Men of God.. so they say!
A woman raised a law suit against the religious police in a Saudi court just yesterday for kidnapping both her and her daughter in 2004.
The lady and her daughter had just left a ladies shopping mall in Saudi Arabia and were in their car driven by their driver heading home, when a so called man of God (man identified as a religious police) stopped them and forced the driver outside the vehicle then climbed into the car without taking any notice to the resistance and protests the ladies displayed and drove off soo fast heading to the religious police headquarters that he hit a lamp post! As smoke was coming out of the car due to the accident, he shut the windows almost suffocating them and fled the crime seen leaving the women disoriented and grasping for air!
The woman is an elderly with a heart condition that manifested into an even worse cardiac problem due to the fear and anxiety she had because of the shocking incident of being kidnapped.
A spokesman from the religious police was supposed to attend the hearing but he did not show up, although they did admit to the incident happening, the hearing was postponed to take place in July.
These (religious police) have been harassing people in public for such a long time, it is about time that someone stood up to them. Their presence in public has been reduced a little, it is said that their authority has also been weakened by the government lately.
It has been known that they were allowed to pick up girls who are not properly covered and shove them into their vans to be held until their legal guardians picked them up.
There are so many shocking stories where women were wrongfully arrested by the religious police for eating in a restaurant with girlfriends, not having a face cover or purely for being an unlucky woman.
I remember the time I was in the car with my brother just chatting along when a van stopped right in front of us, two men approached us, one taking my brother aside and the other interrogating me (they thought we were on a date!) asking silly questions like.. the name of my grandfather and the color of our kitchen to know if we were truly siblings!! funny right?
A friend of mine was with her husband when they were stopped for laughing! ( I guess married couples do not laugh where they come from!) or the time I was taking my son to a birthday party in Pizza Hut where we were raided by the religious police and kicked out of the restaurant.
Women are not the only ones harassed by the religious police in Saudi Arabia, so are men. I have seen boys getting arrested for just being boys! I have seen them force non-muslims to pray in mosques!
I can go on and on with so many shameful incidents where innocent people got humiliated and hurt. I do not say that all are bad, but I do think that the government should restrict their actions and punish who ever crosses certain limits, they do think they are above the law and it is about time for them to know that they can be punished.
I do believe that we are a passive society, Saudi citizens should stand up and protect their families from such insults which in my opinion are not Islamic in any way. The prophet had always encouraged kindness when counseling and teaching Islam.
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I remember when I was in Al Rashid mall a few days before Eid and the girls in front of us were being chased by these “men of God” who raised their sticks and said they’d beat them out of the mall if they don’t cover their faces. They were fully covered, head to toe, and here is a guy demanding even more cover-up! Man, what is the reason behind this coverage? Is the human body a magnet for their penises or something? I seriously don’t get it. It’s so incredibly inconvenient too, to have this many lawyers in the hot scorching weather.
Unfortunately I still have family in Saudi and I have to go there often. In fact in 2 weeks I have to be there. I am so not looking forward to it, no offense but it’s one of the worst countries for me to be in… which is sad, it does have a lot of potential, and it did make some progress over the years, and I am fond of many of its citizens who are brave and intelligent, but it really feels like prison.
I meant to say “to have this many layers” not this many lawyers…
But I wouldn’t mind having this many lawyers, I’d sue them. Except in Saudi, they would always win, considering how pathetically pro-man the law is.
I want to thank you ladies for your comments. I am a revert to Islam who lives in the United States. I am so ashamed of being a Muslim after reading this type of commentary. I can discern truth from falsehood, and I really feel you are telling the truth.
While one comment said that that men and woman are harassed by the Committed to end Vice, etc. the real targets are women. I say that because of the repressiveness of Saudi Islam against women. As a Muslim, I totally disagree with the interpretation of Islam in the area of being covered. It is not Islamic, is it cultural. That is my argument to you. As such, if you are modestly dressed, you are following the spirit of the Qur’an. This interpretation is the only way to stop the harassment you face. It may be tough to do or to organize on this basis, but the emphasis on covering is used as oppression of women. That is how I see it, and that is why I do not endorse or practice it.
Please know that as a revert, I have made the decision to not take Hajj in protest of the Saudi government. In the land of the Kabah, such abuse is unacceptable! There must be no Monarchy! There must be a democratic Saudi Arabia, and I will not spend one penny there as a pilgrim with a undemocratic ruling clique in power. I encourage all Muslims outside of Saudi Arabia to do the same. It will send a message, and put pressures on the international Muslim community to take a stand on the forward side of history.
Thank you, again, sisters, for your courage in writing these posts. The Saudi madness you face is intolerable, and you must be supported in your efforts to live a life free of oppression and degradation.
Any news on how the lawsuit is coming?
Steve,
It is not just Suadi Arabia, it is all over the place, including Iran. We have passed through different phases of being harrassed, and every now and then, specially when the weather gets hot and the scarves got loose and the legs are bare, even a bermuda wouldn’t be sufficient, a part of leg would be revealing. The people have to abide to the laws who do not cover themselves in their homes and they do not believe this is necessary for their salvation. This will make us mere hypocrites, while we should do what we don’t believe we should, in the name of religon. These measures will push us away from the religon, more and more, and that is dangerous, because religon could really help people have a sense of heavenly protection and support.
I think a society has to have layers and sections and portions with different measures being taken for different localities. A place for very religious, and within the boundaries of that area religious police be active as to help the residents feel content. Then other areas that secular or moderate people feel safe and content as well, even those who really have nothing to do with religion need a place for themselves, they are human beings as well, they are the children of a country as well, and they need to be treated well. Any way things will change, the youth cannot be played with for long and irrationally, I hope the youth are not provoked in a way they adopt irrational methods in claiming their rights as well, because that is another tragedy…some times not worth it either…