http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=83800&d=21&m=6&y=2006
Thursday, 15, June, 2006 (19, Jumada al-Ula, 1427) Can We Shift Thursday to Saturday? Qenan Al-Ghamdi . Al-Watan, [EMAIL PROTECTED] According to statistics published recently by business experts, the private sector in Saudi Arabia only seems to be working three days a week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Simultaneously, other government departments that work in conjunction with the international business community function only two days a week or two-and-a-half at the best. The reason is the different time zones and the fact that operating hours within the public sector end at 2.30 p.m. In addition many employees consider Wednesday as part of the weekend and excuse themselves from either turning up to work or leave early. This subject was discussed several years ago in our national media. I don't remember who discussed it or wrote about it, but it was discussed at a time when the United Arab Emirates weren't even thinking about it. The issue is clear and isn't rocket science. The world we connect to through our huge business relations in the private and public sectors work five days a week starting from Monday morning until Friday evening. In Saudi Arabia, we end up interacting and working with this world for only three days a week because our weekend includes Thursday and Friday whereas theirs include Saturday and Sunday. I really don't understand why people didn't notice this before and try adjusting our weekend according to what best suits the international business. It seemed and it still looks like we are acting as if ours is the strongest economy in the world and that the world is desperately in need of us and therefore they have to adjust their weekend according to ours and not vice-versa. The UAE has come to realize this and understand that power lies with the rest of the world and that as a growing economy they are in need of them and must modify their working hours. Changing the weekend to Friday and Saturday instead of Thursday and Friday would give us the chance to gain one working day, Thursday. When the UAE announced its decision, which it hopes to implement shortly, our local newspapers vigorously discussed the possibility of implementing the same decision in Saudi Arabia. Business experts here intuitively know the answer. The humorous thing is that some newspapers started asking scholars of Shariah and Islamic jurists as if they were sensitive to the legal angle of the issue. Is it permitted or forbidden? Fundamentally, this is the result of a narrow mindset that we pray God to save our country from. But the hilarious situation is that some official business sectors didn't even bother to talk about the issue. Newspapers didn't ask them their opinion and they didn't even bother taking the initiative to discuss. I'm referring to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Higher Economic Council, the Investment Authority and the Capital Market Authority. I believe that a decision to change the weekend would benefit Saudi Arabia and wouldn't harm people in any way. The change would oblige people to shift their Thursday sleeping and partying hours to Saturday, nothing more and nothing less. Therefore, is it permissible to change one day of the weekend into a day of the week? Could psychologists, sociologists and scholars allow the decision? Does the decision need legal opinions from either one of them? Or is it a fundamental economic interest? [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/iDk17A/hOaOAA/i1hLAA/aYWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Galang Dana Untuk Korban Gempa Yogya melalui Wanita-Muslimah dan Planet Muslim. Silakan kirim ke rekening Bank Central Asia KCP DEPOK No. 421-236-5541 atas nama RETNO WULANDARI. Mari berlomba-lomba dalam kebajikan, seberapapun yang kita bisa. ======================= Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com Berhenti mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com This mailing list has a special spell casted to reject any attachment .... Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/