Princess Sultana's Circle

Several
years before, Kareem had purchased a large satellite dish to
capture television channels from all over the world. It is illegal
in Saudi Arabia to possess a satellite dish. Our government insists
upon censoring the information its citizens see, hear, or even
read.
    However, this decree is
ignored by people wealthy enough to purchase and import satellite
dishes, partly because the limited programming fare offered by
Saudi television is so boring! Certainly we were not interested in
the sanitized news reports and endless self-congratulatory accounts
of the good deeds performed by members of our own royal family that
were all that were available on Saudi channels.
    The religious authorities
in Saudi Arabia are also against satellite dishes, for a different
reason. Religious men fear that good Muslims will be adversely
influenced by images from the decadent West. It is not unusual for
a committee of Mutawwas, or religious men, to roam the streets of
Saudi cities looking for satellite dishes. Although homes in Riyadh
are surrounded by walls, their flat roof tops are usually visible
from the street.
    The Mutawwas go from street
to street, examining roof tops. Should a television satellite dish
be discovered, these men attempt to destroy the dish by any means
possible. Rocks and sticks are thrown at the satellite dish, and if
that fails, rocks and sticks are thrown at the owners of the
satellite dishes! Just a year ago, a group of unruly Mutawwas had
become so incensed by the presence of a television satellite dish
that they fired bullets at it! A poor female Indian was on the roof
hanging laundry. When the Mutawwas began to discharge their
firearms, the woman was shot in the abdomen! Thankfully, she
survived her injury.
    Since that incident, Saudi
owners of satellite dishes have gone to great lengths to hide their
equipment. Today, many flat roof tops in Arabia are completely
surrounded by sheets, hanging from high steel poles, to block the
view of the roof top from the street. But this camouflage has
merely encouraged the Mutawwas to fire at the sheets themselves,
which have become targets.
    Of course, as Al Sa’uds, we
do not have to concern ourselves with the unpleasant activities
undertaken by the Mutawwas.
    When Maha paused to watch
an English comedy show depicting a woman ridiculing a man, I
noticed Amani’s lip curling in repulsion. In the Arab world, no
woman would ever poke fun at her husband in view of another, or to
depict a woman as more intelligent as a man.
    Without warning, Amani
leaped to her feet and grabbed the remote control.
    “ Mother!” Maha screamed her
objection.
    This was not the afternoon
of pleasure and relaxation with my daughters that I had
anticipated. I gestured with my hand for Amani to pass the control
to me.
    In an effort to appease
both daughters, I began switching from channel to channel,
searching for a suitable program that would entertain everyone.
Quite unexpectedly, I came upon a news story on a British channel
about Professor Mohammed Al Massari, a Saudi citizen who had
greatly outraged all in the Al Sa’ud family. Instantly, I became so
focused on the broadcast that Amani and Maha were
forgotten.
    The professor was a Saudi
scholar whose subversive ideas for the democratization of Saudi
Arabia had severed him from his own country. After being arrested
and imprisoned, he was released but was continuously harassed by
the Saudi authorities. He had escaped Saudi Arabia the previous
year and sought refuge in England. Since that time, he had
organized a band of Saudi Arabian exiles into a London-based
organization that called itself “The Committee for the Defense of
Legitimate Rights.” To appease their fury at the injustices they
had suffered, this group of dissidents had recently drawn Western
media attention by describing the alleged corruption of our Saudi
royal family. Indeed, these disclosures undoubtedly caused many
sleepless nights in Al Sa’ud palaces. This man had exposed so many
family secrets that my relatives were left wondering how he could
possibly have obtained such confidential information. Had some
people working for our family become spies for our
enemies?
    Mohammed Al Massari’s
allegations included that certain high-ranking members of the
ruling family routinely embezzle millions of riyals, from pay-backs
on foreign contracts, to the confiscation of valuable land
belonging to ordinary citizens. He claimed that these cheated
people were too