RIYADH, 25 March 2007 — The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is Saudi Arabia’s morality police. Its members roam the streets day and night looking for offenders of morality from both sexes. They randomly enter malls, restaurants and local and private establishments to enforce proper moral conduct. They also have the power to close shops during prayer times and asking people to attend prayers in mosques. In addition, they enforce the rule of gender segregation in public areas — with the exception of malls and hospitals. They also have the authority of confiscating material which they consider inappropriate to the Kingdom’s moral values. This material includes a wide variety of books and photos, pornographic material, sculptures, etc.
The commission is considered to be one of the largest law-enforcement bodies in Saudi Arabia today. It currently has a work force of 10,000 members with 486 centers in all of the Kingdom’s 13 regions.
The president of the commission is appointed by the king of Saudi Arabia and has the rank of minister. The commission is the only body that does not report to any ministry. It reports directly to the king or the Cabinet i.e. the Council of Ministers.
The commission first began its work in Riyadh in 1926 before the Kingdom was united. Its main headquarters was located in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia — before being united in 1932 — was known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Najd.
The founder of the Kingdom, King Abdul Aziz, instructed Sheikh Omar ibn Hassan Al-Asheikh at that time to oversee the commission’s work in Najd. Al-Asheikh became the president of the commission in Najd as well as in the areas of Qasim and Hail. That jurisdiction then covered the areas of Eastern Province, the Northern Border and Wadi Al-Dawasir after they were united with the main country.
After Hejaz (Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Taif) joined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1925, King Abdul Aziz wrote a letter to the head of courts in Makkah, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Khaledi, in August 30, 1926, asking him to nominate people to work as virtue representatives in Hejaz with Makkah as the headquarters. On July 7, 1928, Sheikh Abdul Qader Abou Alsamh was appointed as the president of the virtue commission in the Hejaz region through a Royal Decree.
During King Saud’s reign, more powers were accorded to the commission. Its centers became better organized and they were equipped with modern facilities and proper infrastructure.
The late King Khaled issued a Royal Decree in Aug. 26, 1976, to merge the commissions in Najd and Hejaz. It was then named the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh was appointed by King Khaled as its president with the rank of a minister.
Arab News recently interviewed Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, the commission’s current president, to shed light on some of the positive and negative aspects discussed in the media regarding the commission’s performance. Questions were asked regarding the commission’s code of practice, as well as the concerns of members of the public about the behavior of commission members.
The commission chose to ignore some of the questions submitted by Arab News. Among the ones that were ignored were whether all members of the commission were aware of the differences in Islamic schools of thought regarding the covering of a woman’s face in public. Another question related to the presence of a lawyer when a person is arrested by the commission and the procedures that follow the arrest. Following is the text of the interview:
Q: Many people complain that they suffer injustice from commission members when they are accused of something and when they are arrested. To whom does a local or an expatriate complain if they feel they have been treated unfairly?
A: Whenever there is a complaint from a member of the public against a member of the commission, the person who is filing the complaint can do so by giving it to any official in the commission, whether that official is the head of the center, the deputy head, the general manager of branches, the deputy president of the commission, or the president of the commission himself. The commission has placed a form for complaints that can be filled out by the person filing the complaint. The complaint is then looked into and an investigation is undertaken in which the member is then questioned and held accountable.
Q: Since the word “vice” is very general, do the men of the commission adhere to a certain system or code of law determined by the Council of Ministers during their field work or does every member follow his own discretion in determining what is considered a vice?
A: Yes, there is a code of law which is followed by all members of the commission. This is the law of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued by Royal Decree M/37 issued on Sept. 7, 1980. Members of the commission do not follow their own personal discretion in this matter. There are also regulations to organize field work issued by the commission to its members and there is an ethos of accountability for anyone who does not abide by that.
Q: Is it true that the commission is above accountability? How does the commission deal with members who have committed mistakes? Has anyone in the commission ever been punished for a wrongdoing?
A: That is not true at all. The men of the commission are not above accountability. They are not above the law. They are just like other government employees. They are accountable to the law like any other government employee. Whenever we make sure that a member has committed a mistake, he is punished accordingly. Some members have indeed been punished for their mistakes. We do not necessarily have to announce that because it is an internal procedure. But nevertheless, it happens. The commission deals with its members according to the law just like employees of other government bodies are dealt with.
Q: Tell us about the new training courses for members of the commission. Are these courses compulsory for new recruits?
A: The commission seeks to train its men who work in the field by preparing specialized training courses for them and other administration employees in all centers without exception. This is to improve the performance of employees working in this institution which represents a symbol of Islam — the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice. Recruits to the institution must have certain characteristics such as being knowledgeable about religious sciences, rationalism, good morals, compassionate and merciful. They should stay away from radicalism and fundamentalism.
Q: What is your position on families going out together?
A: We always request restaurants and recreation area managers that they have separate areas for men and women, or separate areas for women and their children and other separate areas for men alone. Or that a place be designed where a family, women members and male members who are mahrams (brothers, sons, uncles) can sit alone. As for different families sitting together with mixed men and women, who are non-mahrams, then this is the basis of corruption.
Q: What is the commission doing to catch sorcerers in Saudi cities. And what is their fate after they are caught? Could you tell us how many of them were caught this year and their locations? And what about the magic spells that are thrown into the Red Sea? How are these spells broken?
A: The commission plays a large role in capturing people who practice sorcery or delusions since these are vices which affect the faith of Muslims and cause harm to both nationals and expatriates. The commission has assigned centers in every city and town to be on the lookout for these men. As for their fate, they are arrested and then transferred to concerned authorities. The commission also has a role in breaking magic spells, which are found in the sea. We cooperate with divers in this aspect. After the spells are found, they are then broken using recitations of the Holy Qur’an. We do not use magic to break magic spells, as this is against the teachings of Islam as mentioned by the Supreme Ulema. But we use the Qur’an as did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Q: What about the commission’s efforts to catch drug addicts or people who traffic drugs in the Kingdom? How is that done with the cooperation of other government bodies?
A: Drug cases are handled by the General Directorate for Combating Drug Trafficking. Whenever a drug trafficker is caught, he is transferred to that government department, which then investigates. The commission cooperates with them as with other government bodies.
