[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the top Moslem holy manal body in Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, said that women should not be obliged to wear abayas as the purpose of the Sharia code is to cover the entire body with any long and loose-fitting garment, whether using a cloak or any form of modest clothing.
This is another indication of the Kingdom’s efforts towards modernization. He continued to say that 90 percent of Moslem women in the Moslem world do not wear an abaya and do not even know it.
"As we see in Mecca and Medina, a large number of decent, religious women do not wear abayas. This in itself is bare witness that women should not be obliged to wear abayas," said Mutlaq during the "Friday Studio" program on Nedaa al-Islam channel.
A member of the holy manal body clarified that wearing an abaya is fulfilling the act of being conservative. An abaya falls under what Allah has referred to as the Jalabib in the Koran and has urged women to wear. If a woman chooses to cover her head, shoulders or otherwise with an abaya, that would be fine.
While not necessarily signaling a change in the law, the statement is the first of its kind from a senior religious figure. It follows the recent pattern of freedoms the Kingdom has been witnessing with the ascent of young Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to power.
Only the government-appointed holy mans associated with the Council of Senior Scholars are allowed to issue fatwas, or Islamic legal opinions. Their interpretations of Islamic law form the basis of Saudi Arabia’s legal system.
Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.