It’s not only women who come in for abuse from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia. Men, too, find themselves on the receiving end of criticism and more from the religious police. Saudi Gazette reports on the case of a man who was bothered because the vice cops didn’t like his trousers. He, in turn, has filed his own legal complaint…
‘Wrong trousers’ man gets bail
MADINA – The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution (CIP) has released on bail a man who was arrested by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) last Saturday for wearing trousers “deemed immoral”.
Al-Watan Arabic daily reported Tuesday that investigations are continuing into the incident, and the Hai’a has been asked to urgently provide their version of events which led to Muhammad Sultan accusing them of “assault” and “unlawful detention inside a restaurant” after he was stopped on Sultana Street in Madina and handed over to the police who in turn passed him on to the CIP.
His release on bail, Al-Watan said, will continue until “investigations into the two disputing parties are concluded”.
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The Commission is sending out a questionnaire asking the public how it views its actions. Depending on how this survey is conducted, it might be an interesting read.
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March:17:2010 - 12:23
I bet almost anything he was wearing shorts- probably shorts that fall below the knees. This has become a new issue for the Haia recently. They really need to go find something else to do.
March:17:2010 - 12:56
Yes there have been news and blog items about offending short trousers in the recent past.
A quality control survey is innovative it would seem for the haya and hopefully will be used for genuine reform. The other way I have seen them used is either to scapegoat or to better understand how to market the same practices.
March:17:2010 - 13:48
I’d really like to know the process through which these questionnaires are going to be distributed.
Handed out at certain mosques? That could certainly be gamed to come up with a desired outcome.
Handed out at supermarkets? Harder to game, but not impossible if one choses neighborhoods ‘properly’.
Send out randomly to addresses within the district? Better, but again potentially fixed by choosing addresses or neighborhoods.
March:17:2010 - 14:49
“Do you think it is wrong to wear immoral, short, western-imitating trousers, rather than Islamically modest ones?”
March:17:2010 - 15:35
Yes, the methodology AND the analytic tools will be all important as will what is done with the results.
Prime Minister Harper sent Wajid Khan MP to the ME (including Palestine) to assess the situation and report back on the grounds that Mr Khan was a Muslim, a former fighter pilot for the Pakistan Air Force, and was taken as a POW in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 (as stated by the PM’s office); and newly elected for the first time AKA easy to manipulate politically (not stated of course).
There was much concern that Mr Khan had no ME experience, BUT he seemed to ultimately have assessed the situation very well according to the Canadian MENA community, and was sharing his insights (contrary to the desired ones) with the media. The PM’s office shut him up, and the report has never been seen by anyone outside the PM’s inner circle though it was submitted. Alas, successful businessman that he was, Mr Khan was also manipulated as a neophyte MP, promised the moon to change parties to the PM’s, was sidelined. and lost his bid for re-election.
A “don’t let this happen to you” story about government commissioned studies.
March:17:2010 - 18:15
The Committee has repeatedly demonstrated that it does not seek fundamental reform of its ways.
I concede that they do express periodically an interest in being viewed as more likable.
Yet, the problem with rule by the clerical establishment will persist without concern for whether the Committee is perhaps a bit nicer.
The Committee is not redemptable.
March:17:2010 - 20:46
I thought that trousers aren’t Western, but a fashion the West imported from Turkey centuries ago.
March:17:2010 - 23:21
“Immoral trousers” is now my favorite fashion descriptor.
I thought that trousers aren’t Western, but a fashion the West imported from Turkey centuries ago.
I read somewhere that Roman soldiers brought back the fashion from their German campaigns but then Romans passed laws prohibiting the “barbarian” clothes. I guess man-skirts were considered more “in style” in those days.
March:18:2010 - 00:13
The reality of their origins won’t really matter.
I was joking BTW. Not sure if that was clear. Just speculating on how the questionaire might be worded.
March:18:2010 - 00:30
I can see the Haya giving guidence through this song, “You don’t have to be a prostitute” especially regarding the man whose pants were too tight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FxzbDUDB4
March:18:2010 - 00:36
Sandy, I LOVED your wording for the questionnaire. I see no point in having a questionnaire if it does not elicit useful information. I wonder, is length the only issue in the “Islamic” nature of pants? Does color and cut matter? For e.g, would flowered bell bottoms be considered more “modest” than plain black shorts? Curious minds want to know.
No, origins don’t matter. I just like fashion history.
March:18:2010 - 10:28
I wish I knew what “Hai’a Strategic Plan” may cover.
Do you really believe there is any serious thinking behind that ?
March:18:2010 - 10:32
I think the new head of the Commission has made some marked changes in the way the organization operates. Those changes have all been in the direction of moderation and tolerance. So, I do think this might be more than just a PR effort. Only time will tell, though.