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Revision as of 08:14, 28 May 2007 editRiskAficionado (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users13,061 edits rv to Tarc, this horribly tendentious and [[WP:OR|novel prose is not substantiated by reliable sources. "asianews.it", a Christian proselytising website, is certainly not a reliable source.← Previous edit Revision as of 07:48, 29 May 2007 edit undoMike18xx (talk | contribs)2,849 edits Would you like me to replace those references with about ten different ones, or would you prefer to just give up now? You certainly do have a LOT on your plate, Intaqallah.Next edit →
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{{Religious persecution}} {{Religious persecution}}
The '''Mutaween''' ('''{{lang-ar|طوعين}}''') (variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’, mutawwa') are the government-authorized or -recognized '''religious police''' (or clerical ] or public order police) who enforce varied interpretations of ] within ] ] (in which the governments are either directly controlled by, or fall significantly under the influence of, ]). The '''Mutaween''' ('''{{lang-ar|طوعين}}''') (variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’, mutawwa') are the government-authorized or -recognized '''religious police''' (or clerical ] or public order police) who enforce varied interpretations of ] within ] ] (in which the governments are either directly controlled by, or fall significantly under the influence of, ]).

In contrast to the legislatively-restrained police forces of ] ], Islamist religious police have broad and arbitrary discretionary powers of surveillance and entry to property, detention and interrogation of suspects, and, in some places, summary judgment and execution of punishment for perceived violations of Sharia. While nominally tasked with disciplining ]s, in less-tolerant regimes such religious police invest themselves with the authority to harass and persecute non-Muslim ] ]s, "]", and ] or ]s into converting to ].<ref>''"A Catholic Indian priest had just celebrated mass in a private house , when seven religious policemen (muttawa) broke into the house.... The Saudi religious police are well known for their ruthlessness; they often torture believers of other religions who are arrested. AsiaNews sources said there were around 400,000 Indian Catholics in Saudi Arabia who were denied pastoral care. Catholic foreigners in the country number at least one million: none of them can participate in mass while they are in Saudi Arabia. Catechism for their children – nearly 100,000 – is banned."'' AsiaNews, ], ]</ref> <ref> NY Sun, ], ] </ref>


===Etymology=== ===Etymology===

Revision as of 07:48, 29 May 2007

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The Mutaween (Template:Lang-ar) (variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’, mutawwa') are the government-authorized or -recognized religious police (or clerical police or public order police) who enforce varied interpretations of Sharia Law within Islamist theocracies (in which the governments are either directly controlled by, or fall significantly under the influence of, Islamic clergy).

In contrast to the legislatively-restrained police forces of secular democracies, Islamist religious police have broad and arbitrary discretionary powers of surveillance and entry to property, detention and interrogation of suspects, and, in some places, summary judgment and execution of punishment for perceived violations of Sharia. While nominally tasked with disciplining Muslims, in less-tolerant regimes such religious police invest themselves with the authority to harass and persecute non-Muslim dhimmi second-class citizens, "guest workers", and kafir or infidels into converting to Islam.

Etymology

"Mutawwa'în" (plural; sing. mutawwa') originally referred solely to Saudi Arabia's infrastructure of proselytization and enforcement of Wahhabist tenets; but the phonetic romanization "mutaween" has gained increasing use as an umbrella term indicating any religious-policing organization in an Islamic nation with at least some government recognition or deference. This may range from official state bureaucracies to unabashed terrorist enforcers aligned to powerful local clerics (e.g., the Komité Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp and more militant Basij and Pasejis all simultaneously exist in Iran).

Recently (2005), "mutaween" has appeared to describe the enforcement of Sharia by autonomous groups within Muslim enclaves located inside secular nations, and has also entered the lexicon of blogosphere slang as a sarcastic pejorative describing politicized, non-Islamic religious groups.

