Saudi Arabia's religious police should show "leniency" and respect the people's privacy and freedoms, the Saudi interior minister has said. Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz gave his unprecedented public rebuke during a visit to the force's headquarters, according to the official news agency SPA. The religious police, whose official title is the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, comprises more than 3,500 officers plus thousands of volunteers. One Saudi told our correspondent in Riyadh he knew of several cases in which the religious police have broken into homes, on suspicion that alcohol was being consumed or inappropriate contact between the sexes taking place. Prince Nayef called for a halt to this kind of conduct when he met the force's chairman Ibrahim bin Ghaith, the kingdom's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz al-Shaikh and senior religious officials on Saturday. He said such raids must be approved by the provincial governor, spying should stop, and that law-abiding people's privacy should be respected.
That's unusual. But Nayef isn't one of the hardliners. Crossing the Grand Mufti and the chief of the religious cops probably carries a certain amount of danger, even for a prince.
Thanks to Steve for the link... |