The General Presidency for the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) is trying to change its image. The organization, which recently adopted training for its field staff, is urging them to improve interactions with the public. Some people believe the gap between Hai'a members and the common people has increased because of mistakes committed by the Hai'a in different regions of the Kingdom. Others believe the Hai'a are still interfering in their private affairs and interact with them in a way indicating that Hai'a's need more training in how to deal with the public. Four women have related stories they said reflect improper actions by Hai'a members. Dania Ali said, “One day I was with my brother in his car on our way to buying some household items. Suddenly we were stopped by a car belonging to the Hai'a and its occupants got out and surrounded us. This terrified us. They started investigating us. My brother tried to explain to them that I was his sister, but they insisted on investigating me. We immediately telephoned our mother to explain to the Hai'a staff that we were brother and sister. After that, they left us.” Rehab Muhammad said, “One day I went shopping on Sultan Street at 11 A.M. When I finished shopping, I stood on the pavement waiting for a taxi to take me home. When I stopped a taxi and was about to hop into it, I heard a Hai'a member ordering me loudly to get out of the taxi and join him in the Hai'a car. When I asked him about the reason, he said, ‘You have no right to be alone with a taxi driver without an unmarriageable relative (a Mahram). What are the reasons that made you go out shopping at this time of the day without being accompanied by a Mahram?' He was insisting that I get out of the taxi and accompany him in the Hai'a car. But I refused and told him to leave, otherwise I would inform my husband about the incident. So he left me alone.” Umm Nadia, who is married and has a daughter, said, “My husband and I were in one of the family restaurants. While we were coming out from the restaurant and getting into our car, four Hai'a men surrounded my husband and took him away from the car. One of the men came close to my side of our car, so I opened the door. He started asking me several questions including, ‘What's your name? Who is this man with you? What is the name of the mother of your husband?' They also asked my husband similar questions and asked him to show them the family identity card. After seeing the family card, they apologized and allowed us to leave.” A woman who declined to give her name, said, “Hai'a staff pulled me and a man, who was giving me a lift to register my daughter in a school, from the man's car. They then took us to the Hai'a station and asked me to sign three papers. Each paper had an accusation of illicit seclusion (with a marriageable man) that was different from the others. They said if I didn't sign any of the papers, they would call my father and tell him that they caught me in illicit seclusion. One of the Hai'a staffers raised a cane and wanted to beat me. I asked them to call my father, who came to the Hai'a station and took me home.” Meanwhile, Colonel Naif Al-Marwani, a social and psychological researcher and security expert, said the Hai'a addresses violations of the Islamic Shariah. Using prayer as an example, according to the directives approved by the Council of Ministers, the first and second time Muslims are negligent about praying, Hai'a must advise them. If they are caught a third time, they should sign an agreement to pray regularly. The fourth time, they should be taken to the Shariah authorities. Al-Marwani said some Hai'a staff take people in their cars after the first time they are observed not performing prayers. He said these are violations by Hai'a members who need training to establish qualifications in some Shariah specialization and awareness of directives approved by the Cabinet. Al-Marwani said that in some cases, security men must accompany Hai'a personnel. “If a Hai'a staff comes across a suspicious situation at a suspicious place, then he must be accompanied by a security man whose role will be to protect him,” Al-Marwani said. “When the suspect or suspects are caught red-handed, Hai'a staff must take him to the police station because there are strict directives that no person caught by the Hai'a should be taken to the Hai'a center.” Hai'a staff should call people to Allah by kind persuasion and wisdom, Colonel Al-Marwani said, “because field work requires a refined way of dealing with people plus police experience.” Al-Marwani said problems are caused in part because many families have been stopped by the Hai'a and do not report the matter due to fear that the matter might be misunderstood. Dr. Sahliah Hammad, a member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), said the Hai'a carries out an important role in guiding people with deviant conduct such as blackmailing and harassing girls and other matters that violate Islam. Because their role is important, guidance by Hai'a staff should be provided according to an organized, objective and regulated method, he said. “Those who think Hai'a staff cannot be taken to task are mistaken because nobody is above the law. Just as the Minister of Justice issued a decision to hold judges accountable when they mistreat litigants and lawyers, there should be a regulation to address Hai'a staff who exceed the limits. I'm confident that the officials in the Hai'a are not happy about such actions,” he said.
