H. L. Mencken’s famous definition of puritanism (”the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy”) comes to mind in a story from the BBC out of Saudi Arabia, where a prominent Muslim clergyman, Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obaikan, was videotaped performing the traditional Bedouin sword dance at a relative’s wedding. He has come in for criticism from the nation’s puritan Wahhabi religious establishment.
The real reason behind the criticism may be Sheikh Obaikan’s relatively moderate and tolerant approach to social issues: for example, he supports women driving cars under some conditions and criticizes suicide attacks saying they do not constitute acts of religious martyrdom.
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