A most unwelcome part of the fallout of the vicious May 12
suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was the firing of Jamal Khashoggi,
editor-in-chief of the Saudi daily Al Watan. While it may never
be known precisely why he was fired, many speculate it was due to the
paper's increasingly vocal criticism of the Saudi Arabian religious
establishment.
The paper was especially critical of the Committee for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or so-called "religious
police." This "religious police" has been accused by its critics of
harassing Saudis for "un-Islamic" behavior. Recently, Al Watan
reported that a man who was detained--with his children--for 12 hours
after being caught smoking attempted to commit suicide.
In March 2002, a fire erupted in a all-girls
school in Mecca, which killed 15. The March 14 edition of the
Saudi newspaper Arab News cited a report on the rescue
effort by Mecca's Civil Defense Department which noted that
religious police "intentionally obstructed the efforts to
evacuate the girls. This resulted in the increased number of
casualties." Why did they do this? Apparently because the girls
were not properly dressed.
Arab News quoted Civil Defense officers
as saying, "Whenever the girls got out through the main
gate, [religious police] forced them to return via another."
Officers also said that they saw three people beating girls who
had evacuated the school without proper dress. Commenting on the
incident, Hanny Megally, Executive Director of the Middle East and
North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, said, "Women and
girls may have died unnecessarily because of extreme
interpretations of the Islamic dress code. State authorities with
direct and indirect responsibility for this tragedy must be held
accountable."
I could not agree more. The Taliban in Afghanistan
also had a "religious police" charged with enforcing Islamic law
among (also read: forcing Islamic law upon) the Afghan people.
Where did this concept of a "religious police" come from, anyway?
It is a concept totally foreign to Islam and its principles.
Islam, as all other religions, has certain rules and regulations
that adherents must follow. Yet, no where in Islam does it say
that these rules and regulations must be forcibly enforced.
Although Saudi Arabia and Iran (and Afghanistan before) claim to
be Islamic theocracies, the only true Islamic state in history was
that of Medina at the time of the Prophet Muhammd (peace be upon
him). The Prophet never formed a "religious police" and unleashed
it upon his followers.
The Prophet Muhammad instilled in his companions a
deep love for God and His religion. He taught them how to be truly
Muslim through his personal example, and thus those who were
around him willingly followed Islam's regulations. In fact, it is
reported that, after announcing the prohibition of alcohol, the
streets of Medina were flowing with wine after Muslims destroyed
their many, many wine barrels. The Prophet never had companions
dispatched among the masses to see if they followed Islam's laws,
measuring the length of men's beards or garments. No one beat
anyone for laughing in Medina at the time of the Prophet.
The Qur'an says, "There is no compulsion in
religion" (2:256), and, in another verse, declares "O ye who
believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no
harm can come to you from those who stray. The destination of all
is to God. He will show you the truth of all that ye do" (5:105).
God is not threatened when His servants sin against him, so why
should we be?
Now, there are crimes, such as theft and murder,
where society has a compelling interest to aggressively prosecute
their commission. The impetus for personal morality, however, can
only come from within; it can not be imposed from without. Whether
or not a Muslim wants to follow the tenets of Islam is his or her
own business. Islam encourages me to advise him or her, out of
brotherly love, but if they do not heed my advice, then I move on.
God is the Ultimate Judge, and frankly, I have my own sins to
worry about.
