Free Republic

Manal Fageeh never liked the abaya, the long black cloak she was forced to begin wearing at 13. She resented the fact that it was obligatory for women in Saudi Arabia, and the black absorbed heat in the often-scorching climate. Saudi women have long been known in the West for their all-enveloping black attire, widely considered a mark of their oppression. But Sharif and Fageeh are among a growing number of women and girls here who are rethinking and reinventing the abaya to more closely reflect their personalities and religious beliefs. The redefinition of the abaya mirrors the greater, though...

Comments in Middle East border on bizarre... Bill Clinton (in Qatar) called the cartoon depictions of Muhammad published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last fall "totally outrageous cartoons against Islam," ... In fact, the cartoons are pretty tame stuff -- the Islamic prophet is not shown as dirty, drooling, shaped like an animal or engaged in any unsavory acts, all standard for cartoon depictions of Jews in the modern Arab press. Mr. Clinton is entitled to his opinion, of course, though one wonders why he would want to gin up more hostility toward the West with an inflammatory characterization of...

Globalterroralert.com translation and analysis Audio Excerpt #1Audio Excerpt #2 Globalterroralert.com (12/15/04): Alleged representatives of Al-Qaida's Committee in the Arabian Peninsula have released a purported audio recording of the December 6 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The audio, which appears to have been made with a cell phone or radio transmitter, captures the voices of terrorist operatives as they attempted to overwhelm security and kill "Christian" hostages.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A French national was shot and killed in the Saudi Arabian city of Jiddah early Sunday, the Interior Ministry said. The man was shot at 1 a.m. in the Red Sea port city. The ministry did not name the victim or provide details. The attack was the latest in a rash of violence directed toward foreigners. Some attacks have been carried out by militants bent on driving foreigners out of the country to hurt the economy, but the motive behind Sunday's shooting wasn't immediately known. The Saudi economy, particularly the oil sector, depends on foreign...

Security sources in Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that they recently arrested three Al-Qaida operatives holding Moroccan citizenship who plotted to hijack a civilian airliner and crash it into a Jiddah building. But Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef later Wednesday denied that the men arrested trying to board a Saudi airliner had been planning a September 11 style suicide attack, Saudi television reported. "There is no truth in this. The truth is that those who were arrested were two Moroccans who were wanted over previous security cases," Saudi television quoted Prince Nayef as saying. The television report gave no more details....