Across the world, Valentine’s Day is observed and celebrated in many parts of the world. However, it is not celebrated in Saudi Arabia. Well, it was before 2008. On 2008, Saudi Arabia’s religious police banned Valentine’s Day. They considered Valentine’s Day to be an un-Islamic holiday.
The government can be considered far-right. There is no freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia. Practicing non-Muslim religions in public is illegal. The official religion is a conservative version of Sunni Islam. The Mutawwa’in, Saudi Arabia’s religious police, enforces the strict and conservative version.
As Valentine’s Day is nearing (it’s on Saturday), the Mutawwa’in is definitely cracking down. The first stop is usually the gift shops. They look for anything that is in red to signify Valentine’s Day. If you live in Saudi Arabia and are looking for a Valentine’s Day present, you are very much out of luck.
If you are a store owner, it may not be in your best interest to get caught. You could possibly get arrested and thrown in jail for a couple of days. Store owners need to be quick to sell off their Valentine’s Day merchandise. Buyers need to quickly buy the Valentine’s Day merchandise. Speed and time are of the utmost essence. This is because the Mutawwa’in could come at any time and put a damper on Valentine’s Day.
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