Barbie a threat to morality

[Guest stardust]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ea/saudi_barbie

 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's religious police have declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality, complaining that the revealing clothes of the "Jewish" toy — already banned in the kingdom — are offensive to Islam.

 

The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as the religious police are officially known, lists the dolls on a section of its Web site devoted to items deemed offensive to the conservative Saudi interpretation of Islam.

 

"Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful," said a poster on the site.

 

The poster, plastered with pictures of Barbie in short dresses and tight pants, and with a few of her accessories, reads: "A strange request. A little girl asks her mother: Mother, I want jeans, a low-cut shirt, and a swimsuit like Barbie."

 

Such posters are distributed to schools and hung in the streets by the religious police, or muttawa, an independent body affiliated with the office of the Prime Minister.

 

Vice police officials were not available for comment Monday.

 

Sheik Abdulla al-Merdas, a preacher in a Riyadh mosque, said the muttawa take their anti-Barbie campaign to the shops, confiscating dolls from sellers and imposing a fine.

 

Although illegal, Barbies, the creation of California-based Mattel Inc., are found on the black market, where a contraband doll could cost $27 or more.

 

"It is no problem that little girls play with dolls. But these dolls should not have the developed body of a woman, and wear revealing clothes," al-Merdas said.

 

"These revealing clothes will be imprinted in their minds and they will refuse to wear the clothes we are used to as Muslims," the sheik said.

 

Women in Saudi Arabia must cover themselves from head to toe with a black cloak in public. They are not allowed to drive and cannot go out in public unaccompanied by a male family member.

 

Other items listed as violations on the site included Valentine's Day (news - web sites) gifts, perfume bottles in the shape of women's bodies, clothing with logos that include a cross, and decorative copies of religious items — offensive because they could be damaged and thus insult Islam.

 

An exhibition of all the violating items is found in the holy city of Medina, and mobile tours go around to schools and other public areas in the kingdom.

 

The muttawa act as a monitoring and punishing agency, propagating conservative Islamic beliefs according to the teachings of the puritan Wahhabi sect, adhered to the kingdom since the 18th century, and enforcing strict moral code.

 

The muttawa patrol the streets of the kingdom, preventing men from mingling with women, enforcing strict Islamic dress for women, chasing worshippers late for prayers, and punishing shop keepers who stay open during prayer hours. They sometimes work with a police officer who can enforce legal punishments on people deemed violators.

 

On the Net:

www.hesbah.gov.sa

 

Thoughts? Comments? Observations?

[Ravenbomb 0]

I've been saying it's a threat to morality for years

[Guest JMA]

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries I actively HATE. Remind me again why we haven't liberated them yet.

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

complaining that the revealing clothes of the "Jewish" toy — already banned in the kingdom — are offensive to Islam.

 

The fuck?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

It's simple.

 

Only a Jew could afford all that plastic surgery to look like Barbie...

[Guest BDC]

Yes, I love these self-appointed religious "police". Morons.

[Guest wrestlingbs]

complaining that the revealing clothes of the "Jewish" toy — already banned in the kingdom — are offensive to Islam.

 

The fuck?

Seems like extremist Islam blames everything on the Jewish community. I think they consider Christianity a Jewish sect even though the rest of the world has considered them separate religions for over a thousand years. Go figure.

 

Saudi Arabia has always been the hotbed for anti-western sediment. The only reason we don't attack them is because of their oil supplies.

[AndrewTS 0]

I've been saying it's a threat to morality for years

Naw, Britney is more serious a threat.

 

And I was unaware that long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes denotes Jewishness. Wow, my college is filled with Jewish girls.

[the max 0]

I've been saying it's a threat to morality for years

Naw, Britney is more serious a threat.

 

And I was unaware that long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes denotes Jewishness. Wow, my college is filled with Jewish girls.

I wish mine was.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Fucking Anti-Semites.

[Styles 0]

Yeah really, talk about a nice Jewish girl! Saudi Arabia like the rest of the Muslim world anti-semetic, threatened by the modern world and blame their irrational latter concerns on the former, even when it has absoultely nothing to do with Jews.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Yes, I love these self-appointed religious "police".

 

Well, they did beat the shit out of a store owner, for being late to the mid-day prayer gathering, right there in public according to a friend of mine who was in Saudi.

[dubq 0]

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries I actively HATE. Remind me again why we haven't liberated them yet.

Simply put: the almighty $$$.

[Guest BDC]

These guys are self-appointed 'morality police'. They shouldn't have any authority. They shouldn't, but the stupid police force doesn't do jack to them.

 

Screw liberation right now, make them pass some anti-vigilante laws. Oh, and ENFORCE them.

[Guest MikeSC]

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries I actively HATE. Remind me again why we haven't liberated them yet.

Simply put: the almighty $$$.

Thing is, I don't think that the money we have to spend to keep the Saud family in power really makes whatever we get out of the relationship worthwhile.

 

I honestly do not know WHY we're there. They do not support us --- they actively sponsor terrorists. They cannot survive without our military and financial support. They are a dime a dozen despot (well, in that part of the world, more like a nickel a dozen) regime and we could easily remove them.

 

I just wish somebody, anybody, could ever defend us supporting them. They've never been on our side and both Democratic and Republican Presidents give support to a regime that does not begin to deserve it.

 

The Bush Doctrine must be used against them as well.

-=Mike

[Firestarter 0]

One reason is that Saudi Arabia, as a country, is far more radicalised (in terms of both religion and politics) than Iraq, Iran, or even Syria. You don't want a democracy there. Believe it or not, the House of Saud is probably our best option, not only right now but for the foreseeable future. That said, we could bring a lot of pressure to bear on them in a hurry to make them clean up their act some more, and I wish we would.

[Guest MikeSC]

One reason is that Saudi Arabia, as a country, is far more radicalised (in terms of both religion and politics) than Iraq, Iran, or even Syria. You don't want a democracy there. Believe it or not, the House of Saud is probably our best option, not only right now but for the foreseeable future. That said, we could bring a lot of pressure to bear on them in a hurry to make them clean up their act some more, and I wish we would.

Yikes.

 

When in comparison to Syria, Syria is the more rational country, you might have a small problem.

 

I just think that, inevitably, we'll have to go to war with the entire Middle East (save Israel and possibly Iraq now).

-=Mike

[Guest Plushy Al Logan]

If I had my way, I would bomb:

 

Syria

Saudi Arabia

Isreal

Iran

 

 

I would have troops march into the following countires:

Poland

Germany

Mexico

Great Britain