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SAUDI ARABIA: February 22nd. Founding Day 2023 in Saudi Arabia: What is it and how is it different from National Day?
The new annual celebration aims to celebrate the origins of Saudi Arabia.
Wednesday, February 22, marks Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day, a new annual holiday to commemorate the founding of the first Saudi state in Arabia.
The holiday was established with a royal decree issued by King Salman last year through the official Saudi Press Agency. It said the move is meant to commemorate the history of Saudi rule dating back hundreds of years.
It is a different event to Saudi National Day, which is marked on September 22.
What does Founding Day commemorate?
Saudi Arabia’s new annual holiday commemorates the ascendancy to power of Mohammed bin Saud, who founded the First Saudi State.
In February 1727, bin Saud inherited leadership over the central Arabian town of Diriyah, which had been established by his ancestors back in the 15th century.
He oversaw the expansion of Diriyah from a city-state to an emirate, conquering territories in central Arabia and uniting them under his family’s rule.
His dynasty became known as the Al Saud, named after his father, Saud bin Mohammed Al Muqrin, who had ruled Diriyah from 1720, the date often cited as the founding of the dynasty.
Founding Day commemorates these origins and aims to highlight the important part the Al Saud dynasty has played in the history of Arabia.
What was the First Saudi State?
Although Mohammed bin Saud came to power in Diriyah in 1727, the establishment of the First Saudi State is usually dated to 1744.
It was in this year that he allied with Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab, a religious scholar who led a movement that called for a return to the “true” version of Islam.
This alliance was at the heart of the First Saudi State, also known as the Emirate of Diriyah, the first of three Saudi states.
From Diriyah, the Al Saud dynasty quickly expanded to conquer much of the Arabian Peninsula, including the Hejaz region, home to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
This expansion was seen as a threat by the Ottoman Empire, the region’s major power, which sought to restore its influence in Arabia.
After a seven-year war, Ottoman-allied forces led by Egypt’s Ibrahim Pasha defeated the Al Saud and destroyed Diriyah, bringing an end to the First Saudi State in 1818.
From the First Saudi State to the modern kingdom
The Al Saud re-established their state six years later with a new capital at Riyadh, close to Diriyah.
Throughout the 19th century, they competed with the rival Al Rashid dynasty for supremacy over central Arabia. Internal conflicts and military defeats eventually weakened the Al Saud position, leading to the capture of Riyadh by the Al Rashid in 1891 and the end of the Second Saudi State.
Imam Abdulrahman Al Saud, who led the Al Saud at the time, sought refuge with the local Bedouin in the deserts of the Empty Quarter before taking his family to Kuwait.
His son, Abdulaziz, recaptured Riyadh in 1902 in a raid, laying the foundations for the expansion of Saudi rule across Arabia. In 1932, Abdulaziz formalised his reign by establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with himself as its first king.
His sons, including the current King Salman, have ruled the kingdom since.
How is Saudi Arabia’s National Day different from its Founding Day?
Saudi National Day is celebrated annually on September 23. It marks the 1932 decree, issued by King Abdulaziz, which renamed the Kingdom of Najd and the Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The unification of the kingdom took place on the 21st of Jumada Al Awwal in 1351 H — which corresponds to September 23, 1932.
Today, National Day is celebrated through fireworks displays, ceremonies and parades.
What will happen on Founding Day?
Events to show off traditional crafts, culture and heritage are planned across the kingdom.
Live music and dance performances are scheduled in cities including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
Festivities are expected to last several days, with students given a long weekend until February 27.
source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)
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SAUDI ARABIA
EGYPTIAN AMERICAN: Columbia University names Egypt-born Minouche Shafik as its next President
New York-based Columbia university announced on Wednesday that Egyptian-born figure Minouche Shafik would become its first-woman president next summer.
