Saudi Heavy Metal Band In Hot Water Over MTV Reality Show

June 7, 2010

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia's religious police are trying to bring to court three Saudi youths for challenging the kingdom's austere lifestyle on an MTV reality show — a new test of the country's stated commitment to reform.

Aired last month, MTV's "True Life - Resist the Power, Saudi Arabia" followed how three Saudi youths and the heavy metal band BREEZE OF THE DYING cope with the strictures they encounter in their daily life in Jeddah, seen as the kingdom's most liberal city.

Divisions have emerged within the influential religious establishment, including the religious police body itself, over long-held restrictions that have been enforced in the world's leading oil producing country and key U.S. ally.

An official at the Jeddah court confirmed the filing of the lawsuit for the crime of "openly declaring sin" and said it would take at least one week for the Islamic sharia court to decide whether to proceed with a trial or dismiss the case.

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