September 10, 2003
Not Surprising
Not Surprising
Barbie dolls are a threat to morality.
Really, they are. If you are a Saudi male, anyway.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- 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.
And two things:
1) With as obnoxiously "strict" as the Saudis are, why now?
2) Why a statement so narrow as to attack Barbies?
The article does say later that
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Other items listed as violations on the site included Valentine's Day 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.
hln
Posted by hln at September 10, 2003 12:03 PM | General News
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