DavidV
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DavidV
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DavidV
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DavidV
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Posted 1506125832
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#34
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2017/09/21/Qatar-s-withdrawal-from-Horn-of-Africa-was-retaliatory.html The Qatar crisis is impacting Africa as well, especially as Senegal and Mauritania came out in favour of the Saudi-led boycott.
DavidV
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DavidV
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DavidV
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Posted 1506847064
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#37
Saudi Arabia will now women to drive. Religious authorities have also endorsed this move, as they "discovered" there was no basis for it in the Qu'ran or Sharia law:https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2017/09/27/Sheikh-Al-Manea-On-explaining-the-basis-for-the-decision-allowing-women-to-drive.html
Peter
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Posted 1506852765
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#38
Didn't really explain anything to me, but obviously it's a good move anyway. I'm beginning to have high hopes of this new Crown Prince, who was obviously the, ahem, driver behind the planned change. 'Instauration' was a new word to me; to save anyone else who hasn't previously come across it having to look it up, it's an act of instituting, restoring or remedying something.
DavidV
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Posted 1506854689
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#39
A key fact is that Saudi Arabia is not a homogeneous society. It is made up of very distinct regions - Najd (the so-called "Salafi/Wahhabi heartlands"), Hejaz (Jeddah, Mecca and Medina), Ahsa and Asir. There are large number of non-Wahhabi/Salafi Sunnis in the Hejaz, Ahsa and Asir, there are Twelver Shiites in Hejaz and Asir, Ismailis in Najran and Zaydis in some border areas too.
The Hanbali jurisprudence and Wahhabi doctrines are also official in Qatar, UAE emirates such as Sharjah, and some tribes and villages of Oman. Yet those places have been more liberal than Saudi Arabia in many respects.
DavidV
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Ethiomonarchist
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Posted 1508168750
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#42
Qatar has frozen the assets of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, the younger brother of Emir Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, who was overthrown by their cousin Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the grandfather of the present Emir. The rivalry between these two branches of the ruling family were made much worse by Sheikh Abdullah's personal mission to Saudi Arabia earlier this year to arrange access to Qatari pilgrims to Mecca after the land borders were closed. The Saudi royal court had made much of the Qatari royal's visit, irking the Emir of Qatar, and raising speculation that the Gulf co-opperation Council was setting up a rival claimant to the throne of the Emirate. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/qatar-crisis/qatar-freezes-ruling-family-members-assets--
Queenslander
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Posted 1508169701
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#43
I just hope they can have this all sorted out BEFORE 2022, otherwise FIFA might look elsewhere or it will be one long and very 'awkward' tournament for pretty much all parties concerned.
DavidV
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Peter
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Posted 1508226811
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#45
It's not exactly a feat to rally Arab states against Iran. Anyone could do that, which is just as well for Trump. The other Security Council permanent members and also Germany have however expressed their view that Iran is in compliance with the deal and Trump is as usual being arbitrary, irrational, untruthful and untrustworthy. They didn't put it quite like that but you don't have to read too deep between the lines to get the gist.
