Okaz In recent days I have heard people saying that the situation in Riyadh and other regions of the Kingdom were similar to London when it rained. In my opinion, they don't have any reason to make the comparison. My view on this issue is not like the fatwas of some scholars who voice their opinions based on their whims and fancies to look different from the reputable Islamic scholars. My objection to the wrong comparison is based on the reality and the difference between the conditions exist in these two cities during rains. For example, when it rains people in London will not come out to cross the valleys and flooded streets in their cars endangering their lives and the lives of their women and children. In contrast, this is what we do in the Kingdom and when we get stuck, we call for help, thus putting the lives of the volunteers and rescue personnel in danger. Many of our people repeat the same mistake without learning lessons from the horrible experiences in the past, which have been made public through video clips circulated via social media websites. In London, if any foolish person dared to practice such dangerous hobbies and try to cross flooded roads or valleys endangering the lives of their family members, the human rights groups would be the first to come forward to take action against them. In London, we cannot see flooded underpasses, submerged cars, homes and offices or inundated hospitals like what we saw in Riyadh, Jeddah, Tabuk and Buraidah on the first sight of rain. If something like this happened there, it would immediately become a topic of heated debate in Parliament. In London, even after heavy rain, the education minister will not send Tweets suspending classes at schools and colleges. Every student will reach the bus station holding their umbrellas and will catch clean and spacious buses that will take them to their educational institutions, without having to cross inundated roads. In London, people will not fall and drown in open manholes in public streets. Then how can we say Riyadh is like London while it rained? Isn't it sacrilegious to make such comparisons?
