Britexpat: While your last sentence "it seems that religious places are no longer sacred to many" is very true, I doubt very much the authenticity of this news emanating from S Arabia and I am not saying this due to my religious affiliations. In Saudi Arabia, doors of mosques except at the Harams in Makkah and Medinah are locked after the last prayers in the evening. Secondly, mosque do not have refrigerators or stoves in them. They may have water coolers though. Thirdly, a refrigerator is not something one could carry away in his pocket. At least a couple of strong men with a pickup is needed to transport it away. Doing such a thing late in the night would no doubt attract attention. Then it would be easily located by the police at any of the shops that deal in second-hand items and the theft is definitely not worth the risk. Thirdly, as for water bottles and foodstuff, there is so much of it around even for free and they are hardly worth risk of stealing. Lastly, if the thieves did come in with the intention of theft, there are other items inside the mosque which carry more value such as wall-clocks, amplifiers, speakers etc which are light, easy to carry and have a resale value. Also, I know that in Saudi Arabia, petty thefts do not take place. I have seen many small shops on roadsides in all cities of Saudi Arabia that just cover their products with just a large bed-sheet when owners go for prayers or close their shops for a couple of hours in the afternoons. No theft ever takes place. I have heard stray incidents of "planned" burglaries happening, but then the police follows after such incidents and the culprits get netted soon.
Britexpat: While your last sentence "it seems that religious places are no longer sacred to many" is very true, I doubt very much the authenticity of this news emanating from S Arabia and I am not saying this due to my religious affiliations. In Saudi Arabia, doors of mosques except at the Harams in Makkah and Medinah are locked after the last prayers in the evening. Secondly, mosque do not have refrigerators or stoves in them. They may have water coolers though. Thirdly, a refrigerator is not something one could carry away in his pocket. At least a couple of strong men with a pickup is needed to transport it away. Doing such a thing late in the night would no doubt attract attention. Then it would be easily located by the police at any of the shops that deal in second-hand items and the theft is definitely not worth the risk. Thirdly, as for water bottles and foodstuff, there is so much of it around even for free and they are hardly worth risk of stealing. Lastly, if the thieves did come in with the intention of theft, there are other items inside the mosque which carry more value such as wall-clocks, amplifiers, speakers etc which are light, easy to carry and have a resale value. Also, I know that in Saudi Arabia, petty thefts do not take place. I have seen many small shops on roadsides in all cities of Saudi Arabia that just cover their products with just a large bed-sheet when owners go for prayers or close their shops for a couple of hours in the afternoons. No theft ever takes place. I have heard stray incidents of "planned" burglaries happening, but then the police follows after such incidents and the culprits get netted soon.