Thanks to the wisdom of the late Saudi Mufti Bin Baz, cinemas are banned is this awfully repressive Kingdom.

Photo Credit: www.benettontalk.com

The Wahhabi clerics who co-run the country with the House of Saud royals strongly condemn cinemas as a decadence that would distract pious Saudis from their worship of God. The Wahhabi clerics seek to manage any foreign product in the Kingdom; strongly regulating those they approve of while shunning the rest. Televisions and radios were introduced into the country in the 1950s only after the clerics were persuaded that such broadcasting could be used to their advantage by more quickly spreading their message. Alas, they have made us of them in nefarious ways.

Wahhabi clerics seek to block the entrance of any innovation they believe would undermine the worship of God. It was Bin Baz who banned women from driving, an ordinance that stays put years after his death, and he who considered movie theaters pure evil.

Even though cinemas are banned, a film festival was planned in the coastal city of Jeddah - the first festival of its kind in Saudi history - that was supposed to be at least a momentary exception to this medieval rule.

But so committed are the clerics to maintain their stranglehold over society that they have won their battle to shut down the festival at the last minute.

Mamdouh Salem, one of the organisers of the Jeddah Film Festival, said yesterday:

“Late last night, the governorate of Jeddah notified us of the festival’s cancellation, after it received instructions from official parties. We were not told why.”

What a shame to decent Saudis.

A prominent prince, Prince Khalid, appeared on television Friday to condemn films and the film festival.

How any Saudis can tolerate sharing a country with such fanatics is beyond me.