Kamil was reacting to accusations from certain religious circles that the chamber was compromising on moral values by promoting gender-mixing in work places. “It is the regulations laid down by Almighty Allah, not the customs and traditions of any society, that we follow,” Kamil said.

Mixing religion with social customs is a frequently debated issue in Saudi Arabia. Although Islam is a religion of simplicity, some people have made it complex by inventing new customs and burdening the succeeding generations with restrictions extraneous to the religion to the extent that people are led to believe that such outmoded customs are true Islamic values.

According to Jordanian scholar Abdul Rauf Al-Jaber of Petra University, certain customs in Arab societies are contradictory to Islamic principles. “The confusion between religiously unlawful and socially prohibited matters is something that exists in our mindset and not a real conflict between religious teachings and social norms,” he said.

“The confusion is because of the misunderstanding of some people that religion has nothing to do with social customs and norms. In many instances, social customs and norms themselves are religious rules.”

It is surprising that some scholars forget that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) outlined the fundamental principles of Islam in his farewell sermon more than 14 centuries ago in the 10th year of Hijrah. The speech is considered one of the most basic charters of Islam.

At the close of his sermon, the Prophet (pbuh) asked the audience what they would reply when Almighty Allah asks them about his mission. They replied that they would testify that the Prophet (pbuh) delivered the message to them in full. Thereafter, he recited the verse from the Holy Qur’an, “This day I have perfected the religion for you, completed My favor upon you and chosen for you Islam as your religion.”

The sermon gives a clear vision of how an Islamic society should guarantee the rights of man and woman, family, individual and society. It is a road map for an ideal society. Then how can some people later come up with additions and alterations to the divine constitution and the total vision of society envisaged by the Prophet of Islam (pbuh).

I am not disparaging any scholar or the cultural background in which he has been brought up. Islam orders us to move away from tribalism and pre-Islamic customs and not to impose the customs and traditions of a particular society on others in the name of religion. If religious rules were built on social customs, the religion would have to be changed when those social norms change. But if the customs are based on religious values then the customs will remain for good.

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