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Senior Saudi cleric bans people from taking selfies with cats

'Taking pictures is prohibited if not for a necessity - not with cats, not with dogs, not with wolves, not with anything'

Thursday 26 May 2016 16:05 BST

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Senior Saudi cleric bans people from taking pictures with cats to stop them from trying 'to be like the Westerners'

A senior Saudi cleric has banned people from taking pictures with cats and says taking photos in general is prohibited.

Speaking in a televised broadcast, Sheikh Saleh Bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan was asked about "a new trend of taking pictures with cats" which "has been spreading among people who want to be like the Westerners".

The sheikh initially appears incredulous, asking: "What?! What do you mean pictures with cats?"

He then declares: "Taking pictures is prohibited. The cats don't matter here."

Sheikh Saleh Bin Fawzan Al-Fazwan says taking pictures is prohibited (MEMRI)

Sheikh Saleh Bin Fawzan Al-Fazwan reiterates that taking pictures is prohibited unless necessary (MEMRI)

Sheikh Saleh Bin Fawzan Al-Fazwan says people should not take photos with cats, dogs, wolves... or at all

When asked again about the "new trend", he says: "Explain this trend to me.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

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1/1010 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice.

AFP/Getty Images

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest.

Getty Images

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health.

Carsten Koall/Getty Images

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer.

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10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident.

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"Taking pictures is prohibited if not for a necessity - not with cats, not with dogs, not with wolves, not with anything."

The video was shared on YouTube in April then translated and released by the Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute.

Another video released by the group showed a Saudi family therapist giving his advice on wife beating.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti issued a fatwa declaring chess was forbidden in Islam.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah said the game "brings enmity and hatred between its contestants" and is forbidden because it "encourages gambling and is a waste of time and finances".

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