Interview With Head of Saudi Virtue Commission Published

The Arabic International Daily Asharq Alawsat yesterday published a rare interview with Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, head of Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Al-Ghaith gave this summary of the Commission's work in 2006:

The presidency of the commission conducted more than 47,500 awareness and guidance programs that consisted of symposiums, panels, and guidance lectures and distributed more than 7,830,000 pamphlets and audio cassettes. Through its various branches and centers, the presidency of the commission arranged more than 60,940 cooperation visits and contacts. All this is within the realm of the first part of the commission's mission; namely, the promotion of virtue.

As for the second part, namely, the prevention of vice, about 416,000 cases were dealt with the number of persons involved in these cases was 434,000 individuals (that is 2% of the population of Saudi Arabia if the number of citizens and residents is over 22 million persons). The unpublicized cases that ended with pledges [not to commit the offense again] in order to protect the reputation of the perpetrator involved about 392,000 individuals, that is, about 90%. About 42,000individuals, that is, about 10% were referred to the quarters concerned. These percentages show very clearly that the purpose of the commission is to reform and correct. This is the approach that all the members of the commission take. No one is referred to the quarters concerned unless we see that such a referral is unavoidable.

The lengthy interview also covers a number of other topics including various complaints about the Commission's operations.