Valentine's Day in the Muslim World

The religious police in Saudi Arabia have ordered shops to remove roses and red items to prevent the celebration of Valentine's Day, Feb.14.

Several years ago, Saudi's religious authorities issued a fatwa or religious edict which specified, "a Muslim is prohibited from celebrating, approving or congratulating on this occasion."

Shops often close a few days early, with every red rose, wrapping paper, gift box and teddy bear removed. Then on Valentine's Day, stores bold enough to broadcast the holiday are raided by commission agents, with items supporting the celebration stolen and shops left in shambles.

Schools have even decided to play a part in the Valentine's Day war, educating students on the history of Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century martyred Roman priest.

They portray Feb. 14 as a confusion of histories, stemming from either a pagan love festival or the introduction of mating season for birds, a false holiday revolutionizing into a disgusting orgasm where morals have become commercialized.

As girls line up for morning prayer, they are inspected by teachers on Valentine's Day, and anything, with a hint, stripe or pattern in red, burgundy or hot pink is thrown into a heap before the child is sent home.

Officially, Saudi Arabia celebrates only two religious events a year, the first being the feasts at the end of Ramadan and the second the well respected Haj pilgrimage. Surprisingly, both Mohammad's birthday and the Islamic New Year did not make the cut.

Their ban of Valentine gifts has created a black market of roses and wrapping paper with many florists taking orders weeks before the celebration and delivering them at night to avoid suspicion.

The Saudi Gazette said the black market makes a killing, rising from 5 Saudi riyal ($1.30) to 30 riyal ($8) due to the extreme demand of red roses.

Sheikh Khaled Al-Dossari, a scholar in Islamic studies, told the Saudi Gazette that "as Muslims we shouldn't celebrate a non-Muslim celebration, especially this one that encourages immoral relations between unmarried men and women." He is one of the many Muslims that view Valentine's Day as a provocative promotion of sin, pointing at nothing more than sex and immorality.