Private Enforcers of Islamic Law Appear In Cairo

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that in Egypt, self-appointed morality squads are becoming common on streets, at workplaces, in subways and at the airport in Cairo. Unlike the official policers of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia and Iran, in Egypt the policing effort is undertaken by private individuals, encouraged by television preachers and Saudi-inspired religious instruction in mosques. The most common targets are women who do not have their hair covered. But men who are dating, who are not observing prayer times, or who permit their wives or sisters to wear revealing clothes have also been lectured.