Saudi Press Roundup

Prophet Muhammad’s respect

It is not surprising when Muslim authors across the world praise Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), highlighting his qualities and achievements. But the No. 1 ranking of the Prophet by famous American author Michael H. Hart, who is a Jew, in his book “The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,” was extraordinary and astonishing.
Such unbiased analyses and appreciations rarely happen in our modern world because of individuals’ partiality toward their religions and ideologies. Moreover, there is a strident smear campaign against Islam and its Prophet as enemies blame him for all the problems and evils in the world.
Hart writes in the book: “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.”
He adds: “Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.”
Hart describes why he ranked Prophet Muhammad above Jesus despite the fact that Christianity has more followers than Islam. “There are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.
“Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam,” Hart said. The Holy Qur’an, whose verses were directly revealed to him by Allah, was instrumental in enriching Islamic culture.
Hart concludes: “Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time.”
I hope those who attack Prophet Muhammad would find time to read Hart’s book to change their wrong perceptions about a person revered by the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.
— By Osama bin Abdullah Khayyat

Call for optimism

The New Year 2015 has come giving people better hopes and aspirations. Some people think there is no use of dreaming about a brighter future, as they would not be able to realize it. A pessimist expects for the worst to come because it is his/her nature.
An optimist, on the other hand, thinks positively despite all odds and difficult situations, and this gives him/her mental satisfaction. Studies have proved that diseases would surround the pessimists while optimists would live long, enjoying better health.
Optimism enhances a person’s confidence in himself and his capabilities to overcome difficulties. People naturally like optimists, as they are more flexible, pleasant and ready to face any challenges.
A pessimist would not be able to achieve success in the world as they would not be able to set goals fearing they would not be able to realize them. They will not have the patience to overcome difficulties.
Optimism means seriousness, positive attitude and hard work while pessimism means disappointment, sorrow and disease. We have great example in our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was a man of optimism and he advised his followers to work with optimism. We hope the New Year would bring us goodness, success and peace.
—By Ibrahim Mohammed Badawood

Culture of cleanliness

A few years back there was a campaign named “Cleaning Makkah is My Responsibility,” which was initiated by Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy, former deputy governor of Makkah. Many officials and students took part in that campaign to keep the holy city clean. It created a sense of social responsibility in our younger generation.
Cleaning the surroundings is the responsibility of all people. The accumulation of garbage in our neighborhoods will cause a big environmental catastrophe. A new cleaning company has now taken charge. Because of low salaries received by cleaning workers I doubt this change would have any major impact and I hope the authorities would take necessary action to address this issue.
I would like to present a futuristic view for cleaning our cities, especially the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. If any problem faces the activities of the cleaning company, what we’ll do? We should understand the main reason for the accumulation of garbage along the streets is the unhealthy behavior of people, both young and old.
Schools have a big role to play in promoting a culture of cleanliness in the minds of children. “Why don’t we a launch a new campaign titled, “My place is my title.” If a student understands the importance of cleanliness it would have a big impact in creating a clean city and society.
We should know that the throwing of garbage in streets and public places cost municipalities SR3 billion annually. Being a nation of cleanliness we could have saved that amount for projects beneficial to citizens by keeping our surroundings neat and tidy. We can rarely see cleaning workers going around cities to collect garbage in developed countries.
The government should also impose stiff punishment on people throwing garbage in streets and fine them not less than SR300.
— By Fatin Ibrahim Hussain

Oil price plunge

The dramatic fall in oil prices has affected plans of oil exporting countries. It will have a negative impact on the development plans of Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. Some analysts say it would bring economic depression — which hit other countries in 2008 — to this region.
But we have to think positively to transform challenges into opportunities. The fall in oil prices should encourage us to make optimum use of our human resources to make greater achievements and introduce corrective steps in education, administration and other sectors.
I was expecting in the new budget allocations for setting up institutions to develop capabilities of Saudi manpower. We should shift our focus from oil to human resources to lead the country to greater progress.
According to Adam Smith, countries that depend on foreign experts would be the losers. Why don’t we make use of our own human resources instead of depending on foreign manpower? We have to end this foreign dependence by developing our own capabilities. We should train our people to overcome crises and challenges.
—By Mashari bin Abdullah Al-Naim

Knowledge-based economy

The national budget for 2015 has been announced at a time when the Kingdom is facing economic challenges due to falling oil prices. The government aims at the diversification of the country’s revenue sources, establishment of a productive environment and transformation of the Kingdom into a knowledge-based economy.
The budget has given top priority as usual for educational progress, allocating SR217 billion or 25 percent of the total budget to this vital sector. The amount covers budgets for general education, higher education and technical and vocational training. The Kingdom is witnessing tremendous progress in education with the number of public universities increasing three times during the past 10 years. Despite a 40 percent decline in oil revenues, the budget allocated more money for government spending to strengthen the economy and meet the requirements of the country’s growing population.
The present situation may encourage the government to think about new sources of revenue to fund future development projects. The recent decision to impose tax on vacant plots will help mobilize funds for its housing projects. Prices of water and electricity may be hiked to reduce wastage of these resources and increase revenue.
— By Salah bin Fahd Al-Shalhoub

Dialogue with a woman

Is it simple to open a dialogue with a woman or is there any psychological factor to be considered before conducting a fruitful dialogue between a man and woman in order to achieve a desired goal? Psychologists are of the view that a woman does not need any solution to her problems as much as she needs a listening ear. Apparently, a man should bear this fact in mind before starting a serious talk with a woman.
You should also know how a woman thinks before undertaking a journey of discussion with her. She likes close personal attention, surprise gifts, support for her hobbies. The preliminary requirement for a dialogue with a woman is to have an insight into the way a woman thinks.
Psychologists say that women think with the right side of their brains, which controls emotions, tastes, beauty and imagination. If a person does not understand this fact then his dialogue would turn out to be futile. That is why; a man should also keep in mind a number of other facts to achieve a woman’s approval. While women are talkative by nature, according to some estimates, they speak around 13,500 words a day. The time for dialogue should be agreed upon in advance. It is not good taste to start talking at the time for sleep, morning or while eating.
All her views should be respected, be composed, quiet and appreciative at the time of talk. Give enough time for her to express her views and be attentive because listening is the most important quality a woman expects from a man. You have to accept her as she is. You should halt the dialogue the moment you reach any clash of views with her and return to it another time.
You should also have the presence of mind, as there is no point each party holding fast to his view. Man should also understand that between the softness of woman and roughness of man there is a middle zone. Be truthful and not resort to lies or prevarications while talking to her.. Another important factor to be understood is that resorting to coercion, force or harshness to make her accept a view will not be of any use. The gist of all this is that a woman wants a man to listen to her, feel her womanhood and care for her and to be exclusively for her, as she like to possess him solely while a man wants woman to be an affectionate wife, and mother and friend sharing his food and his burden of life.
— By Abbas Al-Maeyouf