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| *Travel Tips>>>Saudi Arabia Travel Tips |
What are your thoughts on the religious police in Saudi Arabia? |
Travel Info What are their rules and how do they enforce them? Do you feel that they are too strict? Are they any different when dealing with foreigners or women in general? Travel Tips They are unislamic - they have nothing to do with Islam. There is no such enforcement law in Islam. I think it is more to do with Saudi culture. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do! They are relatively lenient in big cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam and are softer with western women. Basic rule in any conflict involving Saudi and Non-saudi in Saudi Arabia is 'Saudi is always right' Source(s): I have lived in Saudi Arabia for 3 years. (2000-2003) Other Travel Tips What do you mean by religious police?? Is there such a thing in the Kingdom? Religion is about personal spiritual life. What the religious police can do is just inspecting whether someone has done prayer or not. Whether a woman does wear hijab or not. They're just looking at the surface since they cannot be digging more than that. I lived in Jeddah for most my life and I am an American. I loved living there. The Holy police (ma-t-ow-ah) are more strick on foreign women especially during ramadan. Make sure you always have your scarf with you and if it is the holy season, respect their belifes and cover up. I heard once an american woman on my compound had just arrived the night before and went to a souk to get her scarf and ahbyah, she was stoped by the holy police after purchasing her ahbyah because she hadn't got the scarf they were yelling at her and refused to hear her out so she dumped out a paper bag that she had and placed it over her head. Needless to say they weren't to happy with her and even less when everyone started to laugh, they dont have a sense of humor..... My husband is from Saudi Arabia and we plan on going back to live there. The Muttawa are idiots. They make sure women are covered up in Abaya(long black head to toe robe) and hijab(headscarf that covers the hair and neck). If women aren't covered up they can be arrested or ticketed. Yes they are too strict. You can be arrested if your showing skin or interacting with men who aren't your immediate family. They make sure you pray and other things like making sure you aren't doing any haraam(forbidden) things like walking around uncovered, showing off skin, talking to strange men or strange women, etc. No they are pretty lenient in cities like Riyadh and Jedda. It's especially difficult during Ramadan(holy month for Muslims). During Ramadan they are more strict. It's more about culture really. The Muttawa are in charge of enforcing Shariah Law which is the law of Saudi Arabia. Shariah Law is laws passed down from ALLAH for all mankind for the universal religion which is Islam. The laws are in the Qur'an and the Constitution is based on the Qur'an. Check thier official website link below. |
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