There was a genuine feeling of relief and optimism following the recent changes in the government.

In the wake of the rational and balanced speech by the new chairman of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the newspapers shocked us with the following news:

• A number of youths raided the spring festival at King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center in Abruq Al-Raghama in Jeddah. Their aim was to stop the screening of a film because they believe that cinema is haram — forbidden. When they were denied entry to the venue, they left a leaflet, entitled “The Threats of Cinema in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques,” for distribution among the participants. The chairman of the commission in Makkah denied that the attackers were members of the commission.

• Bearded youths attacked the Desert Spring Festival in Sharoura. They climbed on the stage and stopped a show being presented by a group from Jeddah. The youths were chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) and “Long live the commission.”

The security forces intervened but the show was nonetheless stopped. The commission again denied that the attackers were its members.

• Two members of the commission, armed with sticks, roamed freely in the folklore section of the Hail Festival. They prevented a press photographer from taking pictures of a visiting French delegation.

• Low attendance at a reading by the Saudi poet Muhammad Al-Thibaiti because people were prevented from entering the Hail Literary Club.

All these news items were published in local newspapers and carried to the outside world by foreign news agencies, which wanted to highlight the violent and unjustified interventions in our cultural activities.

Many people have questioned: How long will such things continue, especially since they have become increasingly violent and aggressive? People have also been asking what formal steps can be taken against people who are not members of the commission.

The attackers paid no heed to the authority of the government or to the regulations that prevent causing public disorder. Keeping silent about this behavior poses a great danger not only to the cultural institutions, but to society itself. It is unacceptable to sit and watch while these violations take place.