Support NeoGAF

[TheRealTalker]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/...s-police-arresting-power-160413141418824.html

Saudi Arabia has stripped its religious forces of their powers to arrest, urging them to act "kindly and gently" in enforcing Islamic rules.

Under changes approved by the Saudi cabinet on Wednesday, religious officers will no longer be allowed to detain people and instead must report violators to police or drug squad officers, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Officers of the Haia force, also known as the Mutawaa, must "carry out the duties of encouraging virtue and forbidding vice by advising kindly and gently" under the new rules, it reported.

"Neither the heads nor members of the Haia are to stop or arrest or chase people or ask for their IDs or follow them - that is considered the jurisdiction of the police or the drug unit," the regulations say.

Subject of controversy

Saudi Arabia's religious police enforce the country's interpretation of Islamic law including segregation of the sexes, ensuring that women cover themselves from head-to-toe when in public.

Formally known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, its members also patrol shops to make sure they are shuttered during time prayers.

Prior to the new regulations, officers were allowed to arrest people using alcohol or drugs and committing certain other offences including witchcraft.

Their tactics have regularly been the subject of controversy, most recently in February when members were arrested for allegedly assaulting a young woman outside a Riyadh shopping mall, local media said at the time.

In 2013, religious policemen were arrested after their patrol car crashed into another vehicle during a chase that left two men dead.

A nice step.... hopefully more changes occur in the future

 

[Deleted member 1235]

thats a surprising piece of good news out of the region for once.

 

[archnemesis]

Great news! The next step is to disband it.

 

[SystemBug]

thats a surprising piece of good news out of the region for once.

I'm sure good things happen there but they probably don't make international news.

Like why would they?

 

[Oppo]

whoa. big news for the kingdom. those guys were pretty much running amok before. wonder if they are serious about this.

 

[raindoc]

One question:

What's the catch?

 

[TheRealTalker]

I'm sure good things happen there but they probably don't make international news.

Like why would they?

they were other changes and proposals recently too
new labor laws... and them thinking about changing the expat program into something akin to the US green card service in order to create investment for non oil commodities

 

[sono]

Good

 

[Pankratous]

This is excellent news.

 

[Netherscourge]

"Religious Police" is one of the most horrifying terms I think I've ever heard. Not because I've never heard it before, but because in some countries it's a literal term and not just a cynical phrasing.

 

[echoshifting]

Wow, this is a big deal, isn't it?

 

[B-Dubs]

Wow, this is a big deal, isn't it?

It ain't nothing, that's for sure.

I am genuinely shocked at this. This looks like an actual step forward for them.

 

[Jenov]

Well, alright Saudi Arabia, you can have a small +1 for that

 

[Beefy]

Can they still beat people in public?

 

[FairyD]

progress moves slower than molasses.

 

[ElTorro]

Not being able to arrest people would not be enough if they still had the authority to ask for IDs or follow people. That these things are not allowed as well is equally important. The still can shame people publicly, which is probably what they did before in 99% of cases, but it's baby steps in the right direction.

 

[TheRealTalker]

Not being able to arrest people would not be enough if they still had the authority to ask for IDs or follow people. That these things are not allowed as well is equally important. The still can shame people publicly, which is probably what they did before in 99% of cases, but it's baby steps in the right direction.

"Neither the heads nor members of the Haia are to stop or arrest or chase people or ask for their IDs or follow them - that is considered the jurisdiction of the police or the drug unit," the regulations say.

.

 

[RustyNails]

They got involved in a car crash after chasing civilians. Pretty sure that event triggered the change.

 

[L4DANathan]

Does this even mean anything? Won't the non-religious police just do it for them? It sounds a lot like a political move, nothing more.

 

[siddx]

Uh huh...sorry, as a resident of the gcc who reads about constant arrests and harassment of people for religious reasons all over the region, I don't buy that this will make any real difference. Arrests and persecution with flimsy religious justifications will continue.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I frankly have a hard time believing they just did this 'because'. There's been nothing but news suggesting SA's commitment to the opposite for so long now, this comes out of nowhere. I have little faith that this is a sign of real change in Saudi Arabia.

 

[ElTorro]

.

I know, I was referring to that.

 

[Slayer-33]

Religious police? Wtf, is this GoT?

 

[Damerman]

After watching PBS' frontline on saudi arabia, this is really good news. Those guys were infuriating.

 

[RustyNails]

One question:

What's the catch?

This is a huge deal actually, and no catch involved. Abdullah has been curbing their powers for years and after he died Salman picked up where Abdullah left. However, if you can consider it as a "catch", the Haia still has authority to report you to the cops or to the feared drug enforcement police.

 

[obin_gam]

Finally - something that sets them apart from Isis

 

[TheRealTalker]

I know, I was referring to that.

ooops my bad

didn't have a morning breakfast lol

 

[dakun]

I frankly have a hard time believing they just did this 'because'. There's been nothing but news suggesting SA's commitment to the opposite for so long now, this comes out of nowhere. I have little faith that this is a sign of real change in Saudi Arabia.

yeah this is an almost insignificant step until more things change.

 

[Hellwarden]

After watching PBS' frontline on saudi arabia, this is really good news. Those guys were infuriating.

Literally going up to people in stores and threatening them for buying perfume.

Fuck those guys.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

I think Women driving is next on the list of ridiculous non religion related nonsense.

