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In the News

CalculatedCensorship

It is very difficult for people who have not visited or lived in Saudi Arabia to understand the Saudi government’s well manufactured censorship in the name of religious and cultural purity. The executors of this comprehensive and unequal educational, social and cultural censorship are the Mutwaeen, or religious police, who happen to be government employees. The former Saudi Ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar, once said during one of his Television appearances, that his country’s religious police “are the most hated people in Saudi Arabia.”

As usual, the interviewer did not ask why the Saudi government’s religious policemen are loathed by the Saudi populace. An honest answer would have been: This is done intentionally because it ma kes the ruling princes look benevolent and tolerant by allowing the religious police to terrorize the public, who in turn ask for help from the monarchs. The religious police are authorized to keep total control and ubiquitous surveillance over people’s movement and with whom they socialize, communicate and travel.

Dubbed as the “Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”, this organization is anything but a promoter of virtue. It’s a legal extremist organization (or as many Saudis call its members, legal hooligans) staffed by extremist men. They consider women inferior and religious minorities and non-Muslims infidels whose lives are expendable. They are against all forms of entertainment unless sanctioned by God according to their interpretation. They view entertainment as a diversion from total focus on Allah and the King intended to derail Muslims from the Straight Path and denigrate Muslim women. These men are managed by and take their orders from the Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Naif and his ministry.

The Saudi government’s religious police are the only people who have unrestricted authority to act on assumption, erroneous information, heresy and distortion of the truth. They don’t allow gender mingling in schools, restaurants or conference rooms. They prohibit movie houses, theaters, alcohol and dancing. In short, the government uses its religious extremists to prevent any public gathering at any place because that could lead to the sharing of ideas, collaboration among citizens, collective expression and close relationships. The price for this well calculated censorship is very high. Most Saudis are not accustomed to interacting with other people and appreciating their cultures, differences, and values.

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The Need for Freedom of Expression

The Saudi ruling family is trying to wield even more control over Saudi citizens. The Saudi government is threatening to prohibit living room discussions among women who meet in their homes to "… talk about the issues of the day: the plight of Saudi women, elections, civil society, and domestic violence." The Saudi government prohibits all forms of assembly, religious freedom, political parties and freedom of the press. In recent years, people have formed groups that meet in their homes to discuss a wide range of topics. Now the government is asking these groups to register themselves and the topics they plan to discuss, or stop meeting.

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How a British Jihadi saw the Light

"Racism was an integral part of Saudi society. My students often used the word "nigger" to describe black people. Even dark-skinned Arabs were considered inferior to their lighter-skinned cousins. I was living in the world’s most avowedly Muslim country, yet I found it anything but. I was appalled by the imposition of Wahhabism in the public realm, something I had implicitly sought as an Islamist. Part of this local culture consisted of public institutions being segregated and women banned from driving on the grounds that it would give rise to "licentiousness". I was repeatedly astounded at the stares Faye got from Saudi men and I from Saudi women." The Sunday Times, London, April 21, 2007.

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To Contact Us:
The Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
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