Powerful clerics denounce Saudi women

These people "are" the country. They cannot be sidelined. Their beliefs are not those of the minority but the majority. How is the majority of a country sidelined?

I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. Saudi has started to move. The clerics cannot stop the change.

BE you should know your British history. When women were given the vote at 30 was that the end?

Surely the fact that Saudi government has sent a team proves that they are already sidelined.

We cannot stop them by we can side line them and make them irelevant to society

"mozaismyhero" sarcastic much?

I respect you for voicing your opinion with such determination and indignation. Thing is you cannot stop these people from being misogynistic.

My new sig I think in respect to Ahmad Al-Mu’abi a true lover of women

“Sports should be first and foremost for men. Women should follow.”

"...Is the Olpymics mentioned in the Koran? It predates the Koran by a long time, so is there any ban on competing for women?..."

Women wearing skimpy clothes and being treated as object of lust and pleasure is present now and was also present then during the period of ignorance before the advent of islam.

Islam eradiacted these bad practices by commanding hijab to preserve modesty of women. If women can participate while maintaining the standards of modesty set by islam then they are free to do so.

Insanity maybe you didn't read the whole article, I think it's this quote that upsets normal people.

Ahmad Al-Mu’abi: “Is there nothing left to deal with but women and sports? What does she want to strengthen her body for? Does she want her body to be muscular in order to wrestle with men? What is the point of this? Will she go to the battlefield?

“Sports should be first and foremost for men. Women should follow.”

"..Agree. But iam sure the saudi females are aware of what they are wearing. The clerics might not be aware about that i believe...."

Bro what you are saying maybe correct...but the point is that all this drama is being played by media to show muslims and islam in bad light;

Media will not go to Pope and ask if he is ok with serena williams wearing skirts while playing tennis.

Is the Olpymics mentioned in the Koran? It predates the Koran by a long time, so is there any ban on competing for women?

...

Sports journalist Reem Abdallah, founder of the first Saudi women’s soccer team: "...Are Saudi women waiting to go to the Olympics in order remove the hijab? That is the first question...."

Is participating in olympics more important to women than following the commands of god is the first question.

If someone is wearing hijab for the purpose of obeying God then let it be clear to him that God has made hijab obligatory for men & women. However god did not make participation in olympics mandatory nor he allowed women to discard hijab in such situations; so for a women who wears hijab for the purpose of obeying god this is a no brainer.

If a women wears hijab for any other reason for her wearing or not wearing doesnt really matter - so she is free to do what she wants.

Read more: http://qatarliving.com/node/3652651#comment-2207521#ixzz2207STU14

Agree. But iam sure the saudi females are aware of what they are wearing. The clerics might not be aware about that i believe.

".........But Saudi cleric Ahmad Al-Mu’abi tends to think differently..."

Dear MN please read my post properly - what i had said that islam does not prevent women from sports, what it prevenmts is immodesty of women participating in front of the world wearing skimpy outfits.

The same link which you posted has the following mentioned:

With regard to women’s sports in Saudi Arabia – it can take place in an organized fashion. We have [girls'] schools, which have fences, sports fields, and so on. If women want to practice sports, [they should do it] far from the cameras and out of the sight [of men].

So this is what the cleric is also proposing....it is nothing different from what islam teaches

Someone should take a big fat fatwa out on that man. Not only an oppressor of women with the lie, they are our gems and we need to keep them hidden, he also ignores the other people in Saudi. He states Saudi is the only 100% muslim country. What about the Hindus, Christains and Buddists that also work there. What a sad man. He must have a very small one to be so hateful.

@britey, i agree with the kingdom's decision to let the women compete..i'm sure they are so proud of themselves that they can showcase their talents with the rest of the world - which i'm sure serious talks and debates had happened prior to the go-signal of letting the women to compete let alone taking their veil off..i'm so happy to see their radiant smile in their beautiful faces..

i'm a firm believer that man and woman should have an equal rights and sorry to say this but i strongly disagree the suppression of women's rights because of the religion and culture..