“Nemat {Minouche} Shafik, a leading economist whose career has focused on public policy and academia, will become the next president of Columbia University on July 1, 2023.” Columbia University said adding that her election by the board of trustees as the University’s 20th president concluded a wide-ranging and intensive search launched after the University’s Current President Lee C. Bollinger announced that he would step down at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.
Shafik will become the 20th president of the famous American educational institution.
Minouche Shafik was appointed director of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in September 2017.
She also served as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England prior to her appointment as LSE Director in 2017.
She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Honours list in 2015, and in July 2020 was created a baroness, becoming a crossbench peer in the UK’s House of Lords.
Shafik’s successful portfolio includes leading roles such as Vice President of the World Bank, where she became the youngest VP in the history of the bank, and Permanent Secretary of the UK Department for International Development and Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Born in Alexandriam her childhood in Egypt was brief though, as she left the country for the US when she was four. She later returned to the country briefly as a teenager, according to interviews.
She holds a BSc in economics and politics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and an MSc in economics at LSE before completing a PhD in economics at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.
Her doctorate thesis was on the role of the private sector and the public sector in Egypt.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)
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AMERICAN / EGYPT
MOROCCO: January 11th: Independence Proclamation: The Ongoing Legacy of Moroccan Nationalism
Published on January 11, 1944, the Independence Proclamation laid the groundwork for generations of Moroccan nationalist claims against French and Spanish occupation.
Every January 11, Moroccans celebrate Morocco’s Independence Proclamation or the Independence Manifesto, commemorating the bravery of Moroccans who signed a manifesto to urge colonists to leave their Moroccan lands.
On January 11, 1944, dozens of Moroccan nationalists signed the manifesto that called for the country’s full independence and sovereignty over its territories occupied by foreign powers.
A turning point for Moroccan nationalism
Seen as a turning point in Morocco’s history, the proclamation was signed in consultations with the late Sultan Mohammed V, the grandfather of King Mohammed VI, to demand Morocco’s full-throated independence from French and Spanish colonizers.
Following the Sultan’s review, the document was presented to colonial authorities and to the representations of three countries: the US, UK, and the former Soviet Union.
The manifesto documented Morocco’s eagerness to continue its fight against colonizers, stressing the importance of the country’s right to exercise national sovereignty and self-determination.
It also shed light on the strong ties between the throne and the Moroccan people, a sizable majority of whom were ready and eager to sacrifice their lives for their homeland, causing panic among French colonial authorities and troops.
Demonization and oppression campaign
Following the publication of the manifesto, French authorities tried to pressure Sultan Mohammed V into condemning the proclamation. Having failed in their bid to get the Sultan to disown the leaders of Moroccan nationalism, the colonial authorities resorted to organizing a purge and demonization campaign, accusing Moroccan nationalists and intellectuals of spying for Nazi Germany.
Withstanding this campaign of oppression and intimidation from colonial forces, both the Sultan and Moroccan nationalists continued their fierce struggle to defend the country’s legitimate right to independence and self-determination.
In response, French authorities forced the Sultan into exile to Corsica along with his family members on the eve of Eid al-Adha, in August 1953, and then to Madagascar in 1954.
The goal was to shatter Morocco’s dreams of independence, but forcefully exiling their legitimate Sultan only intensified Moroccans’ eagerness for national sovereignty and resilience against colonial oppression.
The decision to send the Sultan to exile was thus greeted with more nationwide uproar and frustration, with waves of nationalist protests demanding the return of the Sultan and his family amid the continued struggle for national independence.
The pressure was strong enough to force French colonizers into agreeing to the return of Sultan Mohammed V to Morocco on November 16.
A few days after his return, the Moroccan delivered a speech announcing the end of the trusteeship and protectorate system and “the advent of freedom of independence.”
The speech was excitedly celebrated across Morocco, laying the groundwork for Moroccan independence from France on March 2, 1956.
That same year, Morocco recovered Tangier and other parts of the northern regions from Spanish rule.
