Abdullah Abyan Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – During the Joint Responsibility Dialogue held recently at Okaz Organization for Press and Publication, Abdullatif Aal Al-Sheikh, president of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) brought up the need of female staff in his organization to deal with women residents. When asked why some Hai'a members treat women impolitely, Aal Al-Sheikh said “Our policies at the Hai'a focus on treating women gently.” He added that the Hai'a is in desperate need to hire women to deal with situations involving girls or women. He said the commission has closed 98 percent of cases without disclosing identities and shaming young men and women involved. “Hai'a staffers are not allowed to record the names of women involved in morality cases on files kept at the Hai'a archives. This is done to protect women's reputation,” he said. Answering a question about whether the Hai'a staffers will continue to prevent young men from getting certain hair styles, Aal Al-Sheikh said the Hai'a has no say in how a person dresses or styles his hair. However, if someone does something in contradiction with the Shariah, Hai'a members will step in and advise him. Aal Al-Sheikh announced that the Hai'a will visit schools and universities to build strong relations with students. Qualified women with influential characters will be assigned to visit girls' schools and universities for this purpose. Over the past six months, the Hai'a has trained 3,240 members in a series of courses in different fields to improve performance of its staff. It also signed 17 memorandums of understanding with different organizations for this purpose. Examples of organizations include the Human Rights Commission, King Abdullah Center for National Dialogue and the National Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. “Training for us is an ongoing process.” Aal Al-Sheikh has instructed all Hai'a members to wear their ID badges where they are easily visible. “This will make it easy for any citizen to identify the Hai'a member. Anyone who doesn't have a badge is not from the Hai'a.” Speaking about violations Hai'a registered in Jeddah, Aal Al-Sheikh said over the past six months only six violations had been registered in Jeddah. “Before coming to Jeddah, the picture painted to me about the city was not very positive. Jeddah and its people have good character.” He reiterated the Hai'a policy and goals' saying the commission seeks to promote virtue and prevent vice without being accused of committing any vice or errors. “The Hai'a focuses on attracting and supporting staff members who help it achieve its goals. Some of the members who work in the field hold master degrees in their specializations and know how to accomplish their tasks in line with the Hai'a policies.” Aal Al-Sheikh said the Hai'a does not aim to create an ideal society where no one makes any mistakes, as such a thing is impossible and explained that the commission's job is to deal with people who commit acts against the Shariah in broad daylight. “Allah the Almighty will deal with people who commit sins behind closed doors. But let me say one thing: Saudi society has a lot of virtues, thanks to Allah.” Concerning the fact that some Hai'a members who work in the field do not have adequate experience to deal with certain situations, a matter which causes them to make mistakes, the commission's president said, “Hai'a members are human after all and can be provoked by certain actions.” “Everyone should realize that Hai'a members are government officials and due respect should be given to them because they are authorized by the leadership to perform their tasks and prevent vice.” “Many complaints have been filed against some Hai'a members but such complaints have been on the decrease, thanks to the commission's reform policies. Any Hai'a member who commits a mistake during his duty will be held accountable,” he asserted.
