Halloween in Saudi Arabia; How it was?!

Dubbed the “Scary Weekend” which took place on Thursday and Friday in Riyadh’s Boulevard, revellers dressed up in scary costumes and fancy dress and posed for pictures which have been widely shared on social media. The event was held as part of the ongoing Riyadh Season in the Saudi capital.

The Saudi capital, looked like creatures from a haunted house had escaped and taken over the city. Monsters, witches, bank robbers and even sultry French maids were everywhere, leaning out of car windows and lounging in cafes.

“Saudi is changing,” said Abdulaziz Khaled, 23, a finance student awaiting his turn in line. Switching seamlessly midsentence between Arabic and English, Mr. Khaled said he planned to dress up as a wizard this year.

Waiting beside him, Reema al-Jaber, also 23, and sporting caramel-blond bangs, wanted to go as a white-winged angel for a gathering at a friend’s house. “But I could be a black angel,” she fretted. “We have to see what they have in stock!”

It is not surprising that celebrations have drawn criticism from many Muslim social media users over permitting once-banned non-Muslim festivals, while others have accused Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment of having double standards by not permitting the celebrations of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) birthday, known as Al Mawlid.

Celebration of Halloween in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. The GEA of Saudi organized an event called "Horror Weekend", meanwhile celebration of Mawlid is still banned.

Imagine a country that forbids the commemoration of the Prophet ﷺ because it is more evil than celebrating Halloween… pic.twitter.com/gulK99yO8q

— Musa al-Maghribi ?? ⵣ | مُوسَى المَغْرِبِي (@Musa_Maliki_) October 29, 2022

In 2016, Prince Mohammed announced an economic diversification plan that called for turning the kingdom into an investment powerhouse and global business hub.

The current changes were welcomed with delight by the nourished Saudi youth. Many young Saudis grew up on Western culture, have a Western education, and have spent a long time in the United States, the EU, and the British Commonwealth. They no longer perceive traditional Saudi culture as their own.

However, while they rejoice in the changes on the streets of Riyadh, they forget that the world is also changing. The new neoliberal order is no longer the absolute fate of the World. The peoples of the Earth are waking up and looking around for other cultural pillars. Islam is certainly one of these pillars, and a conservative one at that.

If the political leadership of Saudi Arabia thinks that in this way, step by step, in the best traditions of the “Overton Window,” they can change Islam, they are very much mistaken. They can change a part of their local society, but not the religion.

The Islamic Ummah has long been wary of developments in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies. It is highly likely that if the trend continues, yes, Islam will change, but in a way where the centers of the Muslim world will be Turkey, Iran and Russia, while Saudi Arabia will be perceived as a territory temporarily occupied by unfaithfuls.

Source: SouthFront.org