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Lars_H
SFN Regular
Germany
630 Posts |
 Posted - 03/16/2002 : 09:17:07
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The Daily Rotten brought me to this BBC Story about the horrors or religious fundamentalism:
Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue
The Mecca city governor visited the fire-damaged school
Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped
schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress, according to Saudi newspapers.
In a rare criticism of the kingdom's powerful "mutaween" police, the Saudi media has accused them of hindering attempts to save 15 girls who died in the fire on Monday.
About 800 pupils were inside the school in the holy city of Mecca when the tragedy occurred.
15 girls died in the blaze and more than 50 others were injured
According to the al-
Eqtisadiah daily, firemen confronted police after they tried to keep the girls inside because they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam.
One witness said he saw three policemen "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya".
The Saudi Gazette quoted witnesses as saying that the police - known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - had stopped men who tried to help the girls and warned "it is a sinful to approach them".
The father of one of the dead girls said that the school watchman even refused to open the gates to let the girls out.
"Lives could have been saved had they not been stopped by members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," the newspaper concluded.
Relatives' anger
Families of the victims have been incensed over the deaths.
Most of the victims were crushed in a stampede as they tried to flee the blaze.
The school was locked at the time of the fire - a usual practice to ensure full segregation of the sexes.
The religious police are widely feared in Saudi Arabia. They roam the streets enforcing dress codes and sex segregation, and ensuring prayers are performed on time.
Those who refuse to obey their orders are often beaten and sometimes put in jail.
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Physiofly
Skeptic Friend
USA
90 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 09:59:31 [Permalink]
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What a truly horrible example of the perils of fundamentalism and the violation of human rights.
"Be careful about reading health books. You might die of a misprint." - Mark Twain |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 10:17:40 [Permalink]
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I think it's an excellent example of why the church and state need to be separate. A terrible horrible example.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 12:07:07 [Permalink]
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Saudi Arabia is the real source of the "fundamentalist" (Wahhabi) terrorist movement. Saudis fund the madrassahs and are apparently the leading financial backers of the terror gangs themselves. Except for better uniforms and shinier equipment, these Saudi religious police are indistinguishable from the Taliban. We have soldiers in Afghanistan to exterminate people like this. We have soldiers in Saudi Arabia to protect people like this. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?
Abducting UFOs and conspiring against conspiracy theorists since 1980. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 12:18:53 [Permalink]
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I browse rotton.com now and then and saw this one.
I find it hard to believe that even the most devout idiot would do such a thing. If this story is factual - I said: "IF" - these people are no better than Dalhmer, Ted Bundy, or McViegh and deserve about the same consideration.
f
"Don't tell me your doubts; I've got enough doubts of my own. Tell me something you BELIEVE in!"
Brother Dave Gardner |
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Lars_H
SFN Regular
Germany
630 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 14:19:00 [Permalink]
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quote:
I browse rotton.com now and then and saw this one.
I find it hard to believe that even the most devout idiot would do such a thing. If this story is factual - I said: "IF" - these people are no better than Dalhmer, Ted Bundy, or McViegh and deserve about the same consideration.
BBC wich was rotten's source is a respectable outfit. The story ran over reuters and appered on the CNN webpage.
The Arab daily buisness newspaper wich broke the story is not known for unwaranted criticism of the gouvernment.
I think it is save to belive that there is some truth to this.
It is not that hard to belive. Some idiots get authorty not based on competency and when the real experts in this case the firemen come to tell them how bad the situation is they ignore them.
Even if only the version that was originally reported had been true it would have been bad enough. - A gate locked bacause of religious laws and the guard with the key vanished. -
You really have a problem when rules based on religion and tradition take precedenca over common sense and obvious safety regulations.
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Kaneda Kuonji
Skeptic Friend
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2002 : 02:52:20 [Permalink]
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I say we lock and load on the bastards that did this...
Those SOB's....I say we do to them what General Pershing did to the terrorists in the 1920's...
Simple really, make them dig their own graves, tie them up, grease the bullets, in front of them, with pig fat, kill them execution style, and bury them with the pigs' corpses?
Barbaric? Maybe. But what they did was barbaric to the extreme...and warrants a proper punishment...
They murdered those girls, and I consider the blood on their hands!
Rodney Dean, CI Order of the Knights of Jubal
Ivbalis.org
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