Following the king's edict last month, Saudi Arabia is continuing its campaign against fatwas from unauthorised clerics. Asharq Alawsat reports that the kingdom's telecom regulator has shut down three websites for violating the royal decree:

Saad al-Shihri, an official at the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission, said the regulator began blocking the websites on Wednesday. He said authorities also have drawn up a list of clerics whose services break the decree, and that they have been sent messages "warning them to comply."

Among those breaking the ban are clerics who offer fatwas via text messages, some for as much as $3 per message, al-Shihri said. Regulators have already started barring such services.

On August 26, the king reprimanded Yousef al Ahmed, a conservative scholar, who spoke out against employing female cashiers in supermarkets.

Despite opposition from the more reactionary religious quarters, the Saudi labour ministry says it is continuing to issue permits for women to work as cashiers in shopping centres.

The Crossroads Arabia blog comments:

I’m mystified by arguments that having women work in this capacity is haram. Women certainly worked in the markets in the time of the Prophet, and ever since. You can go to various market stalls (or blankets) in any of the souks of major cities and find them operated by Bedouin women. Does the fact that this is not haram suggest that the practice is, actually, fine? Or might it be a perception that Bedouin women are somehow less than human, thus exempt from Islamic principles? I’m pleased to see the Ministry of Labour standing up to the troglodytes.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 7 September 2010.