RIYADH: Abdullah Al-Suwailim, a member of the Riyadh Municipal Council, resigned after what he described as violations of Islamic rules during this year's Eid Al-Fitr festivities in the city.
The festivities included myriad public, family-friendly events, including children's activities, plays, circuses and firework displays citywide. Al-Suwailim objected in the local press to the lack of segregation of single men from families, non-Muslims entertaining audiences and live music that was played in one of the theatrical productions.
For its part, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice more or less refrained from interfering, but what sparked the ire of conservatives was that the public events didn't have concrete barriers in place to separate families from single men. Instead, the seating was separated by about 30 meters of open space.
"The vice police are not authorized to cancel any activity, especially if it is approved by the municipality or the governor, but we intervene when a major rule is violated," said Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, head of the General Presidency of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which oversees all regional commission centers. "Our job was to monitor the festival and to make sure that families were safe. The committees preparing the activities sometimes cross the line, and this is when we intervene to set things right."
He, however, added that isolated instances are not enough to warrant the cancellation of the whole festival.
Despite some complaints by the religious police and a fair number of conservative citizens who support them, government officials said that they have no plans to cancel future Eid festivals, a move that would run counter to the government's efforts to promote domestic tourism.
Mayor of Riyadh Prince Abdul Aziz bin Ayyaf said that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs would accept Al-Suwailim's resignation.
"Meanwhile, he is obliged to be on duty and attend all council meetings until his resignation is approved by the minister," he said. "Women were included in our programs, and they will be included in future activities. We will not deny them the right of enjoying Eid festivities. Police and vice cops do participate in our activities. Their role is to monitor and make sure that everyone is safe, but no one is authorized to cancel a program."
The prince pointed out that the festival included many women-only activities, and the entire Eid program had the full backing of Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman, who is also in charge of the city's Supreme Commission for Development.
Islamic scholars argue that, unlike Ramadan, which is a month of introspection, worship and religious obligation, the whole point of Eid is to be able to relax afterward with the family.
"Nothing in the content of (Riyadh's) Eid program is against Islamic teachings," said Ibrahim Al-Khudairi, a judge in the Court of Appeals. "If we canceled the Eid activities, we would push people outside the country. Families should enjoy their time and go out with the feeling that it is a special occasion. Eid means joy and no one has any right to steal the joy from the people."
Arab News contacted Al-Suwailim to get his point of view on the record, but he said he was busy. He did not answer the phone in further attempts to contact him.
