed by some news/political commentators --

That Iran is pushing for rebellion and overthrow of governments in these countries in north africa and other parts of that area with the idea of establishing a caliphate with sharia law over the whole area?

and that many of the demonstrators in Egypt (maybe other areas) were brought in from outside (many had the same style cell phone and same style blankets and spoke in a dialect that was not Egyptian)?

That 85 percent of Egyptians favor the death penalty for those who convert from Islam?

[Walks_in_islam]

I think that this is quite accurate. The Shia leadership, holy sites, and base of religion is in Iran and they are spreading.

It was interesting that for the first time when we returned to Saudi they checked our passports carefully and in detail to make sure that we were not in Egypt

Originally Posted by Sam

So, what do you think of what is being proposed by some news/political commentators --

That Iran is pushing for rebellion and overthrow of governments in these countries in north africa and other parts of that area with the idea of establishing a caliphate with sharia law over the whole area?

and that many of the demonstrators in Egypt (maybe other areas) were brought in from outside (many had the same style cell phone and same style blankets and spoke in a dialect that was not Egyptian)?

That 85 percent of Egyptians favor the death penalty for those who convert from Islam?

[sandie]

Originally Posted by Walks_in_islam

I think that this is quite accurate. The Shia leadership, holy sites, and base of religion is in Iran and they are spreading.

It was interesting that for the first time when we returned to Saudi they checked our passports carefully and in detail to make sure that we were not in Egypt

Are you near the demonstrations that are taking place, WII?
What do you think will happen?
Stay safe.

[Walks_in_islam]

Quite near. We were shopping in Dhahran yesterday. Qatif is near Dhahran.

The Saudi people want those demonstrations quashed. So, probably, they will be as happened in Qatif yesterday.

To get to Dhahran we have to pass Qatif. There were extra checkpoints set up near the town. We did not go through the town directly so we were not aware that the demonstrators were fired on until we returned home.

Originally Posted by sandie

Are you near the demonstrations that are taking place, WII?
What do you think will happen?
Stay safe.

[sandie]

Originally Posted by Walks_in_islam

Quite near. We were shopping in Dhahran yesterday. Qatif is near Dhahran.

The Saudi people want those demonstrations quashed. So, probably, they will be as happened in Qatif yesterday.

To get to Dhahran we have to pass Qatif. There were extra checkpoints set up near the town. We did not go through the town directly so we were not aware that the demonstrators were fired on until we returned home.

By Saudi people, you mean the average citizen or the rulers?

From the news it seems the demonstrations were either non-existant or very low key.

Thanks for answering questions.

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by sandie

By Saudi people, you mean the average citizen or the rulers?

From the news it seems the demonstrations were either non-existant or very low key.

Thanks for answering questions.

Sandie, sadly I believe the state controls the media there somewhat.

[Walks_in_islam]

In this case the average people. There appears to be no love for Iranian Shias among the reg'lar folks. So, probably, the protests won't go far.

Originally Posted by sandie

By Saudi people, you mean the average citizen or the rulers?

From the news it seems the demonstrations were either non-existant or very low key.

Thanks for answering questions.