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| The '''mutaween''' ({{lang-ar|المطوعين، مطوعية}} ''{{transl|ar|muṭawwiʿīn, muṭawwiʿiyyah}}'')<ref> ''muṭawiʿin''; variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’, mutawwa') most literally means "volunteers" in the Arabic language, '']'' by Hans Wehr, edited by J. M. Cowan, 4th edition (1994, ISBN 0-87950-003-4), p. 670.</ref> are the government-authorized or government-recognized '''religious police''' (or clerical ]) of ]. They are also religious-policing organizations in ] like ] and the former ] with at least some government recognition or deference which enforce varied interpretations of ]. | |||
| ==Etymology== | |||
| "Mutawwa'în" (plural; sing. mutawwa') originally was a casual synonym for the religious police of ]. In Saudi Arabia, the formal short term for the Saudi religious police is هيئة "hay'ah" which is Arabic for "commission" and is a shortened version of "the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices" which serves as the infrastructure of ] and enforcement of Islamic tenets. | |||
| The word '''mutaween''' ({{lang-ar|المطوعين}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN-31635|muṭawwiʿīn}}''; variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’, mutawwa') most literally means "volunteers" in the Arabic language,<ref>'']'' by Hans Wehr, edited by J. M. Cowan, 4th edition (1994, ISBN 0-87950-003-4), p. 670.</ref> and is commonly used as a casual term for the government-authorized or government-recognized '''religious police''' (or clerical ]) of ]. | |||
| More recently the term has gained use as an ] outside the ] to indicate religious-policing organizations in ] like ] and the former ] with at least some government recognition or deference which enforce varied interpretations of ]. The concept is thought to have originated from ]s in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite book| last = Rashid| first = Ahmed| title = ]| publisher = Pan Books| year = 2001| edition = 1st Pan| location = London| isbn = 0-330-49221-7| page = 105 }}</ref> | |||
| ===Other uses and confusion=== | |||
| In the Muslim Arab world the more generally traditional meaning of mutawwa is "] man" and generally refers to any Muslim man who "volunteers" to adopt all the orthodoxies of ], including the non-compulsory ones such as praying superogatory ('']'', referring to the non-binding practises of ]) prayers ('']'') or giving more charity ('']'' in addition to the mandatory '']''). Consequently many native Arab speakers will use "mutawwa" simply to refer to any orthodox Muslim. | |||
| ==Mutaween in Saudi Arabia== | |||
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| The Mutaween in Saudi Arabia are tasked with enforcing Sharia as defined by the government, specifically by the ] (CPVPV). The Mutaween of the CPVPV consists of "more than 3,500 officers in addition to thousands of volunteers...often accompanied by a police escort." They have the power to arrest unrelated males and females caught socializing, anyone engaged in ] behavior or ]; to enforce Islamic dress-codes, and store closures during the prayer time. They enforce ], prohibit the consumption or sale of ]s and ], and seize banned consumer products and media regarded as anti-Islamic (such as CDs/DVDs of various Western musical groups, television shows and film which has material contrary to Sharia law or Islam itself). Additionally, they actively prevent the practice or proselytizing of other religions within Saudi Arabia, where they are banned.<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| Among the things the ''Mutaween'' have been criticized or ridiculed for include, use of ] to punish violators,<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| banning ] gifts,<ref></ref><ref>"200 Arrested in Mina for Celebrating Valentine's Day", ''Arab News,'' February 18, 2004</ref> arresting ]s for saying ],<ref>, AsiaNews</ref> and being staffed by "ex-convicts whose only job qualification was that they had memorized the ] in order to reduce their sentences."<ref>Wright, Lawrence, ''Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,'' by Lawrence Wright, NY, Knopf, 2006, p.149</ref> | |||
| Perhaps the most serious and widely criticized incident attributed to them ], when they prevented schoolgirls from escaping a burning school in ], because the girls were not wearing headscarves and ]s (black robes), and not accompanied by a male guardian. Fifteen girls died and 50 were injured as a result. Widespread public criticism followed, both internationally and within Saudi Arabia.<ref>, '']'', 15 March 2002</ref> | |||
| In June 2007 the Saudi Mutaween announced "the creation of a 'department of rules and regulations' to ensure the activities of commission members comply with the law, after coming under heavy pressure for the death of two people in its custody in less than two weeks".<ref>, ''Arab Reform Bulletin'', Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 2007.</ref> | |||
| In some Western countries like ], the Mutaween practices, especially those targeting women, are officially recognized as culture-based ] (for the ]-status hearings).<ref name="Steiner2003">{{cite book|editor=N. Steiner|title=Problems of Protection: The UNHCR, Refugees, and Human Rights|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=szb3zfX416QC&pg=PA68|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-94574-5|page=68|author=Bonny Ibhawohm| chapter=Defining Persecution and Protection: The Cultural Relativism Debate and the Rights of Refugees}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
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| ==References and notes== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Wikiquote}} | |||
| * '']'', May 2, 2005 | |||
| * '']'', July 21, 2002 | |||
| * , ], November 4, 2002 | |||
| * {{dead link|date=December 2010}} {{ar icon}} | |||
| {{Saudi security forces}} | |||
| {{Religious persecution}} | |||
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