Step away from the snow

As promised Charlie Hebdo has published another controversial cover.

But according to what I hear on the radio, what really seems to have the Muslim world buzzing is the unusual winter weather that has left a blanket of snow in Northern Saudi Arabia.

From a news report it’s, “Prompting this question on a religious website: Is it permissible for Muslim fathers to build snowmen for their children?”

The answer: absolutely not.

Saudi Arabian cleric Sheikh Mohammed Saleh al-Munajjid was quoted as saying “It is not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun.”

♫ Do you want to build a snowman?

No.

♫ Come on let’s go and play.

Not permitted.

Although I have to say, the type of snowpersons that Saudis were posing with on their Instagram selfies were not your typical three big snowballs with a corn cob pipe.

One had earrings, eye lashes, and a generous bust and another was dressed in a wedding veil with a push-up corset.

In any case, social media quickly split into pro- and anti-snowman factions. Most people were pro, but not all,
“Including one who wrote that building snowmen is imitating the infidels and it promotes lustiness and eroticism.”

That does seem a little extreme. Snowmen do not typically have genitalia, and any that they did have it would melt the moment they got excited.

But before we get all self-righteous, let’s also keep in mind that in our own country, as late as the 1980’s, some cities in the Midwest banned dancing until Kevin Bacon gave that speech in “Footloose.”

“There was a time for this law, but not anymore. This is our time to dance.”

Saudi Arabia needs you, Kevin.