Saudi Arabia's "sleazy underworld"

This article from the BBC is old, written in 2001, but I think it still conveys a lot of the (mis)perceptions regarding Saudi Arabia and "seedy underculture." Popular perceptions of Saudi Arabia include strict adherence to Islam. Yet this article indicates that, as in many other places, an underculture of alcohol, drugs and sex is present, if one knows where to look.

I found two sections particularly interesting. The first is that these vices are "assigned" to specific ethinic foreigners. "Filipinos brew the illicit alcohol, he said, while Yemenis and Indians sell it. The prostitutes tend to be from Nigeria and Ethiopia, the drug peddlars are from Pakistan," Khaled told the BBC reporter, Frank Gardner. Although this is probably not true across the kingdom (or even eight years later), I found the fact that certain ethnic groups were identified with particular forms of illicit activities interesting.

The second section I found interesting was the punishment for crimes in illicit activities. "Jail and eighty lashes with the cane for alcohol, a serious prison sentence for drugs, and deportation for foreign prostitutes. Drug smugglers are executed." The thought of a jail sentence and whipping is somewhat incomprehensible to an American, as are the other punishments.

Even in areas not part of what is often characterized as a "seedy underculture," punishments are harsh. One case that I recalled reading in the news a few years ago was the punishment of a Saudi rape victim sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail (her attackers, once convicted, received prison sentences ranging from two to ten years, still low considering rape is a capital offense).

The strict adherence to religious prescriptions, by the state itself, is very different for an American where there is the (supposed) separation between Church and State. Yet, as the first article indicates, strict punishment and enforcement does not stop an underculture from taking root.