A prominent Saudi cleric has endorsed Valentine鈥檚 Day 鈥� long forbidden in the ultra-conservative kingdom 鈥� calling it a 鈥減ositive social event鈥� that was not linked to religion.
The comment from Ahmed Qassim al-Ghamdi, former chief of the religious police in the holy city of Mecca, comes as 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues a far-reaching liberalization drive that has upended years of conservative tradition.
鈥淚t is a positive social event and congratulating people for it is not against sharia (law),鈥� Ghamdi told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television.
鈥淚t is an act of kindness to share greetings on Western national and social holidays, including Valentine鈥檚 Day, exchange red roses with others, as long as it is towards peaceful people who do not share animosity or are being at war with Muslims,鈥� Ghamdi added.
Such comments from the Saudi clerical establishment would be inconceivable around two years ago, when the religious police wielded unbridled powers and were notorious for enforcing sex segregation.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia launched a series of reforms, including gradually diminishing their powers to arrest.
Prince Mohammed, who has vowed to return the country to 鈥渕oderate Islam,鈥� has further cut back the political role of hardline clerics in a historic reordering of the Saudi state.
Florists openly sold red roses and Valentine鈥檚 Day memorabilia in cities such as Jeddah on Wednesday without any trouble from the religious police, previously notorious for disrupting celebrations.
The declining presence of the religious police has been met with relief from many of the country鈥檚 youth but it has also sparked concern over a possible backlash from arch-conservatives.
But opposition to the prince鈥檚 reforms has been muted 鈥� at least publicly 鈥� after his crackdown on dissent, including arrests of prominent clerics with millions of followers on social media.聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 /kga