The Muttawa!

The muttawa are usually described as "religious policemen"; this does not, however, give an accurate impression of what they are like. They were originally a volunteer group who patrolled towns and villages in the Arabian Peninsula looking for violations of the Islamic code of behaviour.

They can be instantly recognized by the way they dress, but to explain this I need to first describe the standard clothing of a Saudi Arabian man. The main item is a long sleeved, ankle length cotton dress-like garment called a thobe. Most of the year white thobes are worn but in winter, black, brown, grey or other dark coloured thobes are worn.

A white knitted skull cap is worn on the head. This is covered by a square piece of cloth (that looks like a tea-towel) called a ghutra, which has been folded into a triangle. The ghutra is either all white or red and white check. Finally, a thick double black cord (that looks like a fan belt from a car), called an agal is worn on top of the ghutra to keep it in place. Apparently the agal was, originally, a rope used to hobble camels. Occasionally, you also see important Saudis (royalty or Muslim clerics) wearing an outer cloak called a bisht. (Note: men from other Arabian Gulf states dress in a similar manner.)

To return to the muttawa, they can be recognised by three visible characteristics: 1) a shorter-then-average thobe that ends just above the ankle, 2) the absence of an agal (they regard it as an adornment) and 3) a large bushy beard!

Since the coming of prosperity to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by modern shops and large numbers of foreigners, the muttawa have taken to patrolling the shopping malls looking for un-Islamic dress or behaviour. At one time they carried long sticks with which to enforce their orders; for instance women who had not covered their legs completely might get a rap on the ankle with this stick.

Non-muslim women might be approached by the muttawa and asked to cover their hair. The advice from the embassies was that women should always carry a scarf. If requested, the scarf should be worn until the muttawa was out of sight, at which point it could be removed!

During what we call the First Gulf War, several incidents occurred between the muttawa and female members of the American military. (Note: in the Middle East the same term is used to refer to the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.) For instance, I’ve heard of a woman soldier who went bowling while wearing a pair of shorts. A muttawa rushed in and started hitting her on the back of the legs with his stick. The soldier picked up her rifle, thrust it into the muttawa’s face and told him, in no uncertain terms, what would happen if he didn’t stop! The muttawa left in a hurry.

In another story, a muttawa started shouting at an African-American woman soldier driving a large truck, telling that she should not be driving. The woman soldier, climbed down from her cab and laid out the muttawa with a single blow! She them calmly climbed back into her truck and drove off.

This and similar incidents are thought to be the cause of an edict from the late King Fahad banning the muttawa from carrying these sticks. In recent years, the muttawa appear to have even stopped going on patrol, except perhaps, during Ramadan. Rumor has it that they were paid an allowance for going on patrol. When the prince decided he couldn’t afford it anymore, the muttawa decided they wouldn’t go on patrol (except during Ramadan).

Several thousand muttawa work for the Saudi Government organization called “The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”. These are the “official” muttawa.

There are, however, many more unofficial muttawa. Since the muttawa generally do not have any education that would suit them for employment, many of them work in security. I remember seeing a security guard at ARAMCO (the national oil company) whose trousers barely came down to his ankles. I assumed that his trousers had shrunk in the wash, or something similar. I am now sure, however, that he was muttawa and the trousers were meant to be like that!

The most infamous incident involving the muttawa occurred in Mecca in March of 2002 when a fire started in a girl’s school. According to witnesses the muttawa beat back girls who were trying to escape because their hair was not covered and stopped men who were trying to rescue the girls. Fifteen girls lost their lives as a result of the fire.

I have only met and spoken to three muttawa. Two of those were extremely pleasant and friendly people; The third, however, had a huge chip on his shoulder. He seemed to resent having to work for a living and take orders from other people, even other Saudis.