An approval for 24-hour trading for retail, restaurants and cinemas in Saudi Arabia, while generally well received, has created uncertainty as to whether it affects long-standing laws governing opening during prayer times.
A cabinet decision yesterday permitted stores and restaurants to operate all day in exchange for paying a fee, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will determine the charge, as well as which commercial activities will be affected, it said. It is not known at this time if FECs will be permitted to benefit from the relaxation.
Khalid Al-Degaither, a deputy at the ministry responsible for the change, said that the decision “doesn't include carrying out commercial activities during prayers and it doesn't touch any previous decision related to prayer times.”
Until now, rules have been in place that require shops to shut for Islam’s five daily prayers.
However, during a television interview, Al-Degaither wouldn’t confirm that a business would be breaking the law if it opened during prayers.
A government document last year had called for an end to mandatory prayer closures, though the recommendation was buried on page 156 of the document and removed in a later version according to website, Arabian Business.
If confirmed, the move would further the relaxation of laws in the previously conservative kingdom, a move towards transforming the country’s previous oil-based economy.
