Some of the senior religious leaders who protested outside the palace in the Red Sea port of Jiddah said the United States was behind a campaign calling for women to drive on October 26 that claims to have garnered 16,000 signatures.
The government has not cracked down on the driving campaign, and King Abdullah is believed to favor some social reforms. The protest by clerics, who are among the most influential voices in Saudi Arabia, shows the challenge he faces in pushing gently for change without antagonising conservative segments of the population.
"Why was the date of the protest (by women driving) given a Western date and not an Arab one?" asked prominent Sheik Nasser el-Omar at the rally, referring to the Islamic lunar calendar that differs from the Gregorian one used by the West.
"This suggests the campaign was made in the USA," he said in remarks carried by the semi-official news website Akhbar 24.
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While neither Islamic law nor Saudi's traffic laws explicitly ban women from driving, women are not issued licenses.
In years past when women tried to drive, some were arrested and charged with disturbing public order. One woman was ordered to be lashed 10 times, but King Abdullah pardoned her.