With the festive season here, whether it be Eid or Christmas or any other religious celebration, there is always that air of possibility, positivity and, well, dare I say it, miracles? As my family and I were driving along one of Jeddah's main roads listening to classical music (our favourite family pastime), my father interrupted the trance and said to me: "Rym, look to your left."
And there, in the midst of rows and rows of palm trees lining the street, stood one lonely two-metre high Christmas tree. I couldn't believe it. My father drove as close to it as possible, but couldn't stop as it was a fast busy road. "What do you think, should we call in the morality police and score some brownie points?" he joked. My mother, who is Christian, celebrates Christmas in Saudi Arabia by setting up a massive plastic Christmas tree decorated with ornaments she has bought abroad, or found here and there in odd shops in Jeddah. Only two or three malls, if you know where to look, carry Christmas-related items. It is not openly celebrated in Saudi, where malls don't play Christmas music (and sometimes no music at all), and public places don't have any of those green, red and white decorations up. It is celebrated privately in people's homes, and inside housing compounds. So for my mother it was a delightful surprise to see a live Christmas tree right there, outside the car window. "It is a miracle!" she said with a smile.
A few days later we passed by again, and this time the tree had a single white shiny Christmas ball decoration dangling from one of its lower branches. I guess we hadn't been the only ones who noticed this odd tree in the middle of nowhere. I am no tree expert, for all I know it is some arboreal desert variant that just looks like a Christmas tree. When I told one of my Saudi friends about the tree, and where I saw it, she remembered it. "Oh yes, it is quite unique, and I saw some lovely white flowers growing on it earlier this year," she said.
All I know is that my mother spread the news, and soon that tree became a central discussion topic at more than one dinner, and prompted more serious discussions of religions and their place in Saudi Arabia. In one gathering with young Muslims of different nationalities, including Saudis, they brought up the recent historic move by King Abdullah to bridge the gap between Islam and other religions by leading an interfaith dialogue, which was praised and hailed by all as one of the best examples out there for Muslim countries.
"There are talks of building churches here, can you believe it?" said one of the Saudi girls. "I think some of the people will object at first, but once they see how it unites people, they will embrace it," she said, referring to some of her family members who are more conservative than she is. "Change is slowly coming here," she added. It is coming to certain parts of Saudi, anyway. And there are examples of change everywhere, if you look beyond the obvious. When I arrived at Jeddah's international airport on my way to Mecca for Haj, I had some Christmas decorations for my mother in the suitcase. Three of them were big window decorations of snowmen, stars and Christmas trees that light up when you plug them in. After placing my bags in the scanner on the way out, the security guard asked what I had in my bags. I listed for him all the electronics, but I skipped the decorations.
The officer smiled and said OK, and let me through. In the past, the customs people used to be very strict and open each and every bag and dig into them, and many things that you didn't think were not allowed into the kingdom would be confiscated. Video and DVDs or even magazines would be browsed through and returned, but other things, such as crosses and Virgin Mary pictures, had to be smuggled in.
Now, that has changed. I felt things had eased up: there is more awareness, more acceptance. There are clear signs everywhere indicating which things are not allowed in, such as drugs and alcohol. You are also reminded of these restrictions before you travel to Saudi and are asked to respect them or face punishment. Each country has its own rules, and they should be respected. So will we see Christmas and other religious holidays openly being celebrated in Saudi Arabia? Why not? A lot has changed over the years, and the push for change is coming from within Saudi, which I believe is more lasting and telling.
Until then, I know a couple of people will be sneaking Christmas decorations on to that lonely Christmas tree in Jeddah in celebration of its unexpected arrival in Saudi. rghazal@thenational.ae
The five pillars of Islam
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
World Cup League Two
Results
Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs
Oman beat United States by six wickets
Nepal beat United States by 35 runs
Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Oman v United States
Wednesday, Nepal v United States
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014
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ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars