Red roses are no longer hidden in flower shop backrooms, and heart-shaped chocolates are no longer sold under the counter on Valentine’s Day, due to curbs placed in 2016 by the Saudi religious police. In 2018, a Saudi religious figure endorsed Valentine’s Day celebrations for the first time in the Kingdom. heikh Ahmed Qasim Al-Ghamdi, former president of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Makkah, announced on TV that celebrating Valentine’s Day does not contradict Islamic teachings, and that celebrating love is not limited to non-Muslims.
