No Kissing of Hands

Hey everyone,

Years ago, back in the mid-eighties, when my uncle was staying with us in Jeddah, he asked us why everyone had to kiss the hands of the then King Fahd in the palace. All we could tell him was that it must be a sign of reverence and respect. My uncle equated this bowing of head and kissing the King's hands as similar to the way Indians bow down and touch the feet of the parents. He thought it should not happen this way. Yes, King Fahd was the king, but kissing of hands was not appropriate, because you already kiss on the cheeks, so why go a step further and kiss the hands.

Well, today, King Abdullah has called for a stop to the kissing of hands. The kissing of hands is "alien to our values and ethics." I agree with him. Even I personally did not like this business of kissing another guy's hands. However, the King has said that the only people whose you can kiss are your own parents.

Mansur