Long robe does not have to be with Saudi Muslim women

dubai - Saudi women do not have to wear long robes. An authority of the Saudi clergy, sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq said in his television program that the long robe or 'abaya' is not obligatory for pious women.

He stressed that more than 90 percent of Islam's very religious women in the world never wear such a long robe. It is not obligatory for pious women, according to the sheikh.

His statement fits in with the current changes in the kingdom, traditionally based on a balance of power between the pro-Western family al-Saud and the extremely conservative Sunni clergy. The new strong man of Saudi Arabia, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, said last year that 'his country has not been normal for at least thirty years and that he will therefore introduce a moderate form of Islam. '