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Saudi Arabia

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The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (abbreviated CPVPV; هيئه الأمر بالمعروف و النهي عن المنكر in Arabic) is the English name of the Saudi Arabian government bureaucracy employing "religious police" to enforce Sharia Law within that Islamic nation. مطوعين is romanized in English as mutaween; see mutaween for a list of variant spellings and an extended description of Islamic religious police.

The group is widely feared in Saudi Arabia. Its members patrol the streets enforcing dress codes, enforcing strict separation of men and women, and forcing Muslims to pray on time. Those who refuse to obey their orders are often beaten and sometimes put in jail. Other Islamic nations subject to Sharia feature similar religious policing entities (e.g., the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's "Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice").

In March of 2002, they caused the deaths of several girls in Saudi Arabia by preventing them from leaving a burning school building. Witnesses reported seeing religious police beating young girls trying to flee the burning building, because they weren't wearing the abaya. This incident resulted in a very rare public criticism of the group in official Saudi newspapers.

The Saudi blogger The Religious Policeman is a frequent critic of the group and its activities.

In July 2006 it was announced that the committee will no longer be allowed to interrogate those it arrests for behavior deemed un-Islamic stated by the interior ministry that was published on 25 May 2006. Commission members did enjoy almost total power to arrest, detain, and interrogate those even suspected of moral dissent[1].

Contents 1 External links 1.1 News items 1.2 General 2 See also

• "A Catholic Indian priest had just celebrated mass in a private house April 5, 2006, when seven religious policemen (mutawwa) broke into the house.... The Saudi religious police are well known for their ruthlessness; they often torture believers of other religions who are arrested. AsiaNews sources said there were around 400,000 Indian Catholics in Saudi Arabia who were denied pastoral care. Catholic foreigners in the country number at least one million: none of them can participate in mass while they are in Saudi Arabia. Catechism for their children – nearly 100,000 – is banned." AsiaNews, April 10, 2006
• We can’t say it with red roses on Valentine’s Day Thursday 14 February 2002
• The color is red! Saturday 16 February, 2002
• Teddy bears and roses seized on Valentine’s Day Sunday 17 February 2002
• 03/15/02 School tragedy should sound alarm bells
• Blogger discovers that the Committee is watching Saudis who search for pornography
• 02/14/04 People Warned Against Celebrating Valentine’s Day
• 04/24/05 Saudi star riles clerics. Religious authorities in Riyadh briefly detained Saudi singer Hisham Abdel Rahman for causing an indecent scene. The pop star appeared on a reality show with female housemates.

• Official site of Province of Medina's branch (Arabic)
• Amnesty International Report 2002 - Middle East and North Africa
• BBC Article

• Mutaween
• Sharia