Restaurant shut over gender-mixing

Saudi Arabia’s influential religious police shut a restaurant in the conservative Gulf kingdom for massive violations including allowing gender-mixing.

Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, backed by other police men and municipality inspectors, raided the restaurant in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah and ordered it shut indefinitely.

“Sources said they shut the restaurant after it was found to be violating local laws, including allowing mixing between men and women, operating obscene TV channels and serving shisha in closed places,” Sabq daily said.


Gender-mixing is strictly banned in schools, universities and most other places in the oil-rich kingdom.