Okaz/Saudi Gazette TAIF — A video clip on the social media showing large quantities of food being thrown in the garbage after a wedding feast has triggered outrage in Saudi society, with Council of Senior Scholars issuing a strong warning against such extravagance. A number of Saudis tweeted calling for harsh punishments for anyone who throws surplus food in the garbage to deter others from following suit. They asked the hosts to hand over the surplus food to charitable organizations to feed the poor and needy. The commission described those who do away with excessive food to be denying God's bounties and said instead of going into the garbage bins, the food should go to hungry mouths. On its Twitter account, the commission described extravagance as a downright rejection of God's bounty and warned the spendthrifts of divine punishment that might befall them. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Otaibi and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Harithy, two commission members, have both denounced the phenomenon of wasting food and said it is a flagrant crime against religion. Sheikh Turki Al-Ossaimi, director of Al-Bir Charitable Society in Taif, said the phenomenon was on the rise and added that it was saddening that many people were boasting of this. Ghazi Al-Mutairi of the Islamic University in Madinah said ignorance, ostentation and false self pride were all factors behind the wasting of food. He described those who throw away the surplus quantities of food instead of using them to feed the hungry people as "brothers of Satan". Haifa Saffouq, a sociologist, said some people waste food just to show off their wealth Abdullah Omar Al-Samahi of the Food Bank in Onaizah said he saw the meat of entire camels being thrown away in the garbage. He said despite the educational, social and economic progress, some people are still throwing food in the garbage. "There are organizations that collect surplus food and distribute them among the poor and needy," he said.
