A group of young men were arrested and detained by Saudi Arabia's morality police for dancing at a birthday party over the weekend.
The men, who were referred to as prostitutes, were arrested in the city of Buraydah for being in "a compromising situation in their dance and shameful movements," state-linked Ayn al-Youm reported. Buraydah is the provincial capital of Saudi Arabia's Qassim province, which is home to some of the kingdom's most conservative clerics, known to practice a strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism.
On Saturday, a private residential property was raided by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, who then arrested the men for "loud music and inappropriate dancing," an unnamed official told the news website, adding that the morality police also found a cake and candles suggesting the celebration of one of the men's birthdays.
Shortly after news of the incident went viral on social media, the Saudi community slammed the arrests, ridiculing them as being unjust since the men weren't caught drinking alcohol or partying with women, which would be blatant violations of Wahhabism and considered to be crimes in Saudi Arabia, Yahoo News reported.
Some others pointed out that the men were only engaging in a traditional male dance with swords, which is socially acceptable and considered to be "masculine."
Still, birthday celebrations and Western music in general are frowned upon by followers of the Wahhabi belief.
Although it remains unclear on how many men were arrested or what their ages were, the official claimed that the young men's hairstyles and dress were not traditional, further urging parents to monitor this kind of behavior "because it can lead to immorality and even homosexuality."
Meanwhile, the morality police are empowered to enforce Islamic law as practiced in Saudi Arabia, including enforcing dress codes, The Washington Times reported.
Earlier this month, a Saudi historian grabbed headlines after defending Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers by controversially claiming that women who choose to drive "don't care if they are raped on the roadside."
Saleh Al-Saadoon attempted to justify his country's prohibition against female drivers by citing U.S. women as being nonchalant about rape, further stating that sexual violence "is no big deal to them."
