The Jaguars, the first women's basketball team in Saudi Arabia, formed by Lina Almaeena, has become the Jeddah United Sports team, which has won several tournaments. Dr. Ali Abbas Al-Hakami, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema, said recently that exercise for women is not only permissible but a necessity according to Shariah. Al-Hakami's comments came in the light of controversy surrounding the issue of all-female sports clubs, which the Shoura Council recommended be set up some time ago. “There is nothing stopping setting up women's sports clubs provided nothing forbidden by Shariah occurs, such as mixing with men, exposing what should not be exposed, and other issues forbidden by Shariah,” Al-Hakami was reported as saying. In a previous statement, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Suleiman Al-Manee, also a member of the Board of Senior Ulema, also said that it was permissible for women to exercise provided they abided by the rules of Shariah. “These are very welcome developments. Women's sport is a necessity, not an option any more. For a long time the world has looked on Saudi women as just women who don't have identity. It is a segment in the community and it does represent the society,” Almaeena told Saudi Gazette. “Sport is a unifying factor in the world. Civilization is measured by sport performances. This is the era of gold medals and what it represents to a nation,” she said. “I realized the health issues that we have in Saudi society,” Almaeena said explaining the objective of Jeddah United Sports (JUS). “We have a very high rate of obesity, diabetes, (one out of four kids suffer from diabetes), and all the related health issues such as heart problems, cholesterol, osteoporosis (80 percent to 90 percent of women suffer from this disease), which is unfortunate. This happens despite Saudi Arabia being a country with a lot of sun, just because of the lack of exercise. Women also suffer from depression,” she added. Almaeena, who has a master's degree in psychology from the American University in London, said her 2005 MA thesis was specific to women - body dismorphic disorders (BDD), body image disorders - how women have a distorted interpretation of their bodies because of media pressure and social pressures, such as, the feeling that if they are not married by a certain age, they are considered old. It was the first such study, at least in Saudi Arabia. The study monitored the level of this disorder in the Kingdom. Almaeena explained in her thesis that sports and regular exercise are an anti-depressant to a lot of the psychological and mental stresses that women face. She emphasized that regular exercise is a number one anti-depressant for women, specifically, and for men, and teens as well. People with BDD do not just feel insecure, but also have a sense of disability. Women or men, who have it, cannot function. It is a silent disease. Nobody knows if a person around him has BDD. It is a self-destructive disease. According to her, Michael Jackson had it. Almaeena said that almost 10 percent of Saudi women suffer from BDD because of social stress. In Italy the figure is 4 percent, in Turkey 5 percent, and in the United States 2 percent. She said that unfortunately some people have a distorted interpretation of religion in regard to women's sports, and added that women in Islam have practiced such sports as horse riding – which was one of the sports available at that time. Asked about the difficulty in playing sports in dress which complies with the Shariah, she said, there is no problem, “except for feeling a bit more heat.” Almaeena said that when Hakeem Olajuwon was raising funds for the Muslim community in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he was asked why his best performance in the NBA was when he was fasting in Ramadan, he answered because of the power of fasting. “It is the same with our dress. We feel a bit hot, but it is not something that interferes with our game or performance. Just a condition that one gets used to,” she explained. Olajuwon, the Houston Rockets' all-time leader in points, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots, had his jersey No. 34 retired in 2002, after an 18-year career. During the NBA season, Olajuwon observed Ramadan. He would awaken before dawn to eat precisely seven dates and to drink a gallon of water. He would follow this with a prayer for strength and have no food or liquid until sunset. When he played an afternoon game, he would thirst for water, but did not drink a drop. Still, he would say, “I find myself full of energy, explosive. And when I break the fast at sunset, the taste of water is so precious.” Almaeena said JUS has just entered into collaboration with the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) and the NBA (National Basketball Association) of America, and the Jordanian basketball community to gain experience and build bridges of understanding. Two coaches came from WNBA in July 2008 in collaboration with the US Consulate and the Friends of Jeddah Parks. They will hopefully come again in September and it is planned to have visits by Karim Abdul Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon. JUS has won many trophies in Jeddah. “The year 2007 was a great year for us - we were winners of three championships - first place winners in the Women's Free Basketball, first place winners of the women's health awareness of Gold's Gym, and first place in the Princess Sawzyia Tournament,” Almaeena said This year, the team has been first place winners in the Cedar International School Tournament. The team has had two international experiences playing against the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in May 2007, and Aramex, the fifth largest courier company in the world, which is a Jordanian company, based in Amman. In April this year, the team played against Al-Riyadiah Aramex, and Shabab Al-Urdoon, an independent team that includes national players. According to a report in the Arabic daily Al-Riyadh, Princess Adela, daughter of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, last month called for the introduction of physical education and athletic programs for girls in the Kingdom's public schools as quickly as possible. “It's high time to look into the matter of introducing sports at girls schools seriously, following the teachings of Islam,” the daily quoted Princess Adela as saying while opening a health program in the Faisaleyyah district of Riyadh. She said the introduction of athletic programs was essential to control obesity and prevent related diseases among women. During the Abha Cultural Forum in July last year, religious scholars stressed the need for opening sports clubs for women and developing their skills. “However, women should take care that they do not violate the religious regulations while indulging in health-related activities,” said Muhammad Al-Oraify, a preacher, who read a fatwa in favor of women's participation in sports in exclusive clubs on the ground that Shariah approves of physical activity. Ghazi Al-Shammari, another preacher, supported Al
