Instants of Insanity

Why, it is valentine! The day of crimson red (except, that is, if you live in Riyadh)…

Red is Banned till Fri.

Monday, 11 February 2008

By Suzan Zawawi

RIYADH - Agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice visited flower and gift shops in the capital Saturday night to instruct them to remove all red items - from red roses and wrapping paper to boxes and teddy bears - from their shelves, shop workers said.

“They visited us last night,” said a couple of florists Sunday morning.

“They gave us warnings and this morning we packed up all the red itmes and displays.” The florists asked not to be identified.

Sunday was the last day people could buy red roses in Riyadh, until Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 passes.

Every year, Commission agents visit flower shops a couple of days before Feb. 14 to issue warnings. On the eve of Valentine’s Day, they start their raids and confiscate any red items that are symbols of love, florists here said.

But as a result of the ban, there’s a black market in red roses.

“A single rose costs around SR5-7 but today the same rose costs SR10 a piece and the price will go up to SR20-30 on Valentine’s Day,” said a florist who caters to customers on Valentine’s Day from his apartment.

Loyal customers place orders with the florist days and sometimes weeks before Feb. 14. “Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning, to avoid suspicion,” said the florist.

Islamic scholars around the Kingdom such as Sheikh Khaled Al-Dossari preach that celebrating Valentine’s Day and other non-Islamic celebrations is a sin. “As Muslims we shouldn’t celebrate a non-Muslim celebration especially this one that encourages immoral relations between unmarried men and women,” Dossari, a scholar in Islamic Studies and the Shariah, said.

However, many young hearts are planning to celebrate in their own way, whether in secret, abroad or on the Web.

“I send e-cards to all my special friends online,” said Famita Hakeem, a young Saudi university student.

“We are planning on going to Dubai Wednesday night to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a couple,” said Hannan Radi, a Saudi wife and teacher.

With Valentine’s Day coinciding with the mid-term break, some Saudis have already left the Kingdom. With Bahrain so close to Al-Khobar, many Saudis who cannot travel further are planning on driving to Manama this weekend.

“I expect the bridge to be packed full,” said Mahmood Naseeb, a Khobar resident.

“This happens every year on Valentine’s Day but this year it might be worse because many people are on vacation.”

-End of the Article-

I personally do not celebrate Valentine’s in its exact sense as I believe that love cannot and should not be restricted to a single day; one which has been commercialized just like every major holiday out there. Those who wish to celebrate it, however, are free to do so.

Luckily, over here in the eastern part of the country, you can manage to buy red roses and teddy bears all year long, including today. Nonetheless, you still wouldn’t find a shop that would explicitly advertise any special Valentine’s campaign like it is done in Bahrain (and where florists enjoyed a 90% surge in sales). Then again, since it is Thursday (the first day of the weekend over here), I bet many will be on their their way across the causeway (aka Johnnie Walker Bridge) to Bahrain in order to enjoy a little more freedom.

Back to the main topic, those scholar are surely hypocritical. They say that Muslims only have two celebratory occasions (Eid’s) during the year; after the month of Ramadan and on the 10th of the last Arabic lunar month. And yet, the national day is celebrated here. It wasn’t during Fahd’s reign but when Abdullah came to power, he made the celebration official. I don’t see anyone complaining? Hello…..

Girls, naturally, celebrate Valentine’s more than boys and they give each other gifts. They also wear something red over their school uniforms. Since the Valentine’s falls on the weekend this year. One can expect that next Saturday (the first day of the second semester for schools) would be a celebratory day for them. The practice is frowned upon and is punished by the powers that be. All red attires including scarfs, coats and the like are confiscated. As a defiance note, many girls would simply buy Kit Kat’s and put them on their pockets.

No matter what the authorities do, you can never confiscate the freedom of people.

Tags: celebrations, love, women

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 8:59 am and is filed under Saudi Arabia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.