Saudi Arabia warns against playing music during prayer times
Those caught doing this will be fined SR1,000
Dubai: Saudi Arabia has warned the public against playing or turning up the volume of music inside residential areas during Adhan and Iqamah (the Islamic first and second calls to prayer, respectively) saying it is punishable by law, Okaz newspaper reported.
According to Saudi Thouq organisation, those caught playing music during prayer times will be fined SR1,000 for the first time and SR 2,000 in the second time.
Saudi Arabia has also introduced a new fine ranging from SR250 to 5,000 for wearing shorts inside mosques or government offices.
However, men wearing shorts in public won’t be considered a violation of public decorum in Kingdom.
The new fines were introduced after the Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif issued a ministerial decision calling for amending the public decorum regulation.
There were 19 violations on the list of public etiquette violations approved in 2019. With the new decision, the list of public etiquette violations now stands at 20.
• Playing loud music in residential areas
• Playing music during prayer times
• Littering
• Failing to remove pet waste
• Occupying seats designated for people with disabilities
• Bypassing barriers to enter public places
• Wearing improper dress in public, such as underwear or pajamas
• Wearing shirts that display nude pictures
• Wearing shirts that display phrases offending public decency
• Writing and drawing on the walls of public places
• Placing racist stickers on cars
• Distributing ads in public without a licence
• Starting fires in authorised places during safaris
• Threatening people verbally or through gestures
• Cutting in line in public venues
• Shining laser pointers into people’s eyes
• Taking people’s pictures without their permission
• Taking pictures of a traffic accident without permission from the parties involved in the accident
The ministry said the aforesaid infractions will be punishable by fines ranging from SR50 to SR6,000.
Most of these acts were already prohibited in Saudi Arabia, but no specific punishment had been provided and the decision had been left to a judge.