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For those of you who have been following the Saudi rape case - the Saudi king has pardoned the rape victim in response to international pressure. But he's done so in a way that does not question the justice of the sharia legal system.
Rather, Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik said the pardon reported by Saudi media Monday does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but that he was acting in the "interests of the people." i.e. he's bowing to the nasty United States again. Bush's rationale for putting pressure on the Saudi government does not help the cause any:
Earlier this month, Bush expressed his anger over the sentencing.
"My first thoughts were these," Bush said. "What happens if this happens to my daughter? How would I react? And I would have been — I'd of been very emotional, of course. I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime. And I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."
Of course, if you were a father in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bush, you'd be honor bound to kill your daughter for the "crime" of having been raped (as in fact the victim's brother indicated the family plans to do). And you'd have considered this perfectly justified and right. So a lot of Saudi fathers are going to hear that statement and think a) Bush is insane and b) America is yet again making efforts to destroy our sovereignty and our culture. If you'd appealed to an abstract principle like international standards for the treatment of women, you might have got further. (Might.)
I'm wary of the impact of Bush's rhetoric. There's a chance that the foreign office thought through the impact of the president's statement, considered the relative value of appealing to abstract concepts like "human rights" versus a personal emotional reaction, and decided to go with the latter.
There's also a chance that Bush just said what he thought, not considering how it would be read by the vast majority of Saudis (the funding stronghold of jihadist terrorism). That he didn't consider how ridiculous his reaction would sound in a sharia-run honor culture, and that the Saudis would see this as the dictatorial whim of a single American overriding sharia.
I'm glad that the woman is pardoned. I just also, really, really hope, that the American government thought through its handling of this situation. And I have no faith that that's the case.
Rather, Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik said the pardon reported by Saudi media Monday does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but that he was acting in the "interests of the people." i.e. he's bowing to the nasty United States again. Bush's rationale for putting pressure on the Saudi government does not help the cause any:
Earlier this month, Bush expressed his anger over the sentencing.
"My first thoughts were these," Bush said. "What happens if this happens to my daughter? How would I react? And I would have been — I'd of been very emotional, of course. I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime. And I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."
Of course, if you were a father in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bush, you'd be honor bound to kill your daughter for the "crime" of having been raped (as in fact the victim's brother indicated the family plans to do). And you'd have considered this perfectly justified and right. So a lot of Saudi fathers are going to hear that statement and think a) Bush is insane and b) America is yet again making efforts to destroy our sovereignty and our culture. If you'd appealed to an abstract principle like international standards for the treatment of women, you might have got further. (Might.)
I'm wary of the impact of Bush's rhetoric. There's a chance that the foreign office thought through the impact of the president's statement, considered the relative value of appealing to abstract concepts like "human rights" versus a personal emotional reaction, and decided to go with the latter.
There's also a chance that Bush just said what he thought, not considering how it would be read by the vast majority of Saudis (the funding stronghold of jihadist terrorism). That he didn't consider how ridiculous his reaction would sound in a sharia-run honor culture, and that the Saudis would see this as the dictatorial whim of a single American overriding sharia.
I'm glad that the woman is pardoned. I just also, really, really hope, that the American government thought through its handling of this situation. And I have no faith that that's the case.