From what i have seen ; in matters of national security and judiciary, the clerics toe the line. In other matters ,they can voice "opinions" - as is their right.

this interview was before Saudi arabia confirmed the participation of women. Obviously, the government did not take heed of what this guy felt.

Do you think these clerics do or do not follow the decision by the government or they just give their own decisions. I mean they do not consult the government before giving any remarks.

The simple fact is that Saudi Arabia has moved an inch forward by allowing women to compete - even as some clerics denounced the move.

The women are there and will compete. It is a start. So whether clerics complain now is irrelivent and not worth the news.

There are religious leaders all over the world who complain or voice opinions about a multitude of topics - do we give them the same airtime ?

TheDarkKnightRises said Britexpat this is a hashtag ...

Britexpat this is a hashtag on twitter in Saudi with reference to the 2 female athletes, عاهرات_الاولمبياد‬ which basically means "Prostitutes of the Olympics".

Read more: http://www.qatarliving.com/node/3638071#comment-2206961#ixzz21zmAPtuf

:P

Lol: infidelnewsnetwork :O)

I think those Saudi Women looked very happy on Friday night - this is a step in the right direction for women

Who cares???

insanityOO7 : But Saudi cleric Ahmad Al-Mu’abi tends to think differently.

http://www.infidelnewsnetwork.com/tv-debate-on-saudi-womens-participation-in-olympics/

In the link you posted :

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/267169/sports/othersports/olympics-saudi-women-join-opening-ceremony-for-first-time

it is mentioned in the last line

"...Powerful clerics denounce women for exercising, saying it goes against their natural role. - Reuters..."

I never heard that islam prohibits exercising; not i heard any muslim scholar ever say these things...I think reuters while making such a claim should mention the source also.

Lastly - Islam does not prevent women from remainng fit and exercising - rather islam promotes such things.

However women participating in olympics is not the criteria to judge whether women are free and liberated.

For muslim women it is more important to maintain hijab and modesty rather than winning grand slams and olympic gold medals and participating in games wearing immodest dresses in front of the whole world....

ydlov http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/07/25/saudi-arabia-female-olympics-athletes-described-as-prostitutes-on-twitter/

Britexpat this is a hashtag on twitter in Saudi with reference to the 2 female athletes, عاهرات_الاولمبياد‬ which basically means "Prostitutes of the Olympics".

Why let them participate at all? Seriously. I think those women should just leave the country if they want to go on being successful and achieve what is rightfully theirs to achieve.

"TheDarkKnightRises" you're saying that "prostitutes of the Olympics" is a literally trending topic now??

Keep going ladies.. all the best.Only you can bring changes.

Where did you get that, "prostitute of olympics"

the smiles on their faces shows that they are happy of their "freedom"..it's so sad that the clerics called them "prostitute of olympics"..come on SA wake up and move forward with the rest of the world..sheeessshhh...

Beautiful and courageous young women! The fact that they are competing in the Olympics means that the powers that be in KSA gave permission for them to do so.

Hope they do well for KSA.

I agree with the bits about suppression of women etc etc etc

I just believe that in this instance the title of the post is misleading and incorrect.

These people are an insult to humanity and debase the religion they are supposed to represent. They are the worse oppressors of women as they use religion to do it.

I hope these Saudi women are successful and inspire other Saudi women to throw off the shackles of repression and take a full role in society. Women are not for keeping as pets as these clerics wish.

Saudi women are fighting so hard for their freedom.

This is what women in Saudi arabia have to go through every single day of their life in Salafsim-controlled Saudi http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=katK1pw7jns

@Marco, i didn't read anywhere they have denounced the olympic competitors, it just says they typically do.....

Brit: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/267169/sports/othersports/olympics-saudi-women-join-opening-ceremony-for-first-time

I was just saying how nice it was to see female competitors for KSA... hope they do well!

Source please..

Why