RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's top government-sanctioned board of senior Islamic clerics has endorsed a fatwa that calls for a ban on female vendors because the mixing of sexes at the workplace opens the door for all evil (or Fitnah)”. The Senior Board of Ulema, chaired by the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Aal Al-Sheikh, said in its ruling Sunday that the mixing of sexes is forbidden and women should not seek jobs where they could encounter men. The board urged women to stay away from these jobs for the sake of Allah Who will reward them accordingly, citing Qur'anic verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The decision comes after a conservative preacher was reprimanded in August for violating a government-mandated restriction on fatwas by calling for a boycott of supermarkets employing female cashiers.
