Saudi convicts young man for kissing woman in mall

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By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI, Associated Press Writer Abdullah Al-shihri, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 10, 2:52 pm ET
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi court convicted a man and sentenced him to four months in prison and 90 lashes for kissing a woman in a mall, a government-owned daily reported Thursday.

Saudi religious police arrested the man and two women after seeing them on mall cameras "engaging in immoral movements in front of other shoppers," the Al-Yom newspaper said.

The man, who is in his 20s, was seen with a woman "sitting on one of the chairs, exchanging kisses and hugs." It was unclear what the other woman was doing. Neither the man nor the women were identified by name.

The kingdom's powerful religious police, under the control of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, enforce Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islam, which prohibits unrelated men and women from mingling.

Zealous officers routinely jail unrelated couples found sitting together in restaurants or coffee shops.

The policemen also patrol public places to ensure women are covered and not wearing makeup; shops are forced in most places to close several times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque and worship.


Such kissing busts have increased as economic pressures have made it harder for young couples to marry and as the ultraconservative kingdom grapples with a push to relax its strict social mores.

Young men often must pay more than $50,000 in dowry and gold before their brides' families will accept marriage — a huge burden in a country where economists put male unemployment at over 20 percent.

But the Saudi establishment remains divided on how far separation rules should go.

King Abdullah has been encouraging change in the oil-rich kingdom since becoming crown prince in 1982, and has intensified his efforts since assuming the thrown in 2005.

Male and female students can study together at the newly opened King Abdullah Science and Technology University, launched by the Saudi monarch last year. Abdullah dismissed a prominent hard-line cleric who criticized the policy.


But in April, the head of the religious police fired the chief of the Mecca branch for suggesting that women and men should be able to mix freely, showing that such reforms have their limits.

The newspaper said the man sentenced for kissing will receive his 90 lashes in three batches, and is banned from malls for two years.

The women will be tried in another court.

The middle east in general (including Israel and US 'Allies') just makes me want to facepalm/facedesk/facewall repeatedly until I die...

Only in Saudi Arabia.

Kissing in public pales in comparison to this:

7 Year Okd Hung for Spying

The Taliban killed a 7 year old by hanging a couple of days ago. They had a "trial" and found him guilty of spying, There is so much evil in the Mideast that it is difficult to comprehend.

Hey, at least the man was arrested and not the woman stoned. Progress is to be noted here!

She hasn't been tried yet, We'll have to wait if we want see whether or not she gets stoned.

The Drug War almost balances the scale with what they do and believe.
I could see a case made that the Drug War is even more horrific and destructive as well.

I have no qualms discussing how Islam should be removed which includes mass murder (oh yea, it'd be called killing if it was during war) if need be, yet, there is so much of that same world ending (more towards making human life impossible and various other lifeforms obviously) potential with both sides already pushing towards oblivion.

Changing the Western stance on drugs (which hardened drastically over the 20th century, to questionable result) would remove funding from all manner of unpleasant people.



Afghanistan is not part of the Middle East.

I'm not surprised by this story.