Saudi Arabia's 'religious police' arrest men for dancing at birthday party
A group of young men have been detained by Saudi Arabian religious police for dancing at a birthday party.
What is the Haia?
The Haia is Saudi Arabia's agency that employs the "religious police", or Mutaween, who are in charge of making sure that sharia law is obeyed in the kingdom.
The Mutaween have the power to arrest people who engage in homosexual acts, prostitution, fornication and try to convert to other religious than Islam.
The religious police are often criticised with many claiming they abuse their power and that extremists have infiltrated the Haia.
In one instance in 2002, 15 girls died after the Mutaween refused to let them out of a burning public school in Mecca, claiming they were not properly covered.
Mutaween can be recognised as they wear traditional middle eastern headscarf known as keffiyeh.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) raided a house and arrested the men for "loud music and inappropriate dancing", then referred them to prosecutors, AP reported.
It is not yet clear how many people have been arrested.
An official told newspaper Ayn al-Youm that once the police raided the house, they found the young men in "a compromising situation in their dance and shameful movements" and added that there was also a cake and candles to celebrate one of the men's birthdays.
The official then urged Saudi Arabian parents to watch their children as certain behaviour "can lead to immorality and even homosexuality."
Saudi Arabian clerics consider Western music and birthday celebrations sinful and therefore at odds with Islamic strictures.
The arrests sparked outrage on social media with many arguing the men were not drinking alcohol or partying with women, which are both crimes in Saudi Arabia.
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