A recent column in one of the local papers really irked me. It spoke of the personal abuse of two women in two separate incidents at the hands of some members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Both were affronted by men under the guise of officialdom‚ and personally harassed and left demeaned.
In some countries, such groups are known as the Moral Crimes Unit. In others, they are referred to as the Vice Squad. Here, their role is to promote morality and righteousness and to steer individuals away from that which would be immoral. Now that is good! As family units split up and spread out, the presence of moral and upright members in any community helps in maintaining moral harmony.
The bad, however, is the methodology that some of the members of this group employ to get their message across. Rather than promoting a stance of warm embrace and acceptance, they usually come across as harsh and unmerciful. Words spoken gently carry far more weight and reception than the loud rhetoric of Hell and eternal damnation! Yes, that is bad!
And the real ugly is the sick and aberrant behavior of an isolated handful of individuals who join such organizations to further their own twisted and psychotic beliefs. And accompanied as they usually are with a couple of policemen, they feel free to take liberty with whatever their mind desires. And unfortunately, their primary targets are women. Their actions seem to reflect a deep apathy for women or anyone who differs from them. And truthfully, nothing could be uglier.
The Committee should get concerned. Actions of such people overshadow all the good work of the moral members of that unit, and will help to bring it to disrepute. And a despised Committee will end up being an ineffectual Committee. The true nature, the message, and the admirable goals set forth in the Committee’s charter will all be forgotten as the public will come to view the terror tactics of this handful of individuals as the true representatives of this noble Committee, and reject all that they stand for.
The government should introduce legislation making it mandatory for those employed in or entertaining the idea of joining such an organization to be administered a battery of psychological tests to weed out the undesirables and the unfit among them.
Such tests are not uncommon in other countries, and the price for not enforcing them would be heavy. The Islamic message for the promotion of virtue should not be stained by the actions of a few!
