|
�Saudi History and Culture� at
the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, November 30, 2006
Dr. Allen, thank you for that introduction. I am very proud to
be here for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Saudi cultural
exhibit. On behalf of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the
Saudi people, I thank you for this honorable tribute to our
nation.
I would also like to thank the University of Northern Iowa�s
Saudi Student Club for the invitation to speak here this
afternoon. I appreciate all your work to advance cultural
understanding and to improve relations between people. It is
certainly a legacy of the people of the area. The first
mosque in the United States was built in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; as
well as the first national Muslim cemetery. It is truly an
honor to be able to contribute to this fine heritage of openness
and understanding.
Originally, I had intended to talk about the war on terrorism
and some of the strategic challenges facing Saudi Arabia and the
United States. I will be happy to take questions on this
topic later, if you have them. But I believe, in the spirit
of this occasion, it is perhaps more appropriate to talk a bit
about Saudi Arabia�s history and culture.
During the last few months, I have been traveling throughout
the United States talking with Americans. I have been
listening to their questions and concerns. Each visit to a
new town affords me an opportunity to address directly the
perceptions and misperceptions that are out there about Saudi
Arabia, which, I am sure, many members of the Northern Iowa Saudi
Club do every day by virtue of being Saudis in the United States.
Like them, I was educated in the United States. My
parents sent me to a boarding school in New Jersey at age 14. And
I remember when I went to school on the first day, a young boy
came up to me, slapped me on the back and introduced himself.
I introduced myself in return, and from that point on, he kept
asking me questions: Where are you from? What is it
like? How many family members do you have? Can you
ride a camel? Do you live in a tent?
He was very much like the Bedouins when they meet � very
engaging, very appealing and very inquisitive. That
interaction made me feel at home immediately.
I believe this is the type of feeling Saudis have had for
Americans since we first developed our relations some 70 years
ago. Long before our governments formed their strategic relations,
citizens of our countries were forming friendships and business
partnerships on their own. We found that despite some of our
cultural differences, we are in fact a great deal alike.
We�re plainspoken and straightforward, and we both believe in
the importance of faith and family.
I know these values are shared by the people of Iowa.
Perhaps it is the vast, open spaces that draw us close to our God
and our loved ones. Despite advancing technology and
infrastructure, which have changed the face of the places where we
live, these core values have remained constant.
The University of Northern Iowa, for example, has certainly
seen a lot of change. Founded in 1876 as the Iowa State
Normal School, it then became the Teacher�s College. Then
it was the State College of Iowa, and now the University of
Northern Iowa. With each change in name, its educational
offering improved and evolved with the needs of the time. As
they say, the University of Northern Iowa puts its �students
first.�
Similarly, Saudi Arabia puts its people first � especially as
we have undergone the massive transformation of the last 50 years.
But during this time, we have worked hard to stay true to our
Arabian heritage and Islamic identity. And I�d like to
discuss with you today where Saudi Arabia is now, where we are
headed, and how our history influences the direction ahead �
whether that is our recent accession to the World Trade
Organization, the broadening of political participation, or our
new education initiatives.
In many ways, all that Saudi Arabia continues to accomplish is
never wholly conveyed to the American people. Unfortunately, the
news media and popular culture provide a poor window through which
the Kingdom is viewed. As I travel throughout the U.S., I find
that there are still people out there who believe Saudis ride on
camels to work, that our women are all oppressed and chained to
the kitchen, and that our countryside is only filled with gushing
oil wells.
Saudi Arabia is, indeed, a unique country, but our reality
defies our stereotypes. We are a burgeoning society,
striving for modernization. Believe me, ladies and
gentlemen, a great deal has been going on under the desert sun �
and our history proves this.
Saudi Arabia, in the official sense, is a young country, almost
75 years old. But the Saudi political order traces its
origins back to 1744, some 32 years before the American
Revolution, when the first Saudi state was established by unifying
the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. Like modern Saudi
Arabia, it was governed on the basis of the Islamic Shari�ah and
Arab tribal custom.
The modern Saudi state, which was founded in 1932, evolved from
this blending of order, unity, and Islamic legitimacy. And
at the heart of it lies a social contract between the sovereign
and the people. Islam enjoins on the ruler to protect the
religion, safeguard the people, and provide justice for all.
Bedouin tradition regards the ruler as a first among equals.
He is judged by his ability to provide leadership and preserve
unity.
The King rules by consent, and no important decision is taken
by him without extensive consultation with the various elements of
society. His sole goal is to promote the welfare of his
people.
When King Abdulaziz, the founder of the modern Saudi state,
wanted to introduce radio broadcasting to the Kingdom in the
1940s, a number of prominent citizens opposed the idea. They
felt radio would be disruptive to society and would cause the
faithful to deviate from the path of righteousness. In
short, they said, radio was the work of the devil.
By virtue of his position, King Abdulaziz could have forced the
issue on society. But what he did instead was assemble those
same notables who opposed radio broadcasting, and, at the time of
the prayers, turned the radio on. When the recitation of the
Qur�an was heard through the radio, King Abdulaziz asked those
assembled: �How could the work of the devil carry the word of
God?�
The late King Abdulaziz indicated to them that the radio would
be used to educate the faithful about their religion and about the
world. Once he established that the radio could be
beneficial to society, the rest was simply a matter of
programming.
