JIMINATOR
02-14-2005, 05:24 PM
(If you live in Saudi Arabia)
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/110838422970860.xml
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - In gift and flower shops across Saudi Arabia, the flush of red has started to fade.
Each year shortly before Feb. 14, the country's religious police mobilize, heading out to hunt for - and confiscate - red roses, red teddy bears and any signs of a heart.
In a country where Valentine's Day is banned, ordinary Saudis find they must skirt the law to spoil their sweethearts.
The Valentine's Day holiday celebrating love and lovers is banned in Saudi Arabia, where religious authorities call it a Christian celebration that true Muslims should shun.
The kingdom's attitude toward Valentine's Day is in line with the strict school of Islam followed here for a century. All Christian and even most Muslim feasts are banned in the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, because they are considered unorthodox creations that Islam does not sanction.
Beyond the ban, it is a challenge for unmarried couples to be together on Valentine's Day or any other day because of strict segregation of the sexes. Dating consists of long phone conversations and the rare tryst. Men and women cannot go for a drive together, have a meal or talk on the street unless they are close relatives. Infractions are punished by detentions.
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/110838422970860.xml
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - In gift and flower shops across Saudi Arabia, the flush of red has started to fade.
Each year shortly before Feb. 14, the country's religious police mobilize, heading out to hunt for - and confiscate - red roses, red teddy bears and any signs of a heart.
In a country where Valentine's Day is banned, ordinary Saudis find they must skirt the law to spoil their sweethearts.
The Valentine's Day holiday celebrating love and lovers is banned in Saudi Arabia, where religious authorities call it a Christian celebration that true Muslims should shun.
The kingdom's attitude toward Valentine's Day is in line with the strict school of Islam followed here for a century. All Christian and even most Muslim feasts are banned in the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, because they are considered unorthodox creations that Islam does not sanction.
Beyond the ban, it is a challenge for unmarried couples to be together on Valentine's Day or any other day because of strict segregation of the sexes. Dating consists of long phone conversations and the rare tryst. Men and women cannot go for a drive together, have a meal or talk on the street unless they are close relatives. Infractions are punished by detentions.