JEDDAH: As the man in charge of poring through the many types of audio-visual and published materials that pass through Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, Abdul Khaliq Abdullah Al-Zahrani considers himself a guardian of culture and religion.
“The current situation of extreme openness has given a special importance to the role of the censor in preserving the cultural identity of any country,” he said. “We are not preventing the entry of books and publications just for the sake of preventing them.”
But Zahrani also admits that this “extreme openness” — especially the one brought by the advent of the Internet — has also reduced the censor’s effectiveness.
“Our role is not to totally prevent entry of all kinds of publications, but rather to curb the spread of unsafe and exaggerated ideas,” he said.
Topping Zahrani’s list of items he feels is the greatest threat to Saudi social values is pornography.
The second biggest threat?
“Talismans and other sorcery works,” he said. “These items constitute an intellectual threat and will spread ideas that are not in any way suitable for a Muslim society.”
He also singled out clothing with “unethical statements” stitched or printed on them. He said he wishes consumers would not buy such things in order to reduce their demand.
Regarding books, Zahrani says any “absurd” books that “undermine morals or religion” are not allowed to pass, but that his team tends to be more lenient on most books titles, even if they aren’t “cleared or approved” by the Ministry of Culture and Information for sale in the Kingdom.
He also claims that times have changed enough in the Kingdom that religious texts of other faiths are permitted.
“We will not prevent books of other religions such as the Bible and others,” he said.
However, Zahrani also said that the decision to allow certain books into the country, “depends on the discretion of the censor who should judge the need of the person carrying them.”
Novels and other works of fiction are usually not even looked at by censors, he added.
“We do not usually thoroughly scrutinize novels, and we always respect the wish of the reader,” he said, but quickly added: “It all depends on the discretion of the censor.”
Punishment for attempting to bring into the Kingdom items deemed by individual censors as forbidden can include, confiscation, fines, imprisonment and deportation of foreign violators.
