Today Mr. Al Maeena is the region’s leading voice of journalistic conscience: his editorials spare no one as he focuses on issues of importance to his readership. He has written columns on Saudi social problems, women empowerment and the rift between American politics and Islam. He has been critical of the government, the educational system and national ambivalence. He reserves a special place in his pen for the foes of liberty and has written columns decrying the detentions in Guantanamo and Islamic extremists. And he has been effective: over the years newspapers in Saudi Arabia have evolved from being the travel time tables of the privileged to hard news sources discussing corruption, government abuses and real social issues.