It’s true that people who criticize the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice usually receive warnings. Mosques always praise the committee for the noble work they do, yet watching a child’s tears today was moving and perhaps worth the trouble I may possibly get myself into.
A 10-year-old boy started crying after being picked up by some committee members in the middle of Riyadh. The men put him in their vehicle while he was continually crying. They did that because he was wearing a rap-star like bandana on his tiny little head and those people felt he was trying to imitate the West — an unforgivable sin.
Because of this tragic scene, many painful and sad questions came to my mind. These were questions about humane traits and tolerance, issues without which life can never be possible. I asked myself what happened to the simplest of human rights concerning dignity and value even when the authorities are involved? I questioned how humans behave when they are given endless power without being asked or taken to account about their actions. I also had doubts about the world we are living in; is it really the 21st century or have we been taken back hundreds of years? When did the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice become an excuse to abuse and humiliate people?
It is bizarre how people can accept this kind of abuse and humiliation. Sometimes I think that fear is enough to make human being lose all his values and forget similar incidents. Usually people have no other choice because they worry about their future and children. Sometimes I think the opposite, if a person gives up his dignity and freedom he’s losing his value as a human being and there are no excuses to justify his silence and submission. Do you think I’m exaggerating? Let me tell you another incident. A member of the commission stopped an Arab expatriate in the street and asked him in a screaming tone to order his wife to cover her face. The wife — trying to quell the situation — covered her face. Do you think the scene ended here? The commission member then dragged the man and his wife to the nearest abaya shop and forced them to buy a veil and wear it straight away. Can you believe this? You might be asking the same question, but many of you don’t realize that this is not an isolated incident. It’s a huge problem that has affected and corrupted our society. These are flaws in behavior that have become the norm.
The sight of the expatriate and his wife being dragged forcefully to comply with the demands of someone who is imposing his opinion on everyone was such an ugly and painful scene. It symbolized the way human beings are despised in the name of religion and how people go to extremes in dominating and humiliating people. This is unacceptable and very dangerous.
