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Saudi reformists demand Islamic constitutional monarchy
By: Faysal Abdel-Hadi
DUBAI: Saudi reformists have sent a petition, signed by 99 persons,
to King Abdullah calling for the establishment of an Islam-based
constitutional monarchy in the oil-rich kingdom.
The petition was also sent on Sunday to 15 leading members of the Al-Saud
ruling family, including Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and
Interior Minister Prince Nayef.
The signatories, who call themselves "advocates of a civil society"
and include five women, demanded the introduction of a parliament
"elected by all adults, men and women" in ultra-conservative Saudi
Arabia.
As a first step, they proposed electing half the members of the Shura
Council, an all-male advisory body whose 150 members are named by the
king.
They demanded the promulgation of laws to "combat poverty" and
institute a fair distribution of resources, complaining of a "huge
disparity" in apportioning the kingdom's vast wealth.
The reformists called for "issuing a code recognizing the rights
granted by sharia (Islamic law), which guarantees freedom of opinion,
expression and assembly."
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"Knowledge is
better than wealth because it protects you while you have to
guard wealth. it decreases if you keep on spending it but the
more you make use of knowledge ,the more it increases . what you
get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but
what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you."MORE
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