Religious police were very active and powerful in Afghanistan during the 1996-2001 reign of the Taliban, which also established a Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Based at least in part on the Saudi mutaween, although commonly referred to as "munkrat" not "mutaween", the police enforcement of Sharia was one of the main activities of the Taliban regime and even stricter than that of the Saudi Mutaween.

Mutaween in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian Mutaween are tasked with enforcing Sharia as defined by the government; purportedly the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice "comprises more than 3,500 officers in addition to thousands of volunteers...often accompanied by a police escort" who have the power to arrest unrelated males and females caught socializing, enforce Islamic dress-codes, prayer schedules, and Muslim dietary laws prohibiting the consumption or sale of alcoholic beverages and pork, and seize banned consumer products and media regarded as un-Islamic (such as CDs/DVDs of various Western musical groups, television shows and film). Additionally, they actively prevent the practice or proselytizing of other religions within Saudi Arabia, where such is banned.

One Western celebration the Mutaween have developed some notoriety for suppressing is Valentine's Day. Condemning the festivities as a "pagan feast", Mutaween inspect hotels, restaurants, coffeehouses, and gift shops on February 14 to prevent Muslim couples from giving each other Valentines or other presents. The items are confiscated, and those selling them subject to prosecution.

More recently, the police have issued a decree banning the sale of dogs and cats, also seen as a sign of Western influence. The decree which applies to the Red Sea port city of Jiddah and the holy city of Mecca bans the sale of cats and dogs because “some youths have been buying them and parading them in public,” according to a memo from the Municipal Affairs Ministry to Jiddah’s city government.

The Saudi mutaween recently launched a website where people can anonymously report tips about un-Islamic activities within that country.

A notorious incident attributed to the Saudi mutaween occurred on March 11, 2002, when they prevented schoolgirls from escaping a burning school in Mecca -- because the girls were not wearing headscarves and abayas (black robes). Fifteen girls died and 50 were injured as a result. There was widespread public criticism afterwards, both internationally and within Saudi Arabia itself.

There is also widespread criticism of flogging as a means of punishment.

See also

References and notes

  1. "A Catholic Indian priest had just celebrated mass in a private house April 5, 2006, when seven religious policemen (muttawa) broke into the house.... The Saudi religious police are well known for their ruthlessness; they often torture believers of other religions who are arrested. AsiaNews sources said there were around 400,000 Indian Catholics in Saudi Arabia who were denied pastoral care. Catholic foreigners in the country number at least one million: none of them can participate in mass while they are in Saudi Arabia. Catechism for their children – nearly 100,000 – is banned." AsiaNews, April 10, 2006
  2. Saudis Arrest Christians For Spreading 'Poison' NY Sun, May 2, 2005
  3. Pasejis are "a volunteer religious watchdog group" reportedly "set up by Rafsanjani." Visit to Tabriz
  4. Mutaween in Oakland
  5. "wannabe mutaween"
  6. Gov. Perry to Address his Mutaween
  7. Rashid, Ahmed, Taliban (200), p.105-7
  8. http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5869
  9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2399885.stm
  10. Valentine's Day in Saudi Arabia by Stephen Schwartz & Irfan al-Alawi 03/05/2007, Volume 012, Issue 24
  11. "200 Arrested in Mina for Celebrating Valentine's Day", Arab News, February 18, 2004
  12. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14738358/
  13. http://www.hesbah.gov.sa/disapprove.asp
  14. http://www.corpun.com/webjcpnz.htm#saudi
  15. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE230572000?open&of=ENG-SAU
  16. http://www.indexonline.org/en/indexindex/articles/2005/1/saudi-arabia-flogging-used-to-silence-protes.shtml
  17. http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=reform&ID=IA15804]
  18. http://www.corpun.com/webjcpnz.htm#saudi]
  19. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE230572000?open&of=ENG-SAU]
  20. http://www.indexonline.org/en/indexindex/articles/2005/1/saudi-arabia-flogging-used-to-silence-protes.shtml

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