JEDDAH, 22 April 2007 — Attacks by the public against officials of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice are on the rise, according to a report published by Al-Watan daily yesterday.
The newspaper report said that there were at least 21 violent incidents last year when citizens physically attacked members of the commission, which has over 5,000 workers.
The newspaper partly attributed the different views over the role of the commission, commonly referred to as Motawae, to the changes undergone by society since the body was founded several decades ago. Members of the public who spoke to the daily said that some commission employees were interfering in sensitive private matters.
“They sometimes suspect people of unethical behavior when they are in fact acting in accordance with Islamic tenets, leading to embarrassing or humiliating situations,” the paper said.
The commission is charged, among other things, with the task of enforcing the segregation of men and women, who are not related by blood or marriage.
The paper said attacks against the religious police included shootings and stabbings. The government has rejected calls to disband the commission, which has been subject to increased public criticism in recent years for overzealous efforts to enforce the rules.
Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, president of the commission, defended its members and called for physical attacks to stop.
“I call on people to stop this and to defend the organization’s members who are only eager to preserve the security and honor of Muslims,” Al-Watan quoted him as saying.
