Saudi cleric endorses Valentine's Day as 'positive event'

Published February 15, 2018
A florist prepares a Valentine's Day bouquet of flowers for a Saudi client at a flower shop in Jeddah on February 14, 2018.— AFP
A florist prepares a Valentine's Day bouquet of flowers for a Saudi client at a flower shop in Jeddah on February 14, 2018.— AFP

A prominent Saudi cleric endorsed Valentine's Day, long forbidden in the ultra-conservative kingdom, calling it a “positive social event” that was not linked to religion.

The comment from Ahmed Qassim al-Ghamdi, former chief of the religious police in the holy city of Makkah, comes as 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues a far-reaching liberalisation drive that has upended years of conservative tradition.

“It is a positive social event and congratulating people for it is not against sharia (law),” Ghamdi told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television.

“It is an act of kindness to share greetings on Western national and social holidays, including Valentine's Day, exchange red roses with others, as long as it is towards peaceful people who do not share animosity or are being at war with Muslims.”

Such comments from the Saudi clerical establishment would be inconceivable around two years ago, when the religious police wielded unbridled powers and were notorious for enforcing sex segregation.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia launched a series of reforms, including gradually diminishing powers of the religious police to arrest. Prince Mohammed, who has vowed to return the country to “moderate Islam”, has further cut back the political role of hardline clerics in a historic reordering of the Saudi state.

Florists openly sold red roses and Valentine's Day memorabilia in cities such as Jeddah on Wednesday without any trouble from the religious police, previously notorious for disrupting celebrations.

The declining presence of the religious police has been met with relief from many of the country's young, but it has also sparked concern over a possible backlash from arch-conservatives.

But opposition to the prince's reforms has been muted — at least publicly — after his crackdown on dissent, including arrests of prominent clerics with millions of followers on social media.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

ALTHOUGH dealing with the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan is a major political, security and strategic...
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...