By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: An Islamic preacher has denied telling an online publication that Islam does not prohibit unsupervised phone calls between young women and men before they get engaged.

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Nujaimi was reported to have told online publication Awj that it is fine for an unrelated man and woman to get to know each other before he proposes to her.

He added in the interview that the woman does not have to be supervised by a male guardian or her mother while she is speaking to the man and they both simply have to know their limits.

Al-Nujaimi told Arab News he was misquoted. “This is completely wrong, I never said that women could talk to men before they get married. What I said was the complete opposite,” he said. “I told her that if both families are fine with the bride and the groom talking over the phone, then the woman has to be accompanied by her mother or a male guardian who can supervise the conversation.”

READ MORE ON ARABNEWS http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article518699.ece

NOTE BY THE EDITOR: I am sure this is the correct procedure, however, with young Muslims growing up in the West, attending schools and universities that are not segregated by gender, how should we deal with this question? A frank discussion within our Mosques and Communities among youngsters should be encouraged. In a way it feels a bit ‘strange’ when our youngsters keep strict ‘Purdah’ from other members of our community, but do not observe the same strict ‘Purdah’ from others.