A senior official of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) has said that prevention in carrying out the tasks of the Hai'a is of more importance than catching individuals and detaining them for offenses. Ibrahim Al-Huweimil, general president of the Hai'a said that the Hai'a worked in the interests of all guardians, foremost among them King Abdullah, the Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Prime Minister, to provide a morally secure environment and prevent young men and women becoming involved in activities harmful to their belief, behavior and morals. Speaking to Okaz newspaper, Al-Huweimil said Hai'a staff could not be accused of crude treatment in their handling of issues, and that persons committing offenses of vice were displeased by those who stopped them in their activities and even more so when detained. Al-Huweimil added that the Hai'a presidency was working to intensify Shariah courses for its staff in promoting and instilling Shariah knowledge whether through the private sector or higher institutes of the organization, or in universities with which the presidency has been building bridges of cooperation. “That's in addition to courses focusing on dealing with the public and communication skills with individuals of society,” Al-Huweimil said. The Hai'a deputy general president continued by saying that the committee formed upon the initiation of King Abdullah to look into the problem of blackmailing women by threatening to ruin their reputations was still at the meeting stage, but hoped that the results of their studies would be available soon. “Statistics on cases have been sought from the governorates around the Kingdom,” Al-Huweimil said. “They will give as a good indicator of how best to deal with such cases.” Countering suggestions that the summer will prove a difficult time for the Hai'a in carrying out its work, Al-Huweimil said that the organization had work plans to cope with the summer occasions and tourism events and festivals around the Kingdom. “We are perfectly capable of covering them,” he said.
