Kuwait Times

Published Date: February 14, 2008
By B Izzak, Staff writer

KUWAIT: Islamist MPs said yesterday they will study the possibility of amending existing laws in a bid to ban the celebrations of "alien events" like the Valentine's Day. Head of the Assembly committee monitoring practices alien to Kuwaiti society MP Waleed Al-Tabtabae said after the committee met government authorities that "we informed them we will come up with the necessary amendment".

The committee met with representatives from the ministries of interior, information and commerce and industry to study measures necessary to prevent Valentine's Day celebrations that contradict Islamic teachings and values. He said the ministries promised to take all measures necessary to prevent any indecent celebrations and practices and any immoral behaviors that may happen on Valentine's Day today. The measures will include monitoring hotels, restaurants and shops that sell Valentine's Day items to mak
e sure there are no violations of the law.

Tabtabae however said that the representatives told MPs that there are some legal loopholes and "we told them we will study proposing amendments" to ban such alien celebrations. Committee rapporteur MP Jamaan Al-Harbash said the proposed amendment will ban all practices that violate Islamic sharia law which includes marking Valentine's Day.

A number of Islamist MPs meanwhile described Valentine's Day as a Western tradition that is not compatible with Kuwaiti values and contradicts sharia. Some of them however said they were particular about the immoral practices and the concept of the celebrations which encourages out-of-wedlock relationships. The head of the Islamic Sharia College at Kuwait University, Mohammad Al-Tabtabae, issued a fatwa stipulating that the feast is banned under Islam.

Despite its Western origins, Valentine's Day appears to have been embraced by Kuwaitis and red balloons can be found all over restaurants, flower shops and stores selling chocolates. Newspapers are filled with advertisements for jewellery and cakes in the shape of hearts. Main supermarkets and flower shops are filled with Valentine's Day paraphernalia, while hotels publish adverts tempting couples to a dinner and a one-night stay at discounted rates. "I don't know why Islamists want to ban celebrations of
Valentine's Day... I don't think marking Valentine's Day violates Islamic teachings," middle-aged Kuwaiti employee Mahmoud Ahmad told AFP as he chose a gift for his wife.

It is the responsibility of the state to stop such activities," said Tabtabae. "They are aimed at making profit and destroying Kuwaiti society." The bearded lawmaker said that the popular holiday encouraged illicit relationships between men and women and involves a culture of "kisses and unacceptable behavior".

Harbash also said the committee discussed a sports tournament for Gulf women that will be held in Kuwait next month and stressed that all participants should abide by strict regulations. He said that it has been agreed with the organizers that no men will be allowed to attend, that participants will have to wear long uniforms, besides that the events will not be telecast live. Regarding musical concerts to be held during the Hala February festival, Harbash said the committee asked the interior ministry tha
t detectives should attend to prevent any indecent behaviour by the crowds.

Separately, the National Assembly will hold a special session today to discuss price rises and review measures that should be taken by the government to curb what they called "mad" increase in consumer prices. MP Tabtabae however said he suspected that the government plans to abort the session because it is not serious about combating the steep rise in prices. Other MPs warned that if the government does not show up for the session, they will look to other means to fight price rises.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, the feared religious police warned the kingdom's residents yesterday against marking the "atheist" occasion. The mutawwa, as the police is called, issued its annual injunction against Valentine's Day, saying Muslims should not congratulate each other on the occasion, nor eat, drink, sell or buy anything that relates to it. "The (mutawwa) will take all legal measures to preserve the (Muslim) ideology," said a statement issued by the religious police. "The (mutawwa) have orders t
o confiscate gifts and objects relating to this feast, and they have the power to take action against those selling them.

The statement did not spell out the measures the police will take against offenders, but each year, mutawwa mobilize a few days before Feb 14, making rounds of gift and flower shops, confiscating all red and white items, including flowers. Aware of the ban, Saudis do their Valentine's shopping weeks before the holiday. The mutawwa's stance is in line with the strict school of Islam that has been followed there for a century. All Christian and even most Muslim feasts are banned in the kingdom, the birthplac
e of Islam, because they are considered an unorthodox creation Islam doesn't sanction.

We have not been selling red roses for a week and we will not bring in any until Valentine's Day is over," said Alan, a Filipino working at a flower shop in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. He said a member of the mutawwa, visited the shop a week ago and ordered the florists not to display any red roses in the run-up to February 14. At a gift shop in the city, a salesman said the mutawwa had told him to remove from the shelves any red-coloured gifts symbolising the feast of love.

We also removed red gift boxes so as not to expose ourselves to punishment, which could be to close the shop and arrest staff," said Mohammad Hassanein Al-Hawari. The mutawwa, whose formal name is the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, does not stop at just openly inspecting shops. "Agents" in camouflage clothes check to ensure their orders are heeded, he told AFP.

One member of the religious police, who gave his name only as Abdurrahman, checked out shops lining Prince Sultan Street in Olaya district for anything smacking of Valentine's Day. None was evident. "The West exports to us habits and feasts which contradict sharia (Islamic law) and wants us to imitate them. We want to make sure that sharia is implemented. We punish anyone who commits or abets a violation," he said. Saudi Arabia declared the feast named after the Christian patron saint of love a "pagan Chri
stian holiday" through a fatwa (religious edict) issued seven years ago by its grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh.

But in other Gulf Arab countries, celebrations of the traditional lovers' day are now common and appear to be gaining acceptance. In Bahrain, Islamist protests appear to have been drowned by the increasing popularity of Valentine's Day. "Last year, we imported 20,000 red roses for Valentine's Day. This year, we increased the quantity to 25,000" due to rising demand, said Varghese Modiyil, manager of one of Manama's flower shops.

I usually give my wife a bouquet (of red roses) on Valentine's Day ... It's not a celebration in the full sense of the word - just a gesture to renew our love," confided Nawaf Al-Ghanem, a 31-year-old Bahraini bank employee. Red lingerie and heart-shaped jewellery, cushions and teddy bears, offer a wide choice at one shopping mall in Dubai, the most Western-oriented of the seven emirates making up the United Arab Emirates and where citizens make up only around 20 percent of the population.

Gift shops and jewellers in Qatar were also decked in red, even though the gas-rich Gulf state is not immune to the slanging matches over the occasion. "It is unfortunate that some shop owners advertise these (Valentine's Day) items and use them to decorate their shops in pursuit of material gain, flouting our norms and violating our religion," a disgruntled Qatari wrote in a letter to the daily Al-Raya. (With material from newswires)