A Saudi cleric has encouraged women to engage in modern sports activities that are compatible with the teachings of the Islamic Shariah. Sheikh Nasser Al-Dawood, chief judge at the Ministry of Justice, said that sports such as volleyball, basketball, tennis, running, horse riding, swimming, rowing and shooting are categorized under permissible fun in Islam for both men and women. No-one has the authority to ban what Allah has made Halal (permissible), the Sheikh said. A Muslim woman must not wear revealing clothes that expose her body when practicing sports or be in direct contact with men when doing so, he said. Al-Dawood, however, argued that some sports such as boxing, weightlifting, car racing and bicycling do not suit the genetic and physical make-up of the female body. Virgin women, he warned, should not put their innocence at risk practicing sports like wrestling, boxing, and aerobics. Al-Dawood has advocated setting up all-women sports clubs supervised and protected by the government for women to exercise in a comfortable and safe environment. This type of club should be carefully monitored, with disciplinary policies in place, to prevent any attempt to expose or harass women, he added. A woman can practice light sports activities like walking or jogging in a public place in the presence of her male guardian, to protect and help her in the event she is harassed, he said. Practicing sports should not distract Muslim woman from worship or her private duties at home, Al-Dawood added. On Sunday, Sheikh Abdul Karim Al-Khudhair, a member of the Council of Senior Ulema, said in a statement that sports are “corrupting” and “satanic” for women without defining types of sports or associated conditions. Instead, he urged women to stay at home. His statement came in the face of increasing public demand to ease the restrictions on women's participation in sports. The Ministry of Education has reportedly announced that starting with the next school year, it will introduce a new curriculum in the country's schools that includes programs to provide social skills and creativity. Some critics have demanded that sports also be introduced to female schools. On Tuesday, a new all-women sports, health, and entertainment club was launched in Jeddah at the Princess Fawziah Center for Women and Children. Approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the club is the first of its type in the Kingdom. “This new club is a source of pride,” said Abdullah Al-Tawi, director of the Social Affairs Office in the Makkah region. “It will even help attract more women from the Gulf to visit and lecture,” he added. Earlier this year, health authorities in Jeddah shut down an “illegal” women's fitness center attached to a hospital, closing one of the few venues where women are able to exercise. However, a number of stand-alone women's gyms, some attached to, or inside hospital premises, continue to function.
