[Saudi Arabia's religious police have announced a ban on selling cats and dogs as pets, or walking them in public in the Saudi capital, because of men using them as a means of making passes at women, an official said on Wednesday.
Othman al-Othman, head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Riyadh, known as the Muttawa, told the Saudi edition of al-Hayat daily that the commission has started enforcing an old religious edict.
He said the commission was implementing a decision taken a month ago by the acting governor of the capital, Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, adding that it follows an old edict issued by the supreme council of Saudi scholars.
The reason behind reinforcing the edict now was a rising fashion among some men using pets in public "to make passes on women and disturb families," he said, without giving more details.
Othman said that the commission has instructed its offices in the capital to tell pet shops "to stop selling cats and dogs".
The 5,000-strong religious police oversees the adherence to Wahabism -- a strict version of Sunni Islam, which also forces women to cover from head to toe when in public, and bans them from driving.]
I'd laugh if it weren't so sad. It kind of brings to mind a quote from the movie Lawrence of Arabia. I think Omar Sharif's character was being scolded by Lawrence, played by Peter O'Toole: "...so long will (Arabs) be a little people,...a silly people,..greedy, barbarous and cruel!" It might not be an exact quote, and either way not one that I used to assume was true in this day and age. But the people of our "ally," Saudi Arabia, as well as others in that part of the world, seem to be trying very hard to live down to that description. Even today after all that has happened since 9-11, I would have assumed that story came from The Onion rather than AFP.
Saudi Arabia is a very strange place. If you get in a traffic accident there, for example, they regard it as being your fault no matter what the circumstances. Why? Because you are a foreigner, and if you weren't there the accident wouldn't have happened, ergo...
ReplyDeleteMuslims aren't allowed to eat dog though, which is something. So they may not be pet lovers, but they're not pet-eaters either (as opposed to the Chinese and Koreans - www.anddogs.com ! )
From what I've read, in the Islamic tradition, dogs are considered "unclean and dangerous," though they usually can be kept at home as guard dogs, sheep-herders, etc.
ReplyDeleteCats have seldom been singled out for disfavor by Muslims, because Muhammed kept a pet cat/kitten, according to tradition.
Bottom line: Let's drill, drill, drill on our own territory to increase the supply of domestic petroleum so we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, while increasing our use of nuclear fuel, and whatever alternative fuel sources the market can deliver, and one day tell the Saudis, Venezuelans, et al, to go EAT their oil, since that's all they seem able to produce.
first of all's I'm from Saudi Arabia, pets aren't forbidden in KSA because there're alot of pet store in it. women don't like animals because they think it's a gross thing to've... ad sorry don't make stuff up if you're not sure of it. people in Saudi arabia think people in wastern've sex in the street like animals which it's ture too ... my advice don't believe everything you read this's my e-mail if you wanna disagree with me aldossary_ksa@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteBreitbart and AFP are pretty good sources for news info.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.