angelweave

September 10, 2003

Not Surprising


Not Surprising

Barbie dolls are a threat to morality.

Really, they are. If you are a Saudi male, anyway.

    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.
Wow, Barbie's Jewish! I wouldn't have guessed. What, with her blond hair and blue eyes and all. Silly me.

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
    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.
I think the answer to my question #2 is American media interpretation. Ooh! Barbie! Headline!

hln

Posted by hln at September 10, 2003 12:03 PM | General News
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