The following years, especially in 1959, 1969, and 1975, Morocco further reclaimed its territorial integrity with the withdrawal of Spain from the Tarfaya, Sidi Ifni, and Saqia al Hamra, and Oued Eddahab regions in the country’s southern provinces.
Continued Struggle
Seven decades after gaining independence from France and nearly five decades after reclaiming its southern provinces from Spanish rule, Morocco’s struggle for independence is still ongoing in the face of separatist challenges in the southern provinces known as Western Sahara.
After Mohammed V passed away, his son, the late King Hassan II, continued the fight for full-fledged territorial integrity. The King famously organized and oversaw the resounding success of one of the most famed milestones of Moroccan nationalism: Al Massira El Khadrae or the Green March in November 1975.
The Green March contributed to the full withdrawal of Spain from southern Morocco after the late monarch made a televised speech calling on Moroccans to mobilize to liberate the Moroccan Sahara.
“We have to do one thing, dear people, and that is to undertake a peaceful march from the north to the east, and from the west to the south. It behooves us to act as one man in order to join the Sahara,” King Hassan II said in his speech.
Thousands of Moroccans were galvanized by the speech and participated in the Green March.
As Morocco celebrated the 47th anniversary of the Green March last year, King Mohammed VI highlighted the importance of the March’s legacy and the critical need for Morocco to fully reclaim its southern provinces.
In his speech on the occasion, King Mohammed VI called on Moroccans of all walks of life to continue to be “faithful to the spirit of the Green March and to its everlasting oath.”
As Moroccan sovereignty continues to be challenged by the Polisario Front, a separatist group financed and armed by Algeria, Moroccans have to remain mobilized and vigilant in order to “defend Morocco’s unity and achieve greater progress,” the monarch stressed.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (headline edited)
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MOROCCO
SAUDI ARABIA: The ’45th King Faisal Prize 2023′ Awarded to International List of Recipients
An Emirati, a Moroccan, a South Korean, two British, and three Americans are among those to have won the King Faisal Prize for 2023.
In its 45th edition, the prestigious award recognizes COVID-19 vaccine developers, nanotechnology scientists, and eminent figures in each of its Arabic Language and Literature, Islamic Studies, and Service to Islam categories.
Announcing the winners on Thursday, the King Faisal Prize General Secretariat said: “The selection committees of the 2023 King Faisal Prize, after meticulous deliberations that were held from Monday to Wednesday (Jan. 2-4, 2023), have reached the decisions for the prize’s five categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic language & Literature, Medicine, and Science.”
The King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam 2023 is awarded jointly to Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah of the UAE and Prof. Choi Young Kil-Hamed from South Korea.
The King Faisal Prize for Islamic Studies for 2023, on the topic of Islamic architecture, is awarded to Prof. Robert Hillenbrand from the UK.
This year’s King Faisal Prize for Arabic Language and Literature, on the topic of classical Arabic narrative and modern theories, is awarded to Morocco’s Prof. Abdelfattah Kilito.
The King Faisal Prize for Medicine for 2023, focusing on pandemics and vaccine development, is awarded jointly to Prof. Dan Hung Barouch from the US and Prof. Sarah Catherine Gilbert from the UK.
The King Faisal Prize for Science for this year in chemistry is awarded jointly to Prof. Jackie Yi-Ru Ying and Prof. Chad Alexander Mirkin, both from the US.
This year, two female scientists were announced winners of the King Faisal Prize in the Medicine and Science categories. The woman behind the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Prof. Gilbert, who is the Said chair of vaccinology at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, co-created the jab, which has been used in more than 180 countries, saving countless lives due to its efficiency, low cost, and accessibility.
Prof. Ying is the senior fellow and director at NanoBio Lab, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research.
She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was chosen for her work on the synthesis of various advanced nanomaterials and systems, and their applications in catalysis, energy conversion, and biomedicine.
The King Faisal Prize was established in 1977. Since then, 275 recipients from 43 countries have been honored, of whom 21 have gone on to win a Nobel Prize. This year’s awards will be presented at a ceremony later in 2023.
