THis just reinforces my view that for the jihadis, this is all about sex, uh, women.
Top Saudi Cleric Slams 'Evil' Unveiled Women
Tue January 20, 2004 03:39 PM ET
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority said Tuesday Saudi women appearing without their veils in the presence of men "cause the doors of evil to open."
His remarks came after Saudi Arabia's leading businesswoman, Lubna Olayan, who delivered the opening speech at an economic conference in the Red Sea port of Jeddah this week, was shown on the front of local newspapers without a headscarf.
"This is prohibited for all. ... I severely condemn this matter and warn of grave consequences. I am pained by such shameful behavior in the country of the two holy mosques," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh said in remarks carried by the state news agency SPA.
Men and women at the conference were segregated by a screen, but women were able to cross over into the men's section -- portrayed by some Saudi media as a sign of liberalization in the conservative country.
Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, is ruled by an alliance of the House of Saud and powerful Wahhabi religious authorities. Under Saudi's strict Islamic sharia law, women are required to be fully covered in public. Contact with men outside their immediate family is limited.
Sheikh Abdulaziz said those who strayed away from what he called the righteous path should fear God and His punishment. "They cause the doors of evil to open before the people of Islam," SPA quoted him as saying.
"What was published in some newspapers about this being the start of liberating the Saudi woman ... such talk is null and void. One's duty is to obey sharia by complying with orders and shunning that which is forbidden."
Female speakers at the conference called for unlocking the potential of women in the work force. Economists say women make up more than half the graduates from Saudi universities but just five percent of the work force.
The kingdom, facing a wave of militant violence and growing economic challenges, has embarked on a program of cautious reform despite fierce opposition from some religious figures.
Crown Prince Abdullah has promised municipal polls this year, although it is not known if women will be allowed to vote.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4170398Forget the midol and use what Grandma used when the going got tough... Brandy.