If we look at where Saudi Arabia is today, the Saudi government
still strives to strike this balance � to provide for the
welfare of our people while obtaining a consensus from our
citizens about what they can manage. And we have been
successful.
During the last 30 years, we have built the infrastructure to
support a modern society. The wealth derived from our natural
resources has been used to develop our nation. The
government has put in place a social welfare system that takes
care of its citizens: free education, free health care,
interest-free mortgages for first-time homebuyers, interest-free
loans for small businesses, and subsidies for farmers.
Such support has produced a great deal of development in the
Kingdom in recent years. We have hospitals and schools,
skyscrapers and malls, highways and airports � where a few
decades ago only desert existed. Saudi surgeons are
pioneering new techniques to separate conjoined twins and perform
organ transplants. Saudi women are opening new businesses in new
industries every day, and they now have ownership stakes in almost
25,000 companies in the Kingdom.
Last year the Saudi stock exchange set records, and is now, by
far, the largest emerging market in the world, with a market
capitalization exceeding $700 billion. Technology has been
integrated into our society and economy, and is driving our
performance. In the last five years, internet usage has grown by
more than 1,000 percent, and this year, we are sending into space
six communications and observation satellites.
Our nation is taking off, and we are reaching out to the world
around us.
But as we continue to build our society and actively
participate in the global community, we are making sure we are
doing so in a way that is consistent with our traditions. We
may have modern technology and all the worldly goods that come
along with it. But what are we as a nation in the eyes of
the world, if we trade on our values?
One of Saudi Arabia�s most significant steps to participating
in the global economy was to join the World Trade Organization
last December. As a consequence, more Saudi products will
have access to the global marketplace, creating jobs and
opportunities for our citizens. And it will also encourage
more international investments and products to come to the
Kingdom. The WTO accession process took Saudi Arabia 13 years to
complete, but it was critical that every last condition was met
without undermining our faith, values and tradition.
The building of a global community does not mean that all
countries must be alike. Rather, it means we are all able to
engage this shared system in our own way.
A good example of this is that all forms of governments are not
the same. And the pursuit of participatory government does not
have to be uniform. It comes in many shapes and forms: the
American system, the British system, the Indian system, and so on.
In Saudi Arabia, we are forming our own system.
In the spring of 2005, Saudi Arabia conducted elections in 178
municipal councils throughout the Kingdom. Last December,
the councils officially convened for the first time. These
elections are only a step in the Kingdom�s continuing efforts to
ensure that the government provides for the needs of its people.
We are changing, but in a way that is consistent with our
traditions and faith, and at a pace that is not disruptive to our
society.
Our heritage dictates that our plans should be studied and
meaningful. We have learned, over the centuries, that in order to
survive in the desert, we must be able to differentiate between a
mirage and reality.
So the pursuit of successful and lasting change must be
deliberate to be real. The formation of municipal councils
and the corresponding elections represent an important step in the
Kingdom�s ongoing efforts to broaden political participation.
And there are more steps ahead.
Participating fully in the global community also requires that
we be honest and transparent with each other about our concerns.
Our special relationship with the United States, for example, does
not preclude our having special differences. As long as we are
open in our communication, we will be rewarded by a variety of
outlooks and solutions, and a process that can only bring us
closer.
We are working very closely with the U.S. to find solutions to
many complex issues facing the world today � including the war
on terrorism, peace in the Middle East, and a stable energy
market, among others. Our distinct viewpoints provide us
with the unique perspectives needed to obtain greater
understanding and lasting solutions to these issues.
It is important that your generation is aware of the complexity
of these issues, because you will soon be playing a role in their
resolution.
Ladies and gentlemen: As Saudi Arabia moves forward, our growth
will be rooted firmly in our heritage and faith. As we align
ourselves ever more closely with the global community, our
citizens will continue to share and learn about the world around
them, as we hope others can share and learn and appreciate our
culture.
We are so committed to this type of growth that the Saudi
government has launched a scholarship program to send Saudi
students to colleges and universities abroad to learn, to make
friends, and to experience foreign cultures. In the first
phase of the program, 10,000 students were offered full four-year
scholarships. Most of them are studying in the United
States.
When I look out at the Saudi students in the audience, I think
about how important their representation here is to the Kingdom
and to the Saudi people. They are the true Ambassadors of
Saudi Arabia. They are the ones who will be going out to
form friendships and relationships that will break down barriers
of misunderstanding between our cultures. They will be out
here explaining the details of the heritage of which I speak.
They will be actively demonstrating what we have in common.
After all, not every town in America has an exhibit as
enlightening as the one we�re here to celebrate today.
And although our nations have come from different places,
we�re headed in the same direction. But each in their own
way.
Some of our experiences will closely resemble yours. Some will
be different. But it is critical to remember that although our
language, our dress, and our customs may be different, our hopes,
our aspirations, and our dreams for our children are all the same.
Ladies and gentlemen, I greatly appreciate being invited here
today. Again, on behalf of the Saudi people, thank you for
your work to advance understanding between the Saudi and American
people.
Ashkurukum shukran jazeelan � thank you all very much � and
barak Allah feekum � and God bless you all.
Source:
|
