Should we tell them about Billy?

by Feòrag

Saudi Arabia: Barbie dolls are already illegal there, but Saudi Arabia's religious police have now decided the toy is a threat to morality, and causes little girls to want jeans, rather than a burka. Oh, and they're Jewish, too, apparently. The organisation's website reproduces a poster they have placed in schools and around the streets:

Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful.

Barbie is not the only thing causing offence:

Other items listed as violations on the site included Valentine's Day gifts, perfume bottles in the shape of women's bodies, clothing with logos that include a cross, and decorative copies of religious items -- offensive because they could be damaged and thus insult Islam.

Despite this kind of thing:

The muttawa patrol the streets of the kingdom, preventing men from mingling with women, enforcing strict Islamic dress for women, chasing worshippers late for prayers, and punishing shop keepers who stay open during prayer hours. They sometimes work with a police officer who can enforce legal punishments on people deemed violators.

...the United States has resisited declaring Saudi Arabia a 'country of particular concern' under the International Religious Freedom Act , and against the advice of its own Commission on International Religious Freedom. Saudi police say Barbie dolls a threat to morality - CNN , 10th September 2003; United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Report on Saudi Arabia, May 2003.