RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has rendered toothless the once-feared religious police amid a liberalisation drive, but a planned"public decency" law is stoking controversy with some fearing a revival of morality policing.
But Saudi Arabia now aims to police its citizens' behaviour with a new public decency law approved by cabinet in April, though it remains unclear when it will be enforced. The Arabic hashtag"shorts don't offend public morals" has gained traction alongside memes of men sweating it out on treadmills in loose-fitting traditional robes.
Pro-government Saudi media reported the law was meant to be implemented from May 25, with the interior ministry and tourism authority enforcing the rules."This is an effort to balance the pressure from conservative elements of society that accuse the of allowing things to go 'out of control'," said Ali Shihabi, founder of the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation.
Many other clerics appear to be toeing the official line, bestowing religious sanction on the prince's modernisation drive. Still, the social transformation appears to meet resentment in conservative quarters, with many calling on the state to police public behaviour.
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