A Saudi cleric has issued a fatwa or religious edict against all-you-can-eat buffets in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Huffington Post, a Saudi cleric named Saleh al-Fawzan is stating that the value and quantity of the food sold should be pre-determined beforehand. Fawzan reportedly made the anti-buffet declaration while appearing on a Saudi Quranic TV station, Al Arabiya News reported.
"Whoever enters the buffet and eats for 10 or 50 riyals ($4-$13) without deciding the quantity they will eat is violating Sharia (Islamic) law," Fawzan reportedly stated.
It's unclear how much weight cleric Saleh al-Fawzan's edict holds. Still, Saudi Council of Muftis is the only religious council that has the authority to issue a fatwa in Saudi Arabia. According to the Islamic Supreme Council of America, the edict is "optional for the individual to respect or not."
Musa Furber, a Muslim scholar, attempted to explain Fawzan's logic, stating "The Sheikh's reasoning is that 'the value and quantity of what is sold should be pre-determined before it is purchased.' This is not surprising or shocking since one of the requirements of a valid sale transaction ... in Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī fiqh is identifying the goods being exchanged."
Fawzan's proclamation set off a vicious debate on Twitter, with individuals using the hashtag "prohibiting-open-buffet," and other social media sites, where many individuals' comments reportedly condemned the unofficial ruling.
Fatwa against all-you-can-eat buffets. You can't even parody this stuff. And we're supposed to respect it? https://t.co/NiA0k0ZQyE
— Lucy Wainwright (@Whoozley) March 13, 2014
What is going on in this world?! i am speechless really! Fatwa prohibits ‘All You Can Eat’ offers https://t.co/JJH2a60gmt via @AlArabiya_Eng — Sagal Bihi (@SagalBihi) March 13, 2014
In all my years battling extremism I have never been so afraid & offended -"Fatwa prohibits ‘All You Can Eat’ offers" https://t.co/2zjmrYLK02
— MoDawah (@kingofdawah) March 13, 2014
