Books banned in Saudi Arabia?
Aug 21st 2021, 10:33 pm
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 329
Books banned in Saudi Arabia?
Hi,
Moving to KSA soon. Do they check suitcases at all on arrival into Jeddah? I'm in the middle of these two books - would they be taken off me if found?
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappe
Arabian Sands - Wilfred Thesiger
I Googled and found a list of the usual categories of books that shouldn't be brought into Saudi (anti Islamic, LGBTQ, pornographic, etc.) but wasn't sure if the above would offend someone at the airport if seen.
Thank you.
Moving to KSA soon. Do they check suitcases at all on arrival into Jeddah? I'm in the middle of these two books - would they be taken off me if found?
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappe
Arabian Sands - Wilfred Thesiger
I Googled and found a list of the usual categories of books that shouldn't be brought into Saudi (anti Islamic, LGBTQ, pornographic, etc.) but wasn't sure if the above would offend someone at the airport if seen.
Thank you.
Aug 22nd 2021, 1:38 pm
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 64
Re: Books banned in Saudi Arabia?
I'm based in UAE and previously Qatar so cant speak with confidence on KSA and how strict they are. my guess though would be that if at a superficial level from the title or cover they could be seen as even mildly offensive or controversial to KSA or the religion its not worth the risk.
I would suggest to check Amazon KSA, if they sell / deliver the same titles to KSA you probably should be good.
Another suggestion is to go for digital books on Kindle or Google Play Books.
Personally if anything is even a little borderline edgy i would prefer not to chance it.
I would suggest to check Amazon KSA, if they sell / deliver the same titles to KSA you probably should be good.
Another suggestion is to go for digital books on Kindle or Google Play Books.
Personally if anything is even a little borderline edgy i would prefer not to chance it.
Aug 22nd 2021, 9:44 pm
#3
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 329
Re: Books banned in Saudi Arabia?
I'm based in UAE and previously Qatar so cant speak with confidence on KSA and how strict they are. my guess though would be that if at a superficial level from the title or cover they could be seen as even mildly offensive or controversial to KSA or the religion its not worth the risk.
I would suggest to check Amazon KSA, if they sell / deliver the same titles to KSA you probably should be good.
Another suggestion is to go for digital books on Kindle or Google Play Books.
Personally if anything is even a little borderline edgy i would prefer not to chance it.
I would suggest to check Amazon KSA, if they sell / deliver the same titles to KSA you probably should be good.
Another suggestion is to go for digital books on Kindle or Google Play Books.
Personally if anything is even a little borderline edgy i would prefer not to chance it.
I've decided not to pack these two with me in case.
Aug 23rd 2021, 3:25 am
#4
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Buraydah , Saudi Arabia
Posts: 2,863
Re: Books banned in Saudi Arabia?
Been stopped and searched a few times entering Saudi. IME they're looking for anything religion or booze related.
One time I had about 40 books with me that caused some interest, but once they realised they're not Bibles it's fine. The English skills of these guys won't be good enough to understand the book description most of the time.
I also got a Christmas tree in one time which they found, but allowed me to keep, informing me never to do it again...😆
And they were interested in my mouthwash one time too.
One time I had about 40 books with me that caused some interest, but once they realised they're not Bibles it's fine. The English skills of these guys won't be good enough to understand the book description most of the time.
I also got a Christmas tree in one time which they found, but allowed me to keep, informing me never to do it again...😆
And they were interested in my mouthwash one time too.
