The recent place of closing of bars and music rooms in Riade and Jeddah is exposing the tensions between the accelerated modernization of Saudi Arabia and the resistance of the most conservative sectors of society
In recent weeks, at least two dozen spaces known as lounges – places where men and women can watch live and smoke shisha – have been forced to end doors in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Authorities justify the measure with “serious violations” of health and hygiene rules, but many interpret the decision in response to the social pressures of those who see in these “immoral” ambient spaces and contrary to traditional values.
In these clubs, it is common to see foreign artists to work before a mixed audience, something unthinkable just over a decade, when the religious police prohibited music in public and rigidly supervised the separation of genres. Today, whole families seek in these places a more accessible alternative to the great musical and sports productions that the country has been welcomed since the rise of heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who withdrew the powers of the religious police in 2016 and flexed restrictions, among other aspects, to women’s freedoms.
Although alcohol consumption remains illegal, lounges have gained popularity because they allow smoking in closed spaces and charging prices considered affordable. A normal ticket costs about 80 rials (17 euros) and includes a soda. Admission is free for women and couples. There are even those who take their children.
Those who visit the lounges “discover that they are pleasant places to spend good times away from the stress of everyday life,” the columnist Akl al-Akl recently wrote in the newspaper Okaz. “Its existence contributes to the quality of life in all cities of the world.”
However, the proliferation of these places in residential areas has generated discomfort. In videos that became viral, conservative figures denounced the presence of women to enter these spaces and accused us of facilitating illicit behaviors, such as alcohol and drug consumption.
“Look at these women to enter the lounge in a residential neighborhood of men. I want my voice to be heard. I’m tired of this,” said Falah Al-Masrede, a conservative singer, through a video posted on Snapchat.
Faced with the controversy, the Interior Ministry created this year a unit dedicated to watching “immoral acts,” which has already detained dozens of suspects of prostitution and begging, something that many consider an attempt to recover part of the control once exerted by religious policy.
Experts underline that the closure of some of these spaces shows the government’s attempt to balance its modernization agenda, essential for economic diversification, with the pressure of social sectors resistant to rapid cultural transformations.
For Andrew Leber, a researcher of Carnegie Middle East Program, the popularity of lounges reflects above all the internal demand of those who want to enjoy the new freedoms of the country, but who has no economic power for major music concerts or formula 1 races: “People just want a space where they can relax, listen to music and smoke.”
