Yet with younger clerics such as Mr Ghamdi doubting the scriptural grounds for making women rely on male drivers, other arguments are looking flimsier.

ECONOMIST: With the king��s permission, the debate is hotting up

Davendar Ghai, president of the society, says it is impossible for Hindus to obey their scriptural directions for death and mourning in mechanised British crematoria.

ECONOMIST: Hindus and open-air pyres

Instead, in what seems a kind of creative rage, he experimented with every aspect of the cantata form, which traditionally served as a musical meditation on the Scriptural readings of the week.

NEWYORKER: The Book of Bach