RIYADH, May 16: Treading a fine line between liberals and conservatives in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah has asked the media to refrain from printing objectionable pictures of Saudi women, local newspapers said on Tuesday.

“There are photographs published in some newspapers ... and one needs to think if he would want his daughter, sister or wife to appear like that. Of course, no one would,” the king was quoted as saying at a meeting with newspaper editors on Monday.

“Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things.”

Media have broken with tradition in recent years and have more frequently begun printing photographs of Saudi women beside stories. Al Shams, a new tabloid from Riyadh, has broken new ground in recent months and today boasts of a circulation of over 40,000. Young people could be seen glossing over the pages of the tabloid.

In recent months, many figures in the powerful religious establishment have used mosque sermons, Internet forums and public debate to decry a wave of ‘liberalisation’ they fear will secularise the country along western lines.

Many clerics have been raising the issue of satellite channels and have openly been expressing that the programmes shown on the satellite were un-Islamic. Popular reality TV shows have been attracting the particular wrath of this influential segment.

King Abdullah is regarded as a modernising father figure in Saudi society. He apparently wants to pursue a reform process, but at a pace that can be absorbed by society.