By IANS
Dubai : Protests against Valentine’s Day celebrations are building up with the Saudi Arabian moral police banning the sale of red roses and an Islamic group in Kuwait issuing a stern warning to the media against “glorifying the pagan celebrations”.
Thawabet Al Umma, while condemning the Feb 14 celebration, has warned the media against misguiding Muslims “by glorifying such pagan celebrations”, according to a report in the Arab Times website.
“Such traditions are imported from the West, and people blindly follow them without looking into the good and bad aspects. Participating in such celebrations will tarnish the image of Islam,” it said in a statement.
Stating that Valentine’s Day is actually a Christian festival as it commemorates a Christian saint, it said this Western tradition has spread to many Muslim countries backed by the media, including television and radio, influencing people’s minds to accept it as normal.
“Valentine’s Day corrupts and misguides the youths. The information ministers of all Muslim countries have the responsibility to ensure that this culture does not take root in their countries, as it can lead societies back to the pre-Islamic days of ignorance,” it was quoted as saying.
Earlier, the Saudi Gazette had reported that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had visited flower and gift shops in Riyadh last weekend and instructed them to remove all red items – from red roses and wrapping paper to boxes and teddy bears – from their shelves.
“They visited us last night… They gave us warnings and this morning we packed up all the red items and displays,” florists told the newspaper Sunday.
Sunday was the last day people could buy red roses in the conservative Islamic nation.
According to the report, every year, commission agents visit flower shops a couple of days before Feb 14 to issue warnings.
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, they start their raids and confiscate any red items that are symbols of love, florists here said.
However, with the ban being imposed, black market prices of red roses have shot up.
“A single rose costs around 5-7 Saudi riyals (SR) but today the same rose costs SR10 a piece and the price will go up to SR20-30 on Valentine’s Day,” another florist told the newspaper.
Stating that loyal customers place orders days and sometimes weeks before Feb 14, the florist said: “Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning, to avoid suspicion.”