JEDDAH, 17 September 2003 — Security officials have officially banned charity collection boxes in mosques and commercial business locations. An official who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, on condition of anonymity said that all charities involved in the distribution of collection boxes at commercial centers had been notified and had been ordered to remove the remaining boxes immediately and permanently.
The source also said that a special police division is checking commercial locations, removing boxes from businesses and having store owners sign a pledge promising not to display the collection boxes again. Arab News visited a number of shopping centers in Jeddah to see if they are complying with the new law. And all seem to be doing so.
In one of the more popular malls, a corner was formerly used by a charity to collect funds for Muslims in Chechnya. Gone is the stand, the literature, the photos, and videotapes. In its place, a cigar stand. Ahmed, a security guard at the mall said “The stand was removed a couple of months ago — orders from management. “
Last July in raids on a small farm and a rest house in Riyadh as well as locations in Qasim and the Eastern province, security forces seized rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and detonators as well as night- vision binoculars, monitoring cameras, computers, fake passports and ID cards and collection boxes. In the same month, interior minister Prince Naif, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, warned people to be wary of putting money in collection boxes found at the entrance to some mosques.
“Those wishing to contribute must verify where the money will go,” he said. He urged Saudi citizens “not to contribute unknowingly to the killing of people by paying money to suspicious boxes or parties.”
The crackdown on charities began in the wake of the Al-Qaeda attacks in Riyadh in May which left 35 people dead.
