Grand mufti calls for monitoring of massage centers

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Feb 14, 2010 11:46 PM Updated: Feb 14, 2010 11:46 PM

RIYADH: The Kingdom's grand mufti, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al-Ashaikh, has called on the Ministry of Health (MoH) to monitor clubs and centers which offer massage services.

Al-Ashaikh said that the monitoring should be carried out before the centers turn into a threat to society due to the unpleasant practices that might go on in them. The grand mufti spoke to local newspapers following an incident in Riyadh in which both young Saudi and Asian men were caught behaving immorally and which therefore resulted in the closure of the center in which they were caught. The men were taken into custody by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the center was closed by the Riyadh municipality.

"The practice of sinful acts in these clubs is a danger to our society; the concerned authorities must investigate the massage services that these places offer. The centers have to be closely monitored," he added. The grand mufti also said, "The Ministry of Health must stop these practices before they threaten our society."

Dr. Sami Badawood, head of medical affairs in Jeddah, said that monitoring these clubs and centers was not their responsibility "unless the clubs and centers provide a medical service."

Arab News attempted to get a response from the Jeddah municipality which licenses the clubs and centers but no one was available for comment.

In Riyadh, the head of the Environmental Health Department at the Riyadh municipality, Sulaiman Al-Bathi, said that they had teams who would investigate more than 130 centers in Riyadh, some of which are operating without proper authorization or licenses.  Abdul Muhsin Al-Ghifari, a spokesman for the Virtue Commission, said that the commission could not make field inspections of the clubs but that they could go in and take into custody people who were behaving immorally.

"We do not go in unless we receive accurate information and ensure that the information is correct. Other governmental bodies have the responsibility of monitoring the clubs and centers," he added. "The commission also cooperates with the police and the municipality in certain situations," he concluded