VZCZCXRO2338
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0424/01 3111522
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 071522Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1589
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8573
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0154
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000424 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP (HARRIS, BERNDT), R (MCHALE, 
DOUGLAS), NEA/PPD (DICKMEYER, AGNEW, BENZE) AND OES/EGC 
(MURPHY, BROWN), DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2019 
TAGS: KIPR KPAO SA SCUL SOCI
SUBJECT: "HEY, THAT'S MINE":  U.S. STUDENT AT KAUST ACCUSES 
SAUDI NEWSPAPER OF "BLOG THEFT" 
 
REF: A. RIYADH 1342 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 0342 
     ¶C. RIYADH 1278 
     ¶D. JEDDAH 0047 
 
JEDDAH 00000424  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Even before its star-studded September 23 
official inauguration, the King Abdullah University of 
Science and Technology (KAUST) was being heralded and closely 
watched as a bold and unprecedented attempt by King Abdullah 
to transform Saudi society from within (ref C).  As expected 
with any attempt at internal reform, KAUST has stirred 
controversy over its policy of "gender integration," anathema 
to many Saudi conservatives.  Not long after its official 
opening, a prominent religious scholar was fired from his 
position in the elite Senior Ulema Council for criticizing 
the university's policy of allowing men and women to interact 
openly in public (ref A).  While the university promises to 
be a source of ongoing discussion in the national Saudi 
dialogue, a level of frustration among the students 
themselves, many of whom are American, has been building 
since before the university's official opening.  American 
graduate students have been experiencing some of their own 
particular cultural adjustment issues (ref B).  Most 
recently, a male American student and KAUST blogger accused 
an Eastern Province newspaper of plagiarizing a post from his 
blog.  While the incident is one of the first notable 
"culture clashes" at KAUST, it may not be the last.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
WE FLEW 6,000 MILES FOR THIS? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  Prior to the official opening of KAUST, several of 
the American students complained to both university officials 
and consulate officers about the substandard quality of 
housing, with one student blogger posting photographs on the 
Internet of what he claimed was "black mold" in his 
apartment.  Other students complained that the university had 
no materials or laboratories ready for their courses, thus 
delaying their likely graduation dates.  Several students 
said they had seriously considered leaving the university 
altogether before the official opening, a move that would 
have embarrassed the Saudi leadership.  Ultimately, the fact 
that the students received free tuition, air tickets, 
housing, and generous stipends ($1700/monthly) led some to 
reframe their expectations for KAUST as an "all-expense paid 
cultural experience" (ref B). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
GETTING TO KNOW YOU, OR JUST BORROWING YOUR BLOG? 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Notably, the first public event involving American 
student discontent at KAUST arose not over aforementioned 
university issues, but rather the plagiarism of an American 
student's blog by a Saudi newspaper.  On his October 13 blog 
entry, an American KAUST student named Nathan accused Eastern 
Province-based Arabic-language daily newspaper "Al Youm" of 
using content from his October 7, 2009 blog entry entitled 
"Elections" without his authorization.  (NOTE: Both the 
original post and the one accusing Al Youm of plagiarism can 
be found at saudiaggie.blogspot.com. END NOTE.)  The entry 
provided details about recent student council elections at 
KAUST, which was a mixed-gender event and included both Saudi 
and international students.  The formation of the student 
council itself had come about due to student complaints about 
inadequate and unsanitary housing conditions.  Nathan also 
claimed that the article published two photos from his blog 
without his consent. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The English-language blogging community, including 
Saudi nationals who have studied in the U.S., was swift to 
unite behind the KAUST blogger, condemning the apparent 
plagiary as a violation of copyright laws.  A number of 
visitors to the blog noted that the photos that appeared in 
"Al Youm" appeared to be identical to the ones on the blog. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The "Al Youm" reporter responded to the American 
blogger's accusations by posting his defense (which he 
translated from Arabic to English with Google Translate) in 
 
JEDDAH 00000424  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the comments section of Saudi Aggie's blog.  The reporter 
denied the allegations of theft and refused to divulge the 
source of his information.  According to Consulate Dhahran, 
the "Al Youm" reporter is a part-time employee of the 
newspaper.  The American student told poloffs that he is 
writing off this incident as a "cultural experience" and is 
unlikely to pursue legal avenues. 
 
---------------------------- 
COMMENT -- CLASH OF CULTURES 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) "Do intellectual rights to published thoughts and 
photos have any value here?" exclaimed the American student 
on his blog.  It was not unexpected that American and other 
western students at KAUST would chafe to some extent at the 
expectations and strictures of Saudi society.  What is 
surprising is that the first public disagreement between 
American students at KAUST and Saudi society occurred over an 
intellectual property rights issue rather than, for example, 
the extent to which males and females may mix socially on 
campus.  This event suggests that, while KAUST students are 
aware of the more visible differences between Saudi and 
western society, the less public aspects may prove to be the 
greater irritant. 
 
¶7. (C) We anticipate that American and other foreign students 
at KAUST, with their modern values and expectations, will 
continue to clash with Saudi cultural and societal norms.  On 
the one hand, the Saudis in charge believe that they are 
being lenient and progressive in their attitudes, treating 
KAUST as an exceptional case.  In particular, they view the 
"mixing of genders" in classrooms and labs at KAUST as a 
major concession to Western standards.  On the other hand, 
many American students believe they are bending over 
backwards in accommodating conservative Saudi traditions.  At 
some point, this mutual patience may wear thin.  While, thus 
far, the clash of cultures has not led to a major incident, 
the potential is certainly there.  END COMMENT. 
QUINN