Valentine's Day in Mecca
by Daniel Pipes
Wed, 18 Feb 2004
updated Fri, 15 Feb 2008
"Hating Valentine's Day" was the title of my article documenting the heavy-handed efforts of Muslim authorities to repress the holiday of love (as it is known in Arabic, ‘Id al-Hubb). . But the really spectacular example came to light after my article appeared.
"200 Arrested in Mina for Celebrating Valentine's Day" is the title of an article in today's Arab News, a Saudi newspaper. And, boy, does it have a tale to tell.
 A box of Valentine's Day chocolates. |
More than 200 Bangladeshi and Burmese workers brought on to clear the pilgrims' camp in Mina (near Mecca) after the end of the hajj decided to celebrate Valentine's Day. The event took place a day late, on February 15th, when some of them organized a party, put up a large banner, charged 5 Saudi riyals per ticket for entry, and held an all-night fiesta where they sold alcohol and food and brought in musicians. Red flowers and napkins bore the legend "Happy Valentine's." To add insult to injury, the fun took place right near the Jamrat, the rock poles ritually stoned by Muslim pilgrims each year at the climax of the hajj.
The dreaded religious police arrested the lot of them, including 16 it accused of being drunk. Some 100 participants were later released for lack of evidence.
Implied but left unsaid by the Arab News article are two peculiar facts about the celebrants at this post-Valentine's Day party: that all of them were men (only in Saudi Arabia could one imagine such a sad version of a Valentine's Day celebration) and all of them Muslim (Mina is part of the sacred territory prohibited to non-Muslims). In all, this offers a perfect symbol of Islamist repression. (February 18, 2004)
 Stores with heart signs are a rare sight in Riyadh because Saudi Arabia has banned Valentine's Day. |
Feb. 13, 2005 update: A year later, Donna Abu-Nasr reports from Riyadh that "In gift and flower shops across Saudi Arabia, the flush of red has started to fade." That's because, "Each year shortly before Feb. 14, the country's religious police mobilize, heading out to hunt for - and confiscate - red roses, red teddy bears and any signs of a heart." Sheikh Abdullah al-Dakhil, head of the Muttawa religious police in Thumama, a town outside Riyadh, told Al-Iqtisadiya newspaper that "despite awareness campaigns and the confiscation of flowers, chocolate and other items, there were 15 infractions" for Valentine's Day indiscretions in 2004. He also explained how girls lining up for their daily morning prayer at school on Feb. 14 were closely inspected by teachers on the look-out for anyone wearing or carrying red items that day: "Ribbons, boots, jackets, bags and pen holders with a hint, stripe or pattern in red, burgundy and hot pink were thrown into a heap, and the school called the girls' mothers to pick up the offensive items."
As a result of these prohibitions, Valentine's items go underground, to the black market, "where their price triples and quadruples," Abu-Nasr finds. But they do exist.
Shoppers who know where to look can find plenty of Valentine gifts: hearts that make kissing sounds and say "I love you" when squeezed, white teddy bears sitting on a red heart, lips touching, elaborate gift arrangements with "beating" hearts fitted with blinking lights and baskets of plastic red fruits. Lingerie stores have rows of red, lacy lingerie, with one shop displaying a sheer negligee and the picture of a heart next to it.
 Fox & Corkum on the Saudi response to Valentine's Day. |
Feb. 14, 2005 update: Fear of the Muttawa religious police, Agence France-Presse reports causes red flowers to disappear just as Valentine's Day rolls around. "I am sorry. No red roses. I had to remove them three days ago," announces a florist as he stands in front of roses of many colors but not red, in accordance with the strictures of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The Muttawa "come every morning and evening" to insure compliance, he says. Lovers either have to stock up on their red-color gifts well before Valentine's Day comes around; or, failing that, they can wait a few days after the holiday for red roses to reappear in the stores. "Maybe in five days, I will have red roses back on display. Come back then," the florist urged.
But a reporter found some stores willing to take the risk of stocking up the banned commodities. In which case, shopkeepers hide their roses and place heart-shaped cards under stacks of "To my grandmother" and "Happy retirement!" greeting cards.
Also today, I began a new weblog entry to complement this one: "Valentine's Day in the Muslim World." It deals with everywhere but Saudi Arabia.
Feb. 14, 2007 update: For an undated Islamist attack on Muslims paying attention to Valentine's Day, see Mission Islam's "Celebrating Valentine's Day." Key sentence:
In recent years, a new phenomenon has spread among the Muslim youth – males and females alike – which does not bode well. This is manifested in their imitation of the Christians in their celebration of the Valentine's Day, which has led the scholars and daa'iyahs to explain the rulings of sharee'ah [Shari‘a] concerning that, out of sincerity towards Allah, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk, so that Muslims may have a clear understanding of this issue and so that they will not fall into that which will undermine the belief (‘aqeedah) with which Allah has blessed them.
