TAIF, 26 May 2008 — Arabs are known for their hospitality — how well guests are treated is seen as a measure of what kind of person the host or hostess is. Hospitality is among the most highly admired virtues and hosts consider it an honor to serve their guests. Thus it is understandable that refusing your host’s hospitality is a grave offense, especially in Bedouin circles where old traditions die hard.

The Okaz daily reported that a Saudi man here threatened to shoot his five guests after they refused to eat the dinner he had just served.

The guests, who came to ask the man for his daughter’s hand in marriage, were disappointed to learn that he had already agreed to marry her to someone else. They refused dinner and attempted to leave the man’s house.

Offended, he pulled out his gun and threatened to kill them. Though he forced his guests to eat at gunpoint, everyone enjoyed the meal without further incident.