Saudi curbs on religious police aren't a precursor for broader reforms

Shortly before President Barack Obama’s tense visit to Saudi Arabia last week, the Sunni Islamic monarchy announced new regulations to curb the powers of the country’s religious police.

Known as the Hai’a, or the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the religious police have been criticized for abusing their power to enforce Islamic morality laws regarding women’s apparel or women found in the company of men not closely related.

In February, the religious police stopped two women in Riyadh, told them to cover their faces, and ordered the women into their car, Albawaba News reported. The women refused and fled. One escaped, but the other was chased at length before falling and being assaulted by the officers. The incident sparked outrage after a bystander posted video of the altercation online. In 2014, three members of the Hai’a attacked a British man and his Saudi wife, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The public outcry has grown so loud Saudi rulers can no longer ignore the criticism, said International Christian Concern (ICC) advocacy manager Nate Lance.

“I think that’s probably the driver of this reform,” he said. “I think it’s more political than actual human rights reform.”

Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers announced the new rules April 13, saying the Hai’a would no longer be able to “arrest, pursue, or request documents or ID cards from suspects,” according to HRW. Civil police still have authority to do all those things, and the Hai’a can report violations.

“This is a positive move for Saudi citizens and residents who have suffered years of harassment and abuse by the religious police,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director.

But much more should be done, according to HRW spokesperson Ahmed Benchemsi. The group wants the Saudi government to define the prerogatives of the religious police.

“A real reform that would totally curtail their power and abuse would be to say not only what they can’t do, but what they can do,” Benchemsi said.

Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern studies at the London School of Economics, told CNN it was a “significant development,” but cautioned that it “shouldn’t be seen as part of a major initiative or reform movement in the kingdom.”

“In the past few years, there have been many complaints by the public that the religious police has overstepped its authority, that it has misbehaved, that has mistreated families, that it has overreached,” Gerges said.

ICC also found the reform inadequate. Lance said the Hai’a should be “disbanded altogether” and total religious freedom ought to be the goal.

“Saudis should be able to practice religion any way they want, any religion they want ... without the monitoring and abuse that’s been seen from the religious police force in the past,” he said.

On April 20, Obama traveled to Saudi Arabia and met with King Salman and Saudi ministers. The Guardian described the encounter as “chilly,” saying the interaction hinted at “mutual distrust.”

Lance suggested the timing of the Hai’a reform announcement was politically strategic, especially after the U.S. State Department reiterated Saudi Arabia’s listing as a country of particular concern over human rights and religious liberty abuses. The country has earned that dubious distinction every year since 2004.