Other interesting extracts:
One of the bad effects of imitating [the kuffar, spelled here kuffaar] is that this makes it look as if there are more of them, as if they have more supporters and followers. …
[The Muslim] should not help the kuffaar in their celebrations, because it is one of the rituals of kufr, so helping them and approving of what they do is helping them to manifest kufr and make it prevail, and approving of it. …
He should not help any Muslims who celebrate it. Rather it is obligatory to denounce them, because for the Muslims to celebrate the festivals of the kuffaar is an evil action which must be denounced. …
 An acceptable Saudi version of a non-Valentine. |
Valentine's Day has come to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, and has even reached the heartland of Islam (the Arabian Peninsula). It has reached societies which we had thought far removed from this insanity. In Riyadh the price of roses has risen in a crazy manner, so that a single rose costs 36 riyals (10 dollars), whereas before this day it cost 5 riyals. Gift shops and card shops compete in designing cards and gifts for this occasion, and some families hang up red roses in the windows of their homes on this day. In some of the Gulf countries, shopping centres and hotels have organized special celebrations of Valentine's Day. Most of the stores and business places are covered with red.
One of the finest Gulf hotels was full of balloons and dolls. Following the customs of the Feast of Love and the pagan myths, the restaurant put on a dramatic production with "Cupid", the idol of love in the Roman myths, nearly naked and carrying a bow and arrow. He and his cohorts were looking to select "Mr. & Mrs. Valentine" from among the people present. Less expensive restaurants also celebrated this day in their own way. Some stores replaced their regular plates with heart-shaped plates, used red tablecloths and linens, and put a red rose on each table for the man to present to his beloved. The latest Valentine's Day craze was started by the owner of a gift-shop in Kuwait. He imports (live) French rabbits which are small and have red eyes. He puts a necktie around the neck of each rabbit, and puts it in a small box to be given as a gift! We must oppose these things by all possible means. The responsibility rests with us all.
We should not accept congratulations on Valentine's Day, because it is not a holiday or an Eid for the Muslims. If the Muslim is congratulated on this occasion, he should not return the congratulations. …
Mar. 5, 2007 update: There may be change afoot in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, say Stephen Schwartz and Irfan al-Alawi. In "what may be the first faint signs of movement away from tyranny," there is a Valentine's Day angle:
Valentine's Day is a touchy subject in Saudi Arabia. Introduced by Saudis who had lived in the West, the custom of exchanging romantic gifts became popular, but met with official disapproval.
This year, the annual Valentine's Day "debate" began on Monday, February 12. The Riyadh newspaper al-Jazeera (unrelated to the television network of the same name, which means "the peninsula") reported in blazing red headlines that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Wahhabi institution better known as the religious militia or mutawwa, would systematically inspect hotels, restaurants, coffeehouses, and gift shops to prevent Muslim couples from giving each other Valentines or other presents. Such items would be confiscated, and those selling them would be subject to prosecution. The mutawwa condemned Valentine's Day as a "pagan feast."
Nevertheless, this year's anti-Valentine offensive by the mutawwa was less draconian than usual. It included a stipulation: Non-Muslims in the kingdom—as much as 20 percent of the population (up to 6 million people) because of the immense influx of Western technicians and mostly Christian guest workers from east Asia—would not be molested by the mutawwa if they celebrated the holiday behind closed doors, although Muslims were cautioned against joining in foreign Valentine's Day events.
The mutawwa are notorious for bursting into the residences of foreigners to check whether they are consuming liquor, so this Valentine's Day concession to foreigners was more significant than outsiders might think. The privacy of one's home is, after all, foundational to civilized societies.
The next day, on February 13, the mutawwa forbade the sale of Valentine roses in the markets and malls. This seems especially perverse to Muslims, since roses have always been symbols of love, beauty, and inspiration in Islamic spirituality. The newspapers al-Jazeera and al-Watan (The Nation) stated that all red-colored items had been removed from shops.
Yet Saudi subjects report that the mutawwa harassment failed. Many ordinary Saudi Muslims favored their beloved with Valentine gifts, which were more popular than ever. The price of red roses shot up, and they were quickly sold out. What makes this significant is that it is one of several signs of waning mutawwa power.
Feb. 15, 2008 update: Deborah Weiss notes the West's general cluelessness about the Saudi government's serious hatred of Valentine's Day. First, by way of background, she notes that:
Buying, selling, wearing, or displaying anything red including red roses, clothes, wrapping paper, teddy bears and gift boxes were all illegal on this holiday for those in love. A few days prior to Valentine's Day, flower shops and other stores were warned that they must remove all red items from their shelves. The Religious Police made it clear that they were going to monitor the stores on Valentine's Day to ensure they were not shelving anything displaying the forbidden color.
The holiday is illegal because it is considered "un-Islamic". Government authorities let it be known that they were not going to tolerate any public displays of affection on February 14th. Though they claimed that Valentine's Day promotes prohibited relations between unmarried men and women, public expressions of affection between married couples on that date was equally prohibited. … All of this caused the blooming of an underground black market of red roses. Roses that normally cost five Saudi riyal ($1.30) per rose, sold for up to thirty riyal ($8.00) each, on Valentine's Day. Some flower shops snuck their deliveries to customers in the dark of night, so as not to draw attention and arouse suspicion.
Then the clueless part:
Ahmed Al-Omran, who runs the blog "Saudi Jeans" and is a student at King Saud University in Riyadh, was interviewed on the radio about the Valentine's Day ban. A naïve NPR [National Public Radio] interviewer inquired if Saudis think the ban is a joke and laugh about it, as she seemed to. Not exactly. Ahmed explained that people take the ban very seriously because if they are caught wearing red or buying red roses they can be arrested and jailed. Stores that persist in shelving red products are raided and their items are seized.
Related Topics: Anti-Christianism, Middle East patterns, Radical Islam, Saudi Arabia
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