Two Faces (Sort of) of the Middle East

From the weekend's Middle East press:

Mohammed al-Habadan, a Saudi religious sheikh, delivered a TV fatwa ordaining Muslim women to wear a one-eyed veil so as to keep their seductive glances hidden as much as possible from members of the opposite sex. Al-Habadan isn't happy with the common veil worn in the Arab Gulf countries known as the niqab, which provides for a thin slit of an opening for the eyes in what is otherwise a garment that covers every inch of skin from head to toe. That naughty little slit, al-Habadan complains, encourages Muslim women to wear eye makeup and defeat the purpose of the modest dress code. "I feel the eyes of a woman attract too much attention," says al-Hamadan.

In Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, various parts of Christina Aguilera's anatomy were attracting attention at her big concert at the Emirates Palace Hotel. Among the songs she belted out was "What a Girl Wants". Cool, considering this is a part of the world where that question is too seldom asked. "It is HOT in Abu Dhabi," Aguilera shouted to her fans at one point. Hey, don't get excited over there in Saudi Arabia, she was referring to the weather.

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo