A prominent Saudi cleric on Wednesday endorsed Valentine’s Day, long forbidden in the ultra-conservative kingdom, calling it a “positive social event” that was not linked to religion. “It is a positive social event and congratulating people for it is not against sharia (law),” Ghamdi told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television. In recent years, Saudi Arabia launched a series of reforms, including gradually diminishing the their powers to arrest. Florists openly sold red roses and Valentine’s Day memorabilia in cities such as Jeddah on Wednesday without any trouble from the religious police, previously notorious for disrupting celebrations. But opposition to the prince’s reforms has been muted — at least publicly — after his crackdown on dissent, including arrests of prominent clerics with millions of followers on social media.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 15, 2018 00:33 UTC