Saudi clerics protest women driving, blame US
Clerics, religious men protest Saudi women driving despite no law banning the act; activists plan Oct. 26 rally in which women will drive
Some 150 clerics and religious scholars have rallied outside the Saudi
king's palace, protesting against women seeking the right to drive.
The senior religious leaders said the United States was behind a campaign calling for women to drive on October 26 that claims to have garnered 16,000 signatures.
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Since the campaign launched last month, Saudi women have been uploading videos of themselves driving.
Though no law bans women from driving, women are not issued licenses in the ultraconservative kingdom. No women have been arrested trying to drive in recent weeks. However, in years past, women were charged with disturbing public order.
The scholars who protested Tuesday in the Red Sea city of Jiddah were quoted in official local media saying that Saudi rulers are doing nothing to stop the campaign.
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