Wave of Saudi youths challenge kingdom's conservative sway

Saudi Arabia's rulers are allowing young people to push social boundaries – a little.

from the April 10, 2007 edition

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He says making movies here will be much more expensive than in Cairo or Beirut, the region's film capitals, but that in the long run it will be worth it. He thinks the king supports their efforts. "How do you tackle the ideology of people?" he asks. "If you're direct about it, they'll reject you. If you're subtle about it, through movies, you can help things change."

Things are even loosening up in Riyadh, the desert capital in the center of Nejd, the province that gave rise to both the ruling Saud family and the Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahab, who gave the kingdom an interpretation of Islamic law that is among the strictest and most limiting in the world.

On the streets there, where just a few years ago the religious police would have harassed a woman who didn't cover her face, some women go about with their hair uncovered – though a scarf is always handy. The religious police, or mutawaeen, have been much less assertive since Abdullah ascended to the throne two years ago.

The 84-year-old monarch has said he wants to give women more rights and allow more room for personal expression. For the moment, he has reined in the more reactionary of the country's clerics.

"What are they afraid of: If I'm allowed to drive the country will collapse?" asks Sera Kattoua, a 23-year-old photographer whose lip ring and T-shirt places her well outside the mainstream. "I want this country to really open up, but it's moving very, very slowly."

Of course, there are still few outlets for expression. Abdul and Saleh are part of Jeddah's graffiti subculture, and spend a lot of their free time "tagging" – spraying their nicknames on city walls. "We're looking for ways to express ourselves, there aren't a lot of outlets here," says Abdul. "There are a lot of people who want to show what they can do."

The rash of graffiti across the city in the past few years prompted Nasi bin Salim al-Moteb, president of the municipal council in the Jeddah neighborhood Briman, to erect some walls for the use of spray-can-toting young men. "We have a problem here: Everything is set aside for family activities, and the kids need a place to enjoy and have fun," he says. "This is a start."

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