The weather hasn't been too good in the northern part of Saudi Arabia in the last week or so. In fact it has been snowing. Very unseasonable in this often very hot country. Snow has covered upland areas of Tabuk province near Saudi Arabia’s border with Jordan — for the third consecutive year as cold weather swept across the Middle East. Surely, an opportunity for children and the young of heart to throw snow balls and build snowmen. However, Saudi Arabia is the sort of country where it is as well to seek advice before doing anything. A member of the public asked a simple question via a religious web site if it was permissible to build a snowman? Back came the reply from a prominent cleric “It is not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun.” In reaching this decision he quoted Muslim scholars, arguing that to build a snowman was to create an image of a human being, an action considered sinful under the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.
This absurd ruling was supported by some and ridiculed by others. After last week's events in Paris to get stories like this makes me wonder what nonsense will we have to listen to or read next. Any religion or doctrine that cannot accept criticism or ignore trivialities of this nature is not worth very much.
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