It's not uncommon to spot a >bizarre Saudi hashtag going viral on Twitter, and this week was no different.
This time, a hashtag titled "Running (travel) marriages", is causing a stir on the platform as thousands react to it with shock and outrage.
The trending topic started making the rounds online after an old tweet - allegedly posted years back by Saudi cleric Badr Al Amer - resurfaced on the platform.
In it, Al Amer states that travel marriages, or contracts signed for men who want to get married during their travels only to get divorced before they return to their countries, is permissible in Islam.
Soon after it caught the attention of tweeps, a hashtag was launched which led to a heated debate that is still ongoing on Twitter...
It all started when this old tweet resurfaced...
In the widely shared screenshot, tweets posted by Amer years back see him explain what travel marriages are in response to a question by one of his followers.
"These marriages are for men who travel excessively and so protect themselves by marrying with the intention to divorce once they leave the country they visit."
And went viral on Saudi Twitter...
No one can even understand...
"When did they invent that?"
People are so confused...
"How does it work, they just run after each other?"
And upset over the matter
"Our clerics, enough of these lies you tell people."
"This kind of marriage doesn't exist in our religion"
"Those claiming that it does want to defame Islam."
Some are heavily criticizing the bizarre form of marriage
"This type of marriage is widespread among people who travel a lot and usually leaves behind victims. It's considered an inhumane form of exploitation that targets women and goes against the honorable value of marriage. It basically is based on sexual desires and violates the most basic of women's rights."
"So basically marriage on the go!!"
"Why do you accept for a woman to be insulted like this and she's your mother, sister, daughter, aunt, and wife?"
"There's only one kind of acceptable marriage (sharia union)"
"Anything other than that is degrading to women and their dignity. Sharia marriages and contracts are the only ones that guarantee the protection of a woman's dignity and her complete rights."
Others are just fed up...
"All they care about is marriage. As if there's nothing else in this world."