Riyadh – Renowned Islamic scholar Mohamed Al-Arefe posted a fatwa (i.e. religious ruling or edict) on his Twitter account, in which he said females are forbidden from wearing flamboyant abaya, a simple loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world. This fatwa provoked controversy after the Saudi sheikh said it is haram (forbidden) for women to wear flamboyant veils and abayas according to the Islamic sharia. Most Saudi females criticized the fatwa and regarded it as incorrect and a violation of their freedom. A number of females launched anti-fatwa hashtag #MyAbayaispersonalfreedom", which went viral on the internet with hundreds of retweets and sarcastic comments by females from Saudi Arabia and other countries. Other Twitter users supported Al-Arefe and defended his fatwa, regarding it as just an "advice." Despite such controversy, Al-Arefe tweeted once again and advised females to avoid wearing flamboyant Abayas and veils.