In Riyadh, the Saudi morality police are again in the news. You may recall that when we last left the medieval mod squad they had secured a sentence to flog a woman who insulted them. Now, the religious police was caught on video beating up a British resident after they paid a bill at a women-only cask desk. The religious police was irate at the violation of the strict Sharia-based separation of the sexists and apparently took what they thought was the morality correct approach in beating the man in front of his wife who was wearing a black abaya cloak.
The British man is heard screaming at the police to leave his wife alone and saying “That’s my wife, how dare you!”
The confrontation occurred at a supermarket when the husband and his wife went to a female cashier. The very thought of such a thing sent the morality police into a frenzy. They filmed his car as he left and he then turned around and filmed them. That is when the violent confrontation occurred when he refused to hand over his camera. He was then attacked and pushed to the ground.
By the way, putting aside the medieval application of Sharia law, the demand for the camera and film is a position held by some American prosecutors and police including such figures as Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez in Chicago. We have been following the continuing abuse of citizens who are detained or arrested for filming police in public. (For prior columns, click here and here). Despite consistent rulings upholding the right of citizens to film police in public, these abuses continue. It is a rather bad sign when an ally for Alvarez can be found in the Saudi morality police.
However, this particular confrontation occurred over the enforcement of the segregation of Saudi society even at a supermarket checkout aisle. The British man is actually a convert to Islam and have lived in the kingdom for many years with his Saudi wife.
The religious police are officially called the Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and known unofficially as Mutawaa. We have long covered the abuses of the Saudi Arabian religious police known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. These are the religious fanatics who reportedly forced girls back into a burning school in Mecca because they were not sufficiently covered in public — 15 died as a result. When they are not apparently burning girls, they are forcing women to cover up “attractive eyes” or shutting down dinosaur exhibits or shutting down lingerie stores or arresting women having coffee.
The important thing for the religious police is that the scene below shows the adherence to a moral code in the beating of a man in front of his wife. After all, a man paying a woman at a checkout counter in a supermarket could lead to . . . oh I don’t know . . . equality of the sexes.
Source: Yahoo
When my great grandparents moved, they took a train. The 12 year old son refused to leave his pet donkey behind. So he stayed behind and walked, all by himself with his donkey, all the way to their new home. It took 2 weeks. Amazing what kids accomplished back them. A lot was expected of them, they grew up fast, and they learned responsibility and independence early on.
NO WAY would I let my son go on a 2 week trek alone at 12.
Paul – isn’t it amazing considering the geographical separation of people who had to walk, or ride, everywhere?
And women make absolutely excellent spies. My dad knew some of them.
I do think women should be allowed to serve in battle. I think they should only be used in positions where their weaker strength does not matter. Women make great fighter pilots, and can shoot with deadly accuracy. But if they can’t carry a wounded comrade off the battle field, or hump in with a loaded pack, then the bar should not be lowered for them.
Let them serve where their physical abilities allow, and in whatever role where they can pass the physical requirements. If a woman can make it through SEAL training, good for her.
Sean:
That’s awesome about the female PKK soldiers. I’ll bet they’re fierce.
According to my father, and my friends, however, extremely bad things happen to female soldiers when they are captured. I knew a Lebanese Armenian (Christian) who recalled the war where one of his friends was captured. The armies were separated by a wall. His army, with all of her friends, had to listen to her be raped to death by an entire army. There was nothing they could do. They raped her until she died, and then threw her body back over the wall. He broke down sobbing as he told us all the story. They wanted to teach women a lesson.
It takes extra grit to be a female soldier fighting Muslim extremists, because she’ll face a bad end if she’s caught. If a male soldier is captured, he has a chance he’ll be held for ransom rather than beheaded.
Squeeky:
I never knew bundling persisted so long! Isn’t it strange the courtship rituals of the past? And everything moved so quicky – people met, became engaged, and married typically within a few months.
Bundling became unnecessary when more carriages became available and roads got better. Men were going up to 10-15 miles to court and then would stay overnight out of necessity. It was not like people said “Oh, wouldn’t it be cute if we put the two of them in bed together.”
George,
The Preamble, Constitution and Bill of Rights are predominant in perpetuity.