His Eminence Probably Did Not See Renée Fleming in Oman

Fleming in Muscat performing October concert

"As many of you know in a recent video, His Eminence the Grand Mufti of Oman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, deemed it unacceptable for Muslims to visit the newly opened Royal Opera House in Muscat. This has caused an explosion of debate on local internet forums and the Arabic blogosphere here in Oman. Blogger Muawiyah Al Rawahi’s letter, on his Arabic blog, is a good example of the debate going on. I’m secretly pleased with the discussion His Eminence has triggered. It’s very important for Omanis to talk about this and figure out where they stand. (And no, I don’t think we must stand united). Following a request from one of my readers, thinker & blogger Balqis, here’s the transcript of what he said. It’s a pretty short video (48 seconds). He was reading a question from a paper:
Question: My Mother, may God grant her health and long life, wants to visit the newly opened Royal Opera House to admire the architecture and beautiful designs. Is this acceptable, given the fact that such venues host musical events known to the world as ‘opera’. This is the main purpose of the venue.
Mufti: Since the dedicated purpose of this venue is music and dance, then visiting it is not acceptable. As for the architecture and designs, they’re not exclusive to this location only and can be found at other locations, and Allah knows best." [Source]