A direct consequence of the rapid urbanization the Kingdom has seen over the past several decades has been an overall decrease in Saudi citizens following tribal and social customs that contradict the teachings of the Shariah. However, many still continue to follow such outdated traditions to the dismay of religious scholars, Al-Riyadh daily reports. Dr. Sami Al-Majed, a faculty member at the School of Shariah, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, said the Shariah sets clear-cut limits to the acts Muslims should not engage in. He explained how many people continue to follow traditions that violate the Shariah's teachings and rules. "Take for example tribal loyalty and forcing a young woman to marry her cousin. These are impermissible in Islam and usually bring about negative consequences and results. However, some families instill these negative values in their children's minds and even raise them to believe that these traditions are sacred and should be respected," he explained. Social hypocrisy Dr. Al-Majed noted that some families put these negative practices before Shariah teachings and order their sons and daughters to follow them. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that they do not want other members of society or tribe to blame or criticize them if they deviate from the customs of their tribe. "They care much more about pleasing their tribe members than pleasing Allah the Almighty. This is simply called social hypocrisy." Different views Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Zubaidi, professor of Islamic culture at the School of Shariah, questioned why some members of society are unable or unwilling to differentiate between what falls under social stigma and religiously impermissible acts. "Many members of our society used not to let a suitor see the face of his fiancée before marriage and considered such thing a taboo even though the Shariah ordains that a suitor is allowed to take a look at his fiancée's face before officially proposing to her. Today this negative practice almost does not exist in cities," he said. Dr. Fahad Al-Tayyar, associate professor of sociology and criminology, King Khaled Military College, criticized families who attach more significance to social stigma than to what is religiously impermissible. "Social stigma is made by human beings and is subject to their rules, religion isn't. Parents should better explain to their children the difference between stigma and an impermissible act. There is nothing wrong if a Saudi decides to work as an electrician or plumber. Children should understand at an early age that work is work and it all depends on the level of education and the availability of job opportunities, he said. Because of the social stigma we associate with some types of manual labor, we find ourselves today forced to bring over expatriate workers to our county to work as cleaners, plumbers and electricians because these jobs are considered a taboo by many," he added. Dr. Al-Tayyar said ignorance and a lack of religious awareness has made some people contribute to perpetuating some of the negative practices prevalent today in society. "The insistence on some families to pass down negative traditions from one generation to another should be blamed too," he said.
