Manama: Saudi Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the religious police, has reportedly turned down numerous proposals to improve its public image with the help of Saudi stars.
The proposals, put forward by several marketing and advertising agencies, included paying famous Saudis with large numbers of followers on social networks to praise the commission and laud its achievements.
“The commission said that it refuses to pay anyone to brighten its image or to highlight its achievements,” sources told local daily Al Watan. “It says that it has its own media department that can convey its mission and messages to the people, and cover its activities.”
The sources added that commission leaders said they were shocked that some people would think about using “the noble mission of promoting virtue and preventing vice” to make money.
“We receive at least two proposals every week from agencies keen on signing a contract with us to resort to Twitter or Kik account-holders to promote the commission and elicit praise for our work,” the sources that the daily did not identify said.
“We invariably turn them down because we do not need anyone to praise us. We simply reject the idea of paying someone, regardless of how famous he is or how many followers he has, to praise our work and laud our achievements. We also strongly believe that whoever is ready to take money to issue a statement of praise will also be willing to receive money to criticise,” the sources said.
The commission is made up of thousands of members who patrol the streets and shopping malls in the vast kingdom to enforce dress codes, ensure Muslims perform prayers and that shops are closed during prayer times, and monitor acceptable behaviour and the strict segregation of the sexes.
The commission has recently undergone several changes as part of wide reforms to improve its performance.
Last month, the commission’s head said that fighting extremism has become more important than monitoring violations at local markets, suggesting that it may be reorienting its priorities.
“Your mission is no longer confined to monitoring shops that remain open during prayer times or to instructing women to adhere to modest dress codes,” Abdul Lateef Al Shaikh told the commission’s employees. “The mission has now become much more significant as we attempt to eradicate extremist ideas and confront, including the use of force, those who promote the principles championed by terrorist groups.”