Scholar calls for TV bosses to be punished

RIYADH - A Saudi religious scholar is accusing a royal tycoon and another Saudi businessman of being as dangerous as drug dealers because the TV channels they own broadcast movies.

The edict calling for their prosecution is unusual because it chastises publicly two prominent Saudi figures by name - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's richest people, and Waleed al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of the late King Fahd.

The edict comes about six months after the former head of the kingdom's highest tribunal said it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that showed content deemed immoral - but he did not name anyone at the time.

Youssef al-Ahmed, a professor in the Islamic law department at the ultraconservative al-Imam University, issued the edict at the weekend in response to a question regarding Alwaleed's assertions last month that the kingdom will have movie theatres one day and that movies play a "positive" social role in Saudi Arabia.

Cinemas were closed in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s amid a rise in conservatism. Conservatives believe the movie industry encourages decadence by showing the drinking of alcohol and portraying men and women together in a country that bans liquor and the public mixing of the sexes.

"Movies are a tool that hypocrites use to implement their plot to Westernise society, corrupt it and drive it away from [religion]," said al-Ahmed in his response on an Islamic website with news, columns and edicts.

"It is a duty to bring him [Alwaleed] and people like him, such as Waleed al-Ibrahim, to justice. They are no less dangerous ... than drug dealers."

Alwaleed, a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah and the world's 13th-richest person as ranked by Forbes magazine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the edict. Alwaleed owns Rotana, a popular network of Arabic satellite channels airing movies and music videos.

Waleed owns the Dubai-based MBC Group media conglomerate, which includes several satellite channels that broadcast movies, entertainment, news and children's programmes in Arabic and English. Those include American and European sitcoms and movies.

The director of marketing for MBC Group, Mazen Hayek, declined to comment.

Despite the lack of movie theatres, several Saudi film-makers have produced films that have won regional awards. Last May, the kingdom held its first film festival and several newspapers have a weekly movie page that highlights the cultural value of cinema.

In his edict, al-Ahmed said Alwaleed should repent.

"He is the owner of the decadent channels that spread lewdness ... and he constantly seeks to insult and humiliate women by showing them without a head cover and wearing make-up," al-Ahmed said.

- AP