Curbs introduced on Saudi religious police

-26/05/06

The government in Saudi Arabia sa


Curbs introduced on Saudi religious police

-26/05/06

The government in Saudi Arabia says that it is taking steps to curtail the powers of its much-criticised religious police, according to the countryís state media.

In a new decree, the Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef, says public prosecutors will now handle the cases of those arrested for what are described as ìmoral offencesî associated with the kingdom’s version of Sunni Islam.

Human rights groups have long criticised the religious police for their actions against socialising between men and women, Christian gatherings and the Shia Muslim minority.

Members of the force patrol public places and have powers of arrest and punishment.
Known officially as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, it has the ability to hold suspects incommunicado for investigation, and often uses this.

The religious police were accused in 2002 of preventing men from rescuing 14 schoolgirls trapped in a burning building because they were not related to them. The girls subsequently died.

Shias in Saudi Arabia say that that they have been detained until they sign documents renouncing their faith, which the Wahhabi school of Islam deems heretical.

The new decree says the religious police will now have to hand suspects over to prosecutors straight after apprehension.

“After they are handed over to [regular] police, they [suspects] will be referred to prosecutors,” it declares.

Critics say that while the new regulations are welcome, they are in fact an attempt to legitimate the role of the religious police rather than to reduce them. The interior minister is known to be a strong supporter of the force.

The decree was announced this week on Saudi TV and promulgated to provincial governors across the kingdom.

In a related development, the Centre for Religious Freedom in Washington DC has reported that intolerance towards non-Wahabi religious expression and atheism is widespread in Saudi Arabia, despite official announcements of reform.

It cites a systematic theme of “hatred toward unbelievers,” mainly Christians, Jews, Hindus and atheists.

The kingdomís official school system teaches first-graders that “every religion other than Islam is false”, while fifth graders learn that “it is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend” to those who do not believe in Allah.

[Also on Ekklesia: Protestants and Catholics arrested in Saudi Arabia; Bootleg copies of the Passion hit Middle East; Christians push for end to arms fair – including sales to Saudis; Religion reporting imperilled, says World Press Freedom Day]


Curbs introduced on Saudi religious police

-26/05/06

The government in Saudi Arabia says that it is taking steps to curtail the powers of its much-criticised religious police, according to the countryís state media.

In a new decree, the Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef, says public prosecutors will now handle the cases of those arrested for what are described as ìmoral offencesî associated with the kingdom’s version of Sunni Islam.

Human rights groups have long criticised the religious police for their actions against socialising between men and women, Christian gatherings and the Shia Muslim minority.

Members of the force patrol public places and have powers of arrest and punishment.
Known officially as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, it has the ability to hold suspects incommunicado for investigation, and often uses this.

The religious police were accused in 2002 of preventing men from rescuing 14 schoolgirls trapped in a burning building because they were not related to them. The girls subsequently died.

Shias in Saudi Arabia say that that they have been detained until they sign documents renouncing their faith, which the Wahhabi school of Islam deems heretical.

The new decree says the religious police will now have to hand suspects over to prosecutors straight after apprehension.

“After they are handed over to [regular] police, they [suspects] will be referred to prosecutors,” it declares.

Critics say that while the new regulations are welcome, they are in fact an attempt to legitimate the role of the religious police rather than to reduce them. The interior minister is known to be a strong supporter of the force.

The decree was announced this week on Saudi TV and promulgated to provincial governors across the kingdom.

In a related development, the Centre for Religious Freedom in Washington DC has reported that intolerance towards non-Wahabi religious expression and atheism is widespread in Saudi Arabia, despite official announcements of reform.

It cites a systematic theme of “hatred toward unbelievers,” mainly Christians, Jews, Hindus and atheists.

The kingdomís official school system teaches first-graders that “every religion other than Islam is false”, while fifth graders learn that “it is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend” to those who do not believe in Allah.

[Also on Ekklesia: Protestants and Catholics arrested in Saudi Arabia; Bootleg copies of the Passion hit Middle East; Christians push for end to arms fair – including sales to Saudis; Religion reporting imperilled, says World Press Freedom Day]