More Saudi Silliness – THAT Commission Again!

The buffoons who should be known as the Keystone Cops but are known here in the Kingdom as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (or the Ministry of Lasciviousness and Licentiousness – the C-Men) apart from running around killing people on dubious moral grounds (at least three in the last 6 weeks) are also responsible for one of the most absolute silliness’s I have ever encountered. Being tucked away here in Jeddah I am reasonably free to move around. Were I to be in Riyadh, however, I could not go to a shopping mall on Thursday or Friday unless I was accompanied by my wife (or I guess my mother ).

Yes, the C-Men have decided that single men in Riyadh are the most immoral in the world and the women of Riyadh need to be protected from them at the mall. The Arab News carried this piece today under the title Young Men Not Allowed by Ali Al-Zahrani which notes:

This is a sign [Young Men Not Allowed] that proudly hangs at the entrances of supermarkets and shopping malls across Riyadh, and is directed at all men above the age of 16. It is an annoying sign for many, especially since in some parts of the Kingdom this rule is not adhered to.

Many youngsters are fed up and are calling on security guards and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice to give them a break. One high school student told Arab News: “This is something we see wherever we go. Is this rule only applied to Riyadh? In Jeddah and the whole of the Eastern Province the situation is quite different.”

The article goes on to quote several younger (and older men) who have prevented from accessing shopping malls on the weekend. Interestingly one young man blamed young women for this problem and their tight fighting abayas.

The problem here is not the people but rather the buffoons who insist that Saudi folks are so evil and immoral that they must be treated this way. Just remember too that whilst single (read unaccompanied by a female relative) men are prevented from accessing the malls in Riyadh on the weekends, the women are being served by men inside those malls.  Stupid or what?