Saleh Kamil, one of the founders of Islamic banking and finance and Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Chairman criticized religious leaders for making the mingling of the sexes a big issue. Instead he asked them to concentrate on public issues like corruption, bribery and injustice. He added that Islam never prohibited unrelated men and women from interacting but only prohibits them from going into secluded places together.

In comments published by Al-Madinah Arabic daily on Wednesday, Kamil told that “Islam has not banned the mingling of sexes; it bans an unrelated man and woman (who are unrelated) being alone in a place”. We have been witnessing men and women doing tawaf around the Holy Kaaba together and this has been taking place since the time of the Prophet (pbuh).”  And he insisted that on the necessity of wearing proper Islamic dress by the women coming to the chamber.

“Hijab is obligatory and we’ll not allow any woman to enter the chamber without wearing the Islamic dress. We have distributed a circular in this respect to all departments,” He said.

Kamil asked religious leaders not to exaggerate Islamic rules saying that he had received about 50 letters from imams and judges complaining about the mingling of members of the opposite sex at his chamber. He further clarified that “We don’t have a single man and a single woman working together in an office and we don’t have businessmen and businesswomen working together in an office. They have different offices,” he explained. “As long as they wear proper Islamic dress what is wrong with women if they work in the chamber or in any other institution?”

He continued: “I believe that bribery is a million times more harmful than the mingling of sexes. There are Qur’anic verses and Sayings of the Prophet that prohibit bribery, but you would not find a single Qur’anic verse banning the mingling of sexes. I am not calling for women to display their charms and I don’t support that. We have to protect our Shariah that has come through divine revelation and the Sunnah. At the same time, we should not take customs and traditions as religion.”