Saudis to succumb to Bollywood soon
habshi
against, but good for the long suffering Saudis. Wonder if only men
are shown ,or if burqa clad women where the breasts and hips have been
hidden are allowed on screen as well.
A few years ago the Mullahs in Pakistan gave a fatwa that
women could not appear on tv as men get excited ! Another Mullah
responded against men appearing on tv as women get excited even more.
So in the end it was decided that Islam permitted only pre pubertal
children to appear on tv.
Such is the mental regression that Islam leads to..
excerpt
RIYADH (Reuters) - The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police
has eased his criticism of a return of cinema to the conservative
Muslim country saying he saw no harm in it as long as what is shown
complies with Islam.
Cinema made a low-key return in the Islamic kingdom after a three
decade ban, but a sharp reaction by Ibrahim al-Ghaith, the religious
police chief, showed efforts to relax tough religious laws face tough
opposition.
But Ghaith, the kingdom's second-most influential cleric, changed his
tone in favor of the moviegoing revival.
"We are not against having cinema if it shows the good and does not
violate Islamic law," al-Hayat newspaper quoted him on Sunday as
saying.
It was unclear why Ghaith had apparently changed his approach and the
religious police were not available for comment.
A locally produced comedy, "Menahi," premiered in two cultural centers
in Jeddah and Taif this month before mixed-gender audiences, earlier a
taboo in Saudi Arabia whose strict Islamic rules ban unrelated men and
women from mixing.
Ghaith, who heads the morals police -- called the Commission for
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice -- demanded in remarks
carried on Saturday by Saudi newspapers that cinema remains banned,
calling it an evil the kingdom could do without.
"We have enough evil already," he was quoted as saying.
"Menahi," produced by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's media
company Rotana, shows the comic escapades of a naive farmer earlier
played on television by popular Saudi actor Fayez al-Maliki.
Continued...
fruitella
> Sad in a way. We need a group of reactionaries to rail
Its a great idea.
Broadcast bollywood movies all across saudi arabia and the middle east.