Saudis' religious police face growing hostility from younger generation
ABU DHABI — Saudi religious police are coming under heavy criticism and the government is weighing a plan to
issue arms.
Officials said the Saudi religious police, who ensure the segregation of
sexes and enforce Islamic law, would receive a range of light weapons for
protection, Middle East Newsline reported.
They said the police, known as the Commission for Promotion of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice, have come under threats from young people in
the kingdom.
"I am afraid of a new generation that is in the making in the kingdom,
who despises the commission members and their activities," commission
president Ibrahim Al Gaith said.
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Officials said the decision to arm the 10,000-member religious police
was based on an official study. The study by the King Saud University and
the King Abdullah Institute for Research and Consultative Studies
recommended that religious police acquire weapons and employ them during
patrols and operations.
The report said the religious police must be able to speak foreign
languages and learn crime prevention. The proposed instructions were said to
include arrests, raids and other activity.
In an interview with the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat, Al Ghaith said
Saudi Arabia was prepared to establish an Islamic police force in other
countries. He cited Yemen as a possible candidate.
