Captain Jalal bombs at Saudi Theme Park

Several children left Tihama Park in tears last week after watching Jalal Al-Gharbi’s snake show. In front of approximately 150 middle schoolboys and girls and their families, Captain Jalal (as he likes to be called) inserted a live snake into his mouth and then slowly chewed its head off.

After severing the head, he bit a small portion of the meat off the body and appeared to swallow it without chewing. Then with the decapitated, writhing snake in his hands, he removed its skin, using his teeth for a better grip. As a finale, he ran through the crowd with the headless, skinned snake in hand, frightening the children.

“The scene was anything but funny. What are our children going to learn from this?” commented Hesham Ahmed who saw the show with his sisters, the youngest, aged seven-and-a-half. “When I saw what he was about to do, I tried to put a stop to it. I ran up on stage to plead with security to stop the cruelty. The security guard told me to go away and asked me what the big deal was. He told me that it was OK because no one likes snakes,” he continued.

In a videotape obtained by Arab News, Captain Jalal is seen on stage wearing a tight shirt, his large arms covered in tattoos. On his head was a blue bandana. His attire and demeanor resemble that of a “tough” guy.

“There is nothing tough about what he is doing. He takes a young snake that isn’t poisonous and bites its head off. I think the tough guy image is part of the act. I wasn’t impressed. He should at least even the odds by placing a poisonous adult king cobra in his mouth and try to bite his head off instead of a harmless garden snake’s,” Ahmed continued.

According to Bashir Khan Afreedi, the organizer of last week’s event at Tihama Park, Al-Gharbi intends to bite the head off a live cobra at his next show. “Captain Jalal is known throughout the Kingdom for his snake acts. He performs every Wednesday and Thursday at Al-Abraj on the Corniche and at other times by invitation at different venues and parks in the city,” he said.

According to Afreedi, Al-Gharbi’s next show will take place on Thursday at Al-Abraj. It is for families only.

Arab News spoke to Dr. Iskander Ali, head of Sadaf Medical Center. The clinic’s advertisement banner was displayed prominently, next to that of Toys-R-Us, behind Al-Gharbi, throughout the act. When told of the beheading, Dr. Ali was outraged. “It was an event for the Indian and Pakistani community. Afreedi approached us about placing the banner there for a contribution. We had no idea that a snake was going to be beheaded — or that snakes were going to be involved at all. We are a medical clinic and don’t condone or sponsor this kind of thing,” Dr. Ali said.

“We will refuse any future requests for contributions coming from Afreedi if Captain Jalal’s snake show is involved. We do not want our name associated with this kind of cruelty,” he added.

When told of Sadaf Medical Center’s decision to withhold future contributions from events that feature Captain Jalal and his snakes, Afreedi told Arab News, “This will be the last time that Captain Jalal is invited back.”