Job Discussion Forums

Cleopatra · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:32 pm Post subject: No Infidels at "Ladies'Colleges"?

Hi all,

Glancing through the online staff lists at "ladies'colleges" such as Dar Al Hekma, it struck me that nearly all of them had Muslim sounding names - not neccessarily Saudi, or even Arab, but to my ear definately Muslim.

I was wondering if these places have a policy of hiring only Muslim teachers? If so, is this just a girl thing? I remember that in the place where I worked, the female students officially had twice as much time devoted to religious, erm "education" as the male students, presumably because of the inherently frivolous and vulnerable nature of womankind.

johnslat · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:55 pm Post subject: A policy shift?

Dear Cleopatra,
From what I saw before I left, I think the policy of hiring Muslim teachers is becoming much more widespread, for a number of reason. My guesses:
1. It's not as easy to hire "Western non-Muslims" these days.
2. In my opinion, many Muslim teachers are less inclined to "make waves", more inclined to "go along" with whatever the administration proposes, including some "questionable practices". It often seemed to me that Muslim teachers tended to be more intimidated by Saudi administrators.
3. It usually costs less.
Just my impressions, all of which are, of course, subject to rebuttal.
Regards,
John

Mark100 · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 441

johnslat
You are correct. This is happening in many areas not just teaching. In Aramco there seems to be quite a lot of British muslims of Pakistani background being hired.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

I suspect it has a lot more to do with white caucasians deciding to give the country a wide berth, than with a deliberate change of policy.

johnslat · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2004 9:54 pm Post subject: The reasons why

Dear Stephen,
You could well be right. However, working at a Saudi government facility (the IPA), I did notice a definite inclination to hire more "non-Western Muslim " teachers, even before 9/11. Moreover, even among those teachers recruited in the "West", there seemed to me to be a tendency to go more for Muslim "reverts". And that's fine - I mean, it's their ballpark; they can hire whomever they want. But I still think that my Reason Number 2, given above, might also play no small part in those choices.
Regards,
John

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

johnslat is right - as usual.

You can significantly increase your chances in the job market by "turning Turk".

(For those not familiar with 16th century English : "to turn Turk" is a Shakespearean expression meaning to become a Muslim.)

Cleopatra · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:54 pm Post subject:

Interesting...

Seems like it's not just for the ladies, then?