Sharia Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places. “Saudi Arabia: Woman detained for driving,” from AKI, August 12 (thanks to all who sent this in):
Qatif, 12 August (AKI) – Saudi religious police have arrested a woman in the region of Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia for driving a car.
The 47-year-old woman was spotted by agents from the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice after other men reported the woman, said Saudi daily Okaz.
The woman was later released after her family posted bail, and will now be put on trial.
There is no law in Saudi Arabia that prevents women from driving. However, fatwas or religious edicts, have been issued by Wahhabi scholars saying it is sinful for women to drive.
Conservatives argue that if women were allowed to drive, this would lead to women being able to mix freely with men, to corruption and the destruction of family values….