Stumped for an answer on cinemas

Some years back, I had asked my eight year old if he would like to do something special on his birthday the following day. Without hesitation, and with the eagerness of one looking forward to a day of unfolding bounty, he responded, "Yes, I want to go see Return of the King [the third part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy] at the movies."

With a sigh, I explained to him that we had no movie theatres here; not unlike what I had done for the umpteenth time in the past. "But why not, Baba? When I go to visit my sister in Al Khobar, she always takes me to the movies. Why cannot you do the same here in Jeddah?"

"Son, the movies you get to enjoy with your sister are in Bahrain. That is a different country altogether; one that you get to by crossing the causeway by car. They have different rules and customs in Bahrain. Theirs is a different culture. Here, we just don't have any cinemas. It's just not allowed. Now try to think of something else that you would like to do on your special day."

After a few moments of feigned disinterest, he came up with some more impractical choices, but finally and at the end of a lengthy negotiation period and with subtle encouragement, we settled on some entertaining toys at the neighbourhood toy store and a visit to the amusement centre. "Aah, the young. They just don't understand," I muttered as I settled onto the nearest armchair later that evening. But barely had I slumped in comfortably, dazed from my round of discussions with this precocious child, I sprung up wondering why don't we have movie theatres here? A cool place to beat the heat; where one could escape to for a couple of hours? A venue where one could go and be entertained in comfort with his family?

Scores of TV channels

We have bowling alleys, ice-skating rinks and amusement parks. And we have restaurants, shopping malls and internet cafes. We have go-cart tracks and state-of-the-art sports stadiums. We even have a visiting circus act each summer and massive fireworks shows. But we just don't have any movie theatres. Why not indeed?

We have video stores in just about every neighbourhood, promoting the latest releases from the Americas, Europe, the Arab world and the East. For sale or rent, in DVD, VCD, VHS, Laser Disc formats, you name it and chances are you'll find it somewhere here.

We have scores of satellite channels that beam a multitude of movie offerings from all corners of the world, and in all languages that reach practically every home in very town. We even have pay per view selections on a number of satellite subscriptions, allowing the discerning viewers to select the movie of their choice in the privacy of their homes. But yet, we do not have any cinema houses. Some today can even access their choice of movies on the new genre of slim television sets, mobile phones and mobile computer pads, and on the go. There doesn't seem to be any objection from any quarter.

Is then the reason for the lack of such venues related to our religion? Are movies or their content bad for us? What or who has ordained that movie theatres are not welcome in Saudi Arabia based on the teachings of Islam? If that is indeed the case, then are the rest of the Gulf countries and other predominantly Islamic countries un-Islamic and straying from the true path? Or are these countries following sets of belief that differ from our own.

Those questions from my eight year old then have continued to haunt me till this day. Today I still remain puzzled. Saudis when they travel abroad can be seen visiting movie theatres featuring first class entertainment with their families in tow. They want to be entertained with good family fare. They do not find such diversions threatening their faith or cultural values.

So who then dictates what is good or bad for us? And why do we not see such outlets of entertainment here; outlets that can be used to promote educational and informational entertainment to the family unit and operated on the basis of acceptable social and cultural values? Where is the fear factor in all of this?

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.