Hai'a denies role in disturbanceRIYADH: A female journalist verbally abused by a member of a group of “religious extremists” who caused a disturbance at the Riyadh Book Fair Wednesday has said she will not withdraw charges against him unless he “admits his mistake and apologizes”. The man, who allegedly called the woman “lewd” and used other terms “verging on slander”, is reportedly refusing to apologize, leading the journalist to pursue her official complaint with the authorities. The journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, said the group stopped her taking photographs and “even accused me of flirting with them”. Abdullah Aal Wafiya, a media committee member who was threatened by the group with having his fingers broken, said he too had no intention of dropping his case. “Everything's in the hands of the authorities now, and I'd like to thank them for the way they handled it,” he said. “The Riyadh Book Fair is a large national cultural event offering knowledge and culture which should not be subject to disturbances.” Saudi Gazette reported eyewitnesses as saying that three of the group were arrested by police after they barged into the fair on the first full day of the event to denounce “immoral practices” and intimidate visitors and organizers. Claiming they had observed “violations of Islamic teachings” such as the “mixing of genders” and “questionable books and authors” at the fair, the group confronted Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, who was taking a tour at the time and also surrounded a Saudi TV booth to protest the presence of female broadcasters. “They started shouting things against writers, calling them infidels, and they got into a fierce argument with the minister,” one eyewitness said. Another said that the group's treatment of women led to “many of them leaving”. Head organizers declined Thursday to comment on the affair, saying only that the annual event was “going from strength to strength in terms of visitor numbers, organization and activities”, but a higher-than-usual security presence was in evidence. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a), which denied all connection to the group, has responded to Wednesday's incident, however. “We are currently working to increase the number of our members at the fair following what happened, to cover any gaps,” said the spokesman for the Hai'a in Riyadh. “The people in that group do not belong to the Hai'a and we are not responsible for their behavior. Anyone who poses as a member of the Hai'a will be dealt with by the relevant government authorities.” He added that the Hai'a currently has 35 members on duty at the fair. “They are all identifiable by the official cards which they have on display,” he said. Tunisia sparks interest in verse At the book fair proper, meanwhile, political events appear to have sparked the interest of readers as visitors thronged the stalls of the two Tunisian publishers taking part in the event. Sales were particularly brisk in the verse and prose works of Tunisian poet Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabi, one of the country's most prominent writers who rose to wider acclaim with his poem “When the people decide they want to live, fate will have to comply”. The recent uprising in the country saw demonstrators chant lines from his verses. The over 40 Egyptian publishers with stands at the fair said that sales had not seen a noticeable upturn this year, however. Guest of honor India had a range of both ancient and modern works in Arabic by Indian authors on display. Talmiz Ahmad, the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom, described Indian culture as “well-known in the Kingdom and the Arab world” and said that India in turn had “known the Arabs since ancient times”. “They influenced each other in terms of religion, ideas and culture,” Ahmad said, “It's great to see so many notable cultural figures from India at the Riyadh Book Fair, which has become one of the biggest and most important events in Arabic culture.”
