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"Change grindeth slowly...as slow as the oil that drips dry" One way thinking .

Divisions have emerged within the influential religious establishment, including the religious police body itself, over long-held restrictions that have been enforced in the world's leading oil producing country and key U.S. ally.

An official at the Jeddah court confirmed the filing of the lawsuit for the crime of "openly declaring sin" and said it would take at least one week for the Islamic sharia court to decide whether to proceed with a trial or dismiss the case.

The Saudi judiciary system, based on an austere reading of Islamic sharia law, reserves harsh punishments for such offences that could involve lashes with whip and years of imprisonment.

Aired last month, MTV's "True Life - Resist the Power, Saudi Arabia" followed how three Saudi youths and a heavy metal band cope with the strictures they encounter in their daily life in Jeddah, seen as the kingdom's most liberal city (here).

The kingdom is ruled by the Al Saud family in alliance with clerics from the austere Wahhabi school of Islam who oversee mosques, the judiciary and education, as well as run their own coercive apparatus, the religious police.

Interior ministry police and the religious police work together to make sure unrelated men and women are kept apart, women are covered from head to toe and that sharia law is implemented, including a ban on alcohol.

"We are not free to live as we like," said Aziz, one of the youths who appeared on the MTV show. The episode showed how he tries to meet his girlfriend for a date, a risky endeavor in the kingdom. "I feel great solace when I talk to her."

Fatima, a young Saudi woman, seeks to start a business selling the traditional abaya cloak that women must wear in Saudi Arabia, but in colors other than the standard black.

The show also followed the struggle of a heavy metal band to find venues to play. They explain that when they pray they turn their heavy metal T-shirts inside out to show respect for God.

Saudi rulers have wrestled with whether to moderate Wahhabism since the September 11 attacks in 2001 on U.S. landmarks, carried out by mostly Saudi nationals, and the emergence of al Qaeda militancy against the Saudi government in 2003.

King Abdullah is seen as favoring reforms that water down some of Wahhabism's more controversial tenets. Analysts and diplomats say he is opposed by other senior princes who are closely allied to the powerful religious establishment.

Lawyers following the case fear the first instance court in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah -- where the lawsuit was filed on Monday -- would take the case.

"It will be very difficult to stop the religious clockwork once this gets to court. They may face harsh sanctions like those dealt to Abdul-Jawad," one of the lawyers said.

It is the second time in a year that Saudis got into hot water for appearing on foreign television.

Mazen Abdul-Jawad was sentenced last year to five years in jail, 1,000 lashes and a five-year travel ban after he bragged about his sexual exploits on a TV show aired by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC).

A new pan African styled reality show to be hosted by the first ever black Miss World and Face of L'Oreal Agbani Darego titled Stylogenic is set to debut on TV.

Shedding light on the concept of the programme at the launch in Lagos recently, Ms. Darego said "Firstly, I must say that the show is quite unique, in the sense that unlike other reality TV shows, it won't be focused on a particular individual, or one aspect of fashion. It's going to be focused on the whole aspects of fashion. In essence, it will be focused on a group of people involved in fashion such as the designer, the model, the make-up artist, the stylist, the hair stylist and the photographer. What this means is that at the end of every edition when there is an eviction, not one person will be evicted, but the whole team."

A sense of style

She also explained that Stylogenic "is trying to portray a sense of style that everyone has," she said. "For example, in Nigeria there are so many ethnic groups, and each one of them has its own different attire; that's stylish, that is being fashionable; that's style, and that's what we are trying to promote. Everyone has a sense of style that they are proud of, and we are not trying to change it."..

The model, who has been busy studying for a Psychology degree at the New York University, said she won't try to force her sense of style on any of the contestants because "The show is about people being aware of style. My own preferences or choice of style is quite different from that of everyone, because we are all different types of people."

Style teams

Speaking further, she added that the contestants will comprise of a team of six people, and there are going to be several teams while the show will be broadcast with a total of 13 episodes.

Quite unlike most shows which are based on the search for a top model or designer or stylist, Stylogenic will revolve around the concept of a style team. Begining immediately after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, entries for contestants will open to all Africans with casting calls held in Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi, London and New York.

Each team will be competing against one another for mouth-watering prizes, which include a showing at Fashion and Design Weeks in London and Cape Town, said Solomon Ikhioda, Head, Sponsorship, Insight Communications Ltd, one of the show's executive co-producers.

We used to think Abacha and IBB both evil intheir own way but now whoever is in charge of Yaradua's movements has revealed a wickedness unprecedented.

Article:

Ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua failed to appear at the Friday Jumat service in Abuja today, dousing tension in the political and security quarters of the federal capital that he will be ending his four months absence from public space by praying at the National Mosque.

Wide claims that Mr. Yar’Adua will be at the Jumat service caused anxiety among Politicians of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) last night who heard that loyalists of the President planned to bring him to the Friday service today.

A presidency source who wanted to remain anonymous said the plan triggered an urgent security meeting that went into deep hours of the night, the resolution of which was a stern warning to elements of the Yar’Adua inner circle to tread carefully and restrain from plunging the nation into a crisis.

“Ï think a riot act was basically read out to the Yar’Adua team with a cautionary note that they will be held responsible for any security breach in the city and in the country” said the source who refused to read any meaning to the sudden news that the president and his inner team had prepared to appear in public today.

Last night party officials described it as disturbing that the president’s planned re-entry into public life was coming three days before the Senate begins the screening of ministerial nominees on Monday, and a day after the 2010 budget was passed. They also questioned the choice of a religious occasion for Mr. Yar’Adua’s re-emergence in public.

One source said, “if the President would be coming out four months after his absence, it ought not to be at a religious event because that will send the wrong signal.” Mr. Yar’Adua, a Muslim from Kastina State participated in the weekly Jumat service at the National Mosque located at the Central business district in Abuja until his illness kept him from public view.

The ailing President was flown out of the country on the 23rd of November 2009 to Saudi Arabia for a heart condition and has since been out of public view. The issue of Mr. Ya Adua’s appearance became subject of interest last week when two national dailies claimed that plans were afoot for the ailing president to make a public outing this week.