The prize was granted for the first time in 1979 in three categories: Service to Islam, Islamic studies, and Arabic language and literature. Two additional categories were introduced in 1981: Medicine and science. The first medicine prize was awarded in 1982, and in science two years later.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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SAUDI ARABIA / MOROCCO / U.A.E.
ALGERIA: Model Baraka Merzaia: the Face of a New Algeria
The multi-talented, multilingual model, actress and singer is making a name for herself beyond her homeland.
Baraka Merzaia is a true force of nature. Beautiful, intelligent and multi-talented, the young Algerian rising star is attracting praise and attention from across the world for a wide variety of reasons. If you don’t yet know her name, you soon will.
Merzaia was born in Adrar, in the south of Algeria, but is now based in Algiers. Her talent was first noticed aged 16, when she joined a choir to learn to improve her already impressive vocal skills.
Like many young people of her generation in Algeria, Merzaia is a polyglot, which has helped her gain fans across borders. In India, four years ago, when the country celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gandhi, Merzaia was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her “memorable” rendition of “Vaishnava Jana To,” a hugely popular Hindu hymn “whose lyrics are imbued with empathy” that Merzaia hopes is contagious.
In 2019, Merzaia was named Miss Talent in her homeland, and has since landed several modelling contracts, and aspires to hit the international catwalks soon, inspired particularly by the career of Somali-American model Halima Aden — who famously sported the hijab on a Vogue cover and was the first model to wear a burkini in Sports Illustrated magazine. Like Aden, Merzaia aims to remain true to her faith and smash stereotypes in the fashion industry.
She tells Arab News France that she has already turned down offers of partnerships with brands who have asked her to remove her headscarf for photo shoots.
“Many consider my (headscarf) to be a fashion accessory,” she says. “That is far from the case, and I am convinced that I can carry out my projects without compromising my integrity.”
Another major inspiration, she tells Arab News, is her mother — a PhD holder whose thirst for knowledge has inspired Merzaia to pursue higher education, in addition to her artistic projects.
The singer, model, and actress has built up a following of more than half a million over various social-media platforms, on which she documents her daily life and her artistic projects, with a strong emphasis on Algerian culture and heritage.
One example is a video shot during a visit to her hometown of Ain Salah. “When I posted a video showing how we make kesra — a semolina pancake baked in sand — I was inundated with messages from curious people across the country asking me to share this type of content more frequently,” she says.
Her kesra video was widely shared online — including by NWE, a media that highlights African culture in all its diversity — and helped to highlight a little-known facet of Algerian culture.
Merzaia explains that she sees social media as an opportunity to introduce people to the south of Algeria, which is under-represented across mainstream media, and, at the same time, to disabuse people of stereotypes concerning Saharan inhabitants.
In 2006, a census estimated that the Black community in Algeria represented around 5 percent of the population, the lowest ratio in the Maghreb.
While Baraka is not overtly political, her claiming of — and ability to reconcile — her Algerian and African heritage, and her faith, demonstrates that these aspects of Algerian identity complement each other, when popular wisdom might suggest that they are incompatible.
At a time when many young people in North Africa tend to look to the West for cultural inspiration, Merzaia demonstrates that Algerian culture, in addition to being plural and rich, “has a lot to offer and deserves to be discovered,” as she puts it.
“I don’t consider myself to be an influencer,” she says. “Nevertheless, I do want to shed light on my culture, by sharing with my followers my faith and culture, (and this balance) between modernism and tradition.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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ALGERIA
QATAR National Day – December 18th: Exceptional ‘FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’ set for a fitting Finale with Argentina Vs France Game
SAUDI ARABIA: World’s First Commercial Shipment of Blue Ammonia leaves Saudi Arabia for South Korea
A consignment of blue ammonia has left Saudi Arabia for South Korea, representing a new milestone in the development of decarbonization solutions.
