Borders of Shariah

Our project is in the closing stages ... Professors, students, administration staff etc have already started settling in ... the Campus area has been handed over to the proponent ... only some residential buildings are remaining ....

For those of you who dont know, "project" refers to King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST), a multi million dollar project near Jeddah .. at the shore of the Red Sea ...

Its a well known fact that Saudi Arabia is the only country, where strict Shariah Laws are applied ... the shops close during prayers, women have to wear hijab when in public, they are not allowed to drive (I dont know if its according to Shariah or not), the punishment for adultery or involvement in narcotics, in any way , is ultimately .. death.

But lets focus on the women and hijab part ... these rules do not apply inside the premises of KAUST ... and did I mention that it is the first co-ed institution in the Kingdom ... women can drive ... dress as they like ... it's a funny spectacle when a girl goes out for her morning jog in her shorts ... and the workers leave their work .. all gawking at her ...

Getting back to the subject .... this royal decree of "freedom" has created unrest in the clerical faction ... one of the clerics who openly opposed against co-ed has been relieved of his duties ...

I, like many others believe that soon a time will come when Saudia will be as open as (why go far) ... say UAE and this is just the beginning ...