RIYAD, Saudi Arabia    Saudi Arabia’s religious police (“the muttawa”) have declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality, complaining that the revealing clothes of the “Jewish” toy – already banned in the Kingdom – are offensive to Islam.

 

The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as the religious police are officially known, lists the dolls on a section of its Web site devoted to items deemed offensive to the conservative Saudi interpretation of Islam.

 

“Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools, are a symbol of decadence from the decadent West.  Let us beware of her dangers and be careful,” said a poster on the site.