Residents urge review of prayer break rules in Saudi

Riyadh:  A number of Saudi citizens and expatriates have urged authorities to review the prevailing system of shutting down commercial establishments daily during prayer times.

"There was no substantial proof for such a practice of shutting commercial enterprises for prayer during the periods of Islamic caliphs and later," some citizens confided in Gulf News.

In a survey of a number of Saudi citizens and foreigners conducted by Gulf News, it was revealed that most of them oppose enforced prayer breaks for shops and businesses.

Dr Marzouq Bin Tanbak, a professor at King Saud University of Riyadh, said: "We cannot find any example for the current practice of religious policemen asking to shut down businesses and shops during prayer time in the history of Islam since the periods of caliphs up to this time. There had been no attempt to implement the Quranic verse with regard to Juma (Friday) prayer compulsorily in the history of Islam during the periods of Umayyads, Abbasids and Ottoman."

Misfar Al Qah'tani, head of the Islamic Studies Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, saw nothing objectionable in keeping pharmacies and fuel stations open round the clock.

The latest report of the Saudi Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) showed 230,710 violations pertaining to closing down commercial enterprises during prayer time. "This represents 76 per cent of the violations spotted by the commission. The number of people who have been taken into custody in this respect accounts for about 25,000," the report pointed out.

Case file: Telling numbers

25,000 - arrested for violating prayer break rules

76% - of all vice cases pertain to prayer break violations