Saudi Arabia's religious police — long resented for intimidating people and meddling in the tiniest details of life — are being trained to be more courteous in their job of enforcing the kingdom's strict version of Islamic law, the force's president told The Associated Press.
It's a small sign of change in a police force that some critics say fuels Islamic extremism with its heavy-handed methods and austere rules, including ensuring that the sexes keep separate and women are veiled in public.
The tone is changing — though not the rules themselves — amid new fears over extremism in Saudi Arabia after deadly suicide attacks in May and again last month confronted Saudis directly with the threat of terrorism for the first time. Since then, the government has become more forceful in reforms to spread a more moderate message of Islam.
Sheik Ibrahim al-Ghaith, chief of the 5,000-man religious police, told The Associated Press in a rare interview with the Western media that modernizing the agency and making it more professional is a priority.
"We have gone beyond intentions," said al-Ghaith. "We are always seeking to develop, modernize and adjust the laws concerning the committee according to what's needed."
The AP asked al-Ghaith for an interview in November, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. He said because of his tight schedule, he could only answer written questions. His responses were sent Saturday and Monday.
Traditionally, the Saudi government has resisted any fast change to its religious establishments for fear this would lead to the questioning of Saudi Arabia's religious credentials. The kingdom is the birthplace of Islam and custodian of the faith's two holiest shrines.
But the Riyadh bombings this year — which killed a total of 52 people, including nine attackers — rattled the royal family. Not only did it launch a crackdown that has arrested hundreds, it has also been eyeing reforms.
While no one is suggesting the religious police are involved in terrorism, progressive Saudis say the committee members' fundamentalist zeal can encourage the extremism that creates terrorists. Others complain that members of the force interfere in the minutest details of their lives.
"The committee sometimes spies on people," said political analyst Dawood al-Shirian. "It's not only their style that should change. It's also their mandate, which has become too broad."
For instance, a Saudi woman said she was beaten and jailed for days a few years ago for attending a dinner party — without her husband — that included the spouses of her female friends. An Arab woman was detained for not being properly covered, then asked why she had many men listed in her cell phone directory. And a Western woman was marched out of a coffee bar for smoking.
The religious police — formally the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, but known in Arab as the "muttawa" — are the ones who enforce the kingdom's strict Islamic lifestyle.
Al-Ghaith, who as head of the religious police carries the rank of a Cabinet minister, described the force's task as the "mission of prophets and apostles."
"The committee's most important duty is to guide people and advise them to follow their religious duties ... as well as preventing vice," he said.
In practical terms, the policemen — known as committee members — roam malls, markets and cafes or lurk outside women's schools and universities, lingerie stores and bookstores to ensure public morals are upheld and Islamic law is upheld.
That means women must be covered in black, the sexes are not allowed to mix in public, shops must close five times a day for prayers and men must go to the mosque and worship. Violators are usually yelled at by the muttawa and sometimes dragged to jail.
Al-Ghaith said senior judges and university professors have given more than 30 courses to members of the committee since last year to improve their performance to teach them how to deal with violators.
"As a result of the courses, we have seen that the members of the committee are dealing more pleasantly with others and we have received plenty of praise from citizens," said al-Ghaith.
In his remarks, al-Ghaith said the force "does not condone excesses" by its officers and if they happen, they're very limited.
He refuted claims that there is no system for disciplining committee members.
"They are like officials of any other government department. There is a royal decree to discipline civil servants," al-Ghaith said.
At the same time, the president stressed his organization would not allow anybody to attack its staff without substantial reason.
"The committee seeks to protect the rights of its employees. At the same time our door is open to receive complaints and observations," said al-Ghaith.
Until last year, most criticism of the muttawa was expressed privately. But the floodgates were opened by eyewitness accounts suggesting the muttawa caused deaths by stopping girls from fleeing a school fire in March 2002 because they were not covered in mandatory black cloaks.
A government investigation disputed the witnesses' accounts and found the 15 girls who perished were trampled to death on the stairs.
Al-Ghaith was asked why women can't dress as they please, at least if their guardians under Saudi law — their husbands or fathers — approve of their attire.
"They can exercise this right at home," he said, "but in markets and other public places, they have to abide by laws governing the woman's leaving her home."