Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

Different topics were under the spotlight in the Saudi blogosphere during the past week; including terrorist attacks, crash of the stock market, and nationalism. So, let's get started with our roundup for this week…
Writing about the latest terrorist attack on oil refineries in Abqaiq, east of the country, Abu-Joori says he wishes that this failed attack would be the last alarm to some Saudis who kept on making apologies for the terrorists (Arabic). “We were the ones who exported this destructive ideologies, and now they are coming back to us in the ugliest form,” he added. Meanwhile, Maha was worried because the two terrorists killed were too young. “What made them do this? I was expecting older people, but now that I know they are young and my age, I started to feel sorry for them. They just wasted their lives and was it for a good cause?” she asked.
The changes in the Saudi society were the subject of a thoughtful post by Prometheus. He thinks that liberals “have been fighting gallantly for what they believe, repulsing fierce attacks of the self-proclaimed guardians of Islam who are trying hard to tame all others into their deviated teachings,” and that they should come forward and make their voices heard in order to spread the “noble ideals of tolerance, peace and coexistence.”
@rabian Rash posts on the crash of the Saudi stock market. He also writes about the beggers  that overwhelm him as he goes about his daily life. He writes:
There is an elderly gentleman who waits by the traffic lights all day, when he sees the cars stops he quickly scutters along towards them, and as he gets into ‘view’ on the road you immediately see him switch into his ‘limp mode’, this is interesting to watch as the moment the light changes, he suddenly seems to loose twenty years, and with an energetic sway scutters back to the safety of the pavement. Does no one else notice this?
Mo5 o 7ekma says the consequences of the Danish cartoons controversy are not all bad (Arabic), because this controversy has sparkled curiosity among Danes to learn more about Islam. “Now, I can say that the boycott and protests were fruitful, but the question is: are we going to see any change in Western policies regarding Islam, Muslims, and their issues?” she asked.
Mochness asks about what she calls “illiteracy illness” regarding the habit of reading in the Saudi society. She says:
What is it with people and their reading phobias? Since when has watching Star Academy been more accepted than reading books? Why is reading a “Waste of time” and “boring” and “Stupid” (see the irony of labeling reading as stupid?) Is our illiterate society going to compete with other societies with who got to vote the most for their beloved Star Academy competitor instead of who got to read [insert book name here] and [here]?!
Nzingha writes a long post on nationalism and marriage of Saudis to non Saudis, saying the concept of nationalism is one that she “will never get.” Saudi men and women have to face many problems when they want to marry non Saudis, and due to this fact, many people give up this thought.  Maryam asks a related question: “If that someone was everything you ever wanted but not a Saudi, would you give him up?” She knows the answer to this question is complicated, but it is for sure worth to be answered.
Finally, here is Aya, who thinks that Saudis are obsessed with priorities, “or to put it right, the concept of prioritizing.” She says:
To Saudis, it is the main dilemma: We shouldn’t address certain issues because of other, supposedly, more deserving ones (although they are of different nature). What is actually happening is that rather than developing the capability of solving multiple societal problems, we are becoming more one dimensional in our thinking.