The development was first announced during the recent Saudi Green Initiative conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, and Vessel Seasurfer, carrying 25,000 metric tons (25 KMT) of low-carbon blue ammonia, is expected to reach its destination between Dec. 9 and 13 in the world’s first commercial shipment of its kind.
The accomplishment, which is an alternative to conventional gray ammonia, is part of a collaboration between Saudi Basic Industries Corporation Agri-Nutrients and Aramco.
Lotte Fine Chemical, which has a long-standing relationship with SABIC AN, will receive the low-carbon “cradle to gate” blue ammonia.
Abdulrahman Shamsaddin, SABIC AN CEO, said: “This shipment is another milestone in our journey toward carbon neutrality.
“We are proud to be a part of this pioneering solution, paving the way for further decarbonization efforts.
“Looking to the future, we are constantly working on breakthrough solutions to decarbonize our assets and deliver low-carbon solutions to our customers.”
Yong Suk Kim, LFC CEO, said: “We are delighted to enter this meaningful agreement with our long-term supplier, SABIC Agri-Nutrients, to receive the world’s first certified blue ammonia cargo.
“Building on our shared history, we are looking forward to moving forward together into a new era for ammonia. We believe that this shipment of blue ammonia will help lay the foundations for a global supply chain.”
Earlier this year, SABIC AN and Aramco received the world’s first independent certifications, recognizing blue ammonia and blue hydrogen production, from TUV Rheinland, a leading independent testing, inspection and certification agency, based in Germany.
The shipment of blue ammonia to South Korea will be the first to capitalize on this major certification achievement.
The new developments are aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on low-carbon fuels, products, solutions and clean energy.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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SAUDI ARABIA
EGYPT: WORLD LEADERS MEET: UN Conference on Climate Change (COP27) takes place in the Egyptian Red Sea City of Sharm El-Sheikh , 6-18 November.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)
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EGYPT
MOROCCO: Aziza Nait Sibaha Wins Arab Prize for ‘Best Sports Journalist’
Sibaha is the director of the “Atlas Lionesses: Hear Them Roar!” documentary that honored Morocco’s Women’s Football Team.
The Moroccan journalist Aziza Nait Sibaha has won the sixth “Fatima Bint Mubarak” Women Sports Award, crowning her as the Arab world’s “best sports journalist.”
Presented on September 17 in Abu Dhabi, the award is the region’s first of its kind aimed at empowering women and celebrating their sports achievements.
The “Fatima Bint Mubarak” Prize was awarded to different winners in several categories, including sports management, training, research, sports sponsorship, and women of determination.
The value of the prizes totaled AED 1,700,000 ($462,824).
Different trophies were awarded to nine competitors, individuals and teams, including Egypt’s Giana Farouk Mahmoud, who was named the “best Arab sportswoman,” and Shamma Yousef Al Kalbani, who won the “best Emirati athlete” award.
Egyptian Ahmed Gouda won the prize for the “best young athlete,” while his compatriot Rehab Ahmed Radwan was awarded the prize for the “best Paralympic athlete.”
The “best coach” award went to Faris Al-Assaf from Jordan, while the Jordanian Women’s Football Association took the award in the “ Youth Development Programs” category.
The Egyptian Weightlifting Federation won the award for “best team,” while the “Emirates International Endurance Village” earned the prize for “best innovative sports initiative.”
The celebrated Tunisian tennis player Ons Jaber won the award for “Sports Personality of the Year in the Arab World.”
In her speech at the award ceremony, the representative of Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Maryam Al-Mansouri, said that all categories of the award have seen strong competitiveness in recent months. This proves the talent, willingness, and ambition of Arab sportswomen, she stressed.
Al-Mansouri concluded: “We hope to see Arab women continue to take the lead in local and international sports events, and this award will contribute to the birth of new achievements in the Arab women’s sports career.”
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (headline edited)
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MOROCCO