 

[Oppo]

This is a huge deal actually, and no catch involved. Abdullah has been curbing their powers for years and after he died Salman picked up where Abdullah left. However, if you can consider it as a "catch", the Haia still has authority to report you to the cops or to the feared drug enforcement police.

welllll sorta. Salman has also been executing people at a much scarier rate

I believe women can drive in SA provisionally now? maybe just Dubai

 

[Extra Sauce]

One question:

What's the catch?

Possibly that the actual police has a lot of abusive religious fanatics as well?

 

[Heshinsi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Saudi Arabia didn't have religious police till after the siege on the Haaram right? Could this be a sign of the monarchy trying to wrestle back some of the powers they conceded after the Haaram takeover?

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

Looks like the extremists need to take over the grand mosque again in order to remind who what's what.

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

progress moves slower than molasses.

Only if you don't answer the call of political revolution, wherever you may be.

 

[gutter_trash]

Religious police? Wtf, is this GoT?

that's what happens when Shariah Law gets installed as law

 

[Anion]

welllll sorta. Salman has also been executing people at a much scarier rate

I believe women can drive in SA provisionally now? maybe just Dubai

Dubai isn't in saudi btw. It's part of the United Arab Emirates nation. It's not necessarily a conservative nation lol

 

[optimiss]

This is a long time coming. I lived in the magic kingdom for 7 years and heard so many horror stories about the Mutawaa. A male 14 year old Venezuelan friend of mine with long hair was detained and had his head forcibly shaved by them. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been.

 

[collige]

More good news. SA is slowly but surely getting better.

Dubai isn't in saudi btw. It's part of the United Arab Emirates nation. It's not necessarily a conservative nation lol

The hell it isn't. You can get arrested for kissing in public in Dubai. It's just less publicized than Saudi Arabia's shit because they need their tourism dollars.

 

[Stonewall Cornball]

Dubai isn't in saudi btw. It's part of the United Arab Emirates nation. It's not necessarily a conservative nation lol

That's not what I heard.

I heard they have internet filters or firewalls or something.

So that you can't access Brazzers.

That's far too conservative bruh.

Hopefully I've heard wrong, because otherwise it would be a nice place to live after all.

 

[spekkeh]

Saudi Arabia, slowly becoming almost as tolerant as Iran.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Does this even mean anything? Won't the non-religious police just do it for them? It sounds a lot like a political move, nothing more.

I doubt it, unless the "religous police" have some sort of jurisdiction over regular law enforcement

this is a good first step, tiny as it is

That's not what I heard.

I heard they have internet filters or firewalls or something.

So that you can't access Brazzers.

That's far too conservative bruh.

Hopefully I've heard wrong, because otherwise it would be a nice place to live after all.

Its true, pron is blocked in Dubai.... as a former resident I can't even begin to express the hoops I had to jump through to see boobies.

 

[Kralamoonard]

I think Women driving is next on the list of ridiculous non religion related nonsense.

Women not driving is nothing to do religion hence why you see every other Muslim country letting them drive. There is nothing Islamic about it apart from some backward ass cultural justification pulled out of some governor's misogynistic ass.

 

[cameron]

Good. Take whatever we can get.

I think Women driving is next on the list of ridiculous non religion related nonsense.

welllll sorta. Salman has also been executing people at a much scarier rate

I believe women can drive in SA provisionally now? maybe just Dubai

Driving gives too much autonomy for women. Can't allow that. It'll probably be one of the last restrictions to go.

Article from a few days ago. AP: "Saudi Arabia's top cleric reiterates his support for the kingdom's ban on women driving, saying it "exposes women to evil""

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric has reiterated his support for the kingdom's ban on women driving, arguing it is "a dangerous matter that exposes women to evil."

The kingdom adheres to an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. Though no laws ban women from driving in Saudi Arabia, authorities do not issue them licenses.

Women's rights activists have faced detention for trying to defy the ban.

 

[steamingsarcasm]

Driving gives too much autonomy for women. Can't allow that. It'll probably be one of the last restrictions to go.
[/url]

Highly doubt this, tbh. Most citizens, or at least easily more than 50%, are against the ban and there's literally nothing in Islam that relates to the issue so it's standing on some pretty weak legs.
Every couple of months you get some small law relating to women and transportation being positively modified, which are insignificant in reality but remain symbolic. So we're moving through baby steps and the big law-change is just a matter of when at this point.

 

[Heshinsi]

This is a long time coming. I lived in the magic kingdom for 7 years and heard so many horror stories about the Mutawaa. A male 14 year old Venezuelan friend of mine with long hair was detained and had his head forcibly shaved by them. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been.

The Prophet Muhammed was known to have shoulder length hair. It's like they've created a mutated strain of the religion and slapped "Islam" on it like it's a franchise or something.

 

[Stinkles]

Good. A step in the right direction.

 

[Stinkles]

Article from a few days ago. AP: "Saudi Arabia's top cleric reiterates his support for the kingdom's ban on women driving, saying it "exposes women to evil""

Societies who hide women from men are basically admitting they are a society of predators. How this can be presented as a matter of pride defies logic and belief.

 

[ElTorro]

Societies who hide women from men are basically admitting they are a society of predators. How this can be presented as a matter of pride defies logic and belief.

Not only do they imply that all their men are predators, they punish the women for it. It's absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Ogodei]

It's a start, but as with many of the overtures Saudia's made, they've got a long way to go.