Saudi men arrested for flirting
Saturday, 23 February 2008 17:16Saudi Arabia's religious police ordered the arrest of 57 young men this week for flirting with girls at shopping centres in the holy city of Mecca.
The young men were detained on Thursday evening by regular police officers following a request from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
They were accused of wearing indecent clothing and playing loud music and dancing' to attract the attention of the opposite sex.
Members of the commission, known as the Muttawa, patrol public areas to ensure the kingdom's brand of conservative Islam, Wahhabism, is enforced and this includes strict segregation of the sexes.
The Muttawa also cracked down on Valentine's Day by banning florists from selling red roses.
In a fatwa issued seven years ago, Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, declared the celebration named after the Christian patron saint of love a 'pagan Christian holiday.'
