Women in the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice

Through the Case of “Religious Police” in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper examines how women are positioned in Muslim societies, especially regarding the “promotion of virtue and prevention of vice” as ordered by the Qurʾan, from the aspect of the “religious police” enforcing it in Saudi Arabia. During the Medieval Period, scholars of Islamic jurisprudence discussed the ‘ḥisba’ (legal institution for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice), as a way to form a society based on Islam, and a system for policing public morality that characterized Muslim society. Today, this task has been transferred to secular bodies, such as security institutions in Muslim countries. However, some countries like Saudi Arabia, have been trying to re-establish ḥisba. Saudi Arabia, with its founding ideology called Wahhabism, has tried to realize this Islamic ideal by establishing a governmental body called the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. This paper explores the contemporary form of promotion of virtue and prevention of vice as practiced in Saudi Arabia in the context of the historical ḥisba, and focuses on the relationship between the policing of public morality and women. Women’s behavior in Muslim society has often been discussed, accompanied by their role in society and family. This paper focuses on how women participate in practicing the concept of ḥisba. In Saudi Arabia as a modern state, women have often regarded the practice as violating their privacy and rights, which becomes a crucial political issue amid ‘Saudi Vision 2030,’ which is an ongoing open policy. This paper illustrates the underlying ideas about promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, and the transformation of women into a political agenda in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it examines how the issue on women has been focalized in the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice.