{{Short description|Religious enforcement agency}} {{use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Redirect-distinguish-text|Morality police|Moral police in India, or Vice squad, a police division}} {{Censorship sidebar}} {{Religious freedom}} '''Islamic religious police''' (also known as '''morality police''' or '''sharia police''') are official Islamic religious enforcement agencies, often found in Muslim-majority countries, that oversee religious observance and public morality on behalf of national or regional authorities, based on their interpretation of ''sharia''. Modern Islamic religious police organizations were first established in the late 1970s during the Iranian Revolution and the wider Islamic revival it helped stimulate across the Muslim world. Before this period, the regulation of public morality in most Muslim-majority states was generally treated as a socio-religious matter and enforced through civil law or more informal community mechanisms.
The powers and responsibilities of Islamic religious police vary by country. Unlike conventional police forces, which focus on crimes such as robbery and murder, Islamic religious police typically enforce prohibitions against the consumption of alcohol by Muslims, the mixing of unrelated men and women, public playing of music, and public display of affection. They may also restrict Western cultural practices such as the exchange of Valentine's Day or Christmas gifts, ensure adherence to Islamic dress codes for women (and sometimes men), and encourage Muslims to perform their daily prayers. In some jurisdictions, they function primarily as parapolice bodies issuing warnings or citations, while in others they are vested with broader police powers, including the detention of individuals.
The practice is generally justified with reference to the doctrine of ''hisbah'', derived from the Quranic injunction to "enjoin good and forbid wrong," which obliges Muslims to promote moral conduct and discourage perceived wrongdoing.<ref name="Gauvain 2013">{{cite book |last=Gauvain |first=Richard |year=2013 |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ6gL2iwhy8C&pg=PA8 |title=Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God |location=New York and London |publisher=Routledge |edition=1st |series=Routledge Islamic Studies Series |pages=8–9 |isbn=9781138115514 |lccn=2012016460}}</ref> In pre-modern Islam, enforcement of ''hisbah'' was the responsibility of the ''muhtasib'' (market inspector), who oversaw commercial integrity, public order, and morality. While the focus on public morality was less pronounced in early and medieval Islam, the office was revived in Saudi Arabia, where it evolved into a formal committee supported by volunteers tasked with promoting religious observance. Similar bodies have since been established in other countries and regions.<ref name="EI3" />
Islamic religious police institutions have generated controversy both domestically and internationally. While they are often supported by conservative sectors, they are frequently criticized by liberals, women, and youth groups. In 2016, legal reforms by the Saudi government significantly curtailed the authority of Saudi Arabia's religious police. In Iran, former president Hassan Rouhani expressed opposition to the religious police, though under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran the presidency lacks the authority to reform or abolish the institution. In Kano State in Nigeria, the activities of the Islamic religious police have sometimes conflicted with those of the civil police; several incidents have been criticized by the public as exceeding their mandate and have sparked nationwide debate.
== History == {{Main|Hisbah|Muhtasib}} The classical doctrine of ''hisbah'', associated with the Quranic injunction to "enjoin good and forbid wrong," refers to the duty of Muslims to promote moral rectitude and intervene when another Muslim is perceived to be acting wrongly.<ref name="Gauvain 2013" /><ref name="EI3">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Thielmann |author-first=Jörn |year=2012 |title=Ḥisba (modern times) |editor1-last=Fleet |editor1-first=Kate |editor2-last=Krämer |editor2-first=Gudrun |editor2-link=Gudrun Krämer |editor3-last=Matringe |editor3-first=Denis |editor4-last=Nawas |editor4-first=John |editor5-last=Rowson |editor5-first=Everett K. |editor5-link=Everett K. Rowson |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE |volume=3 |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_30485 |isbn=978-90-04-22545-9 |issn=1873-9830}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Gregory |last=Mack |title=Ḥisbah |editor=Jonathan Brown |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018}}</ref> Historically, its legal implementation was entrusted to a public official known as the ''muhtasib'' (market inspector), who was responsible for preventing fraud, maintaining public order, and enforcing public morality.
In 1976, the various committees in Saudi Arabia were consolidated under an official with ministerial rank, acting under direct royal authority. The unified Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice was supported by volunteers who enforced rules relating to Islamic dress codes, performance of the five daily prayers, and gender segregation. With the growing international influence of Salafism and Wahhabism, the conception of ''hisbah'' as an individual obligation to monitor religious observance became more widespread. This trend has led to the emergence of activists encouraging Muslims to adhere to Islamic rituals, dress codes, and other aspects of sharia.<ref name="EI3" /> High-profile vigilante incidents include the "Muslim patrols" in London (2013-2014) and the "Shariah Police" incident in Wuppertal, Germany (2014), both of which resulted in criminal charges.
In Iran, the doctrine of ''hisbah'' was incorporated into the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, where it was defined as a "universal and reciprocal duty" incumbent upon both the government and the people. Its implementation has been carried out by official committees as well as volunteer forces such as the ''Basij''.<ref name="EI3" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Irans_Basij_Force_Mainstay_Of_Domestic_Security/1357081.html |title=Iran's Basij Force – The Mainstay Of Domestic Security |date=15 January 2009 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</ref>
Elsewhere, enforcement of various interpretations of sharia-based public morality has been undertaken by the Kano State Hisbah Corps in Nigeria,{{sfn|Olaniyi|2011|pp=71–96}} by ''Wilayatul Hisbah'' in Aceh, Indonesia,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uddin |first1=Asma |title=Religious Freedom Implications of Sharia Implementation in Aceh, Indonesia |journal=University of St. Thomas Law Journal |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=603–48 |year=2010 |ssrn=1885776 |url=http://ir.stthomas.edu/ustlj/vol7/iss3/8/}}</ref> by the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in the Gaza Strip, by the Taliban during their first rule of Afghanistan,<ref name="EI3" /> as well as by other groups.
== Formal legalized enforcement by country == {{anchor | Formal | Official | Legal | Legalised | Legalized }}
=== Afghanistan === [[File:Taliban beating woman in public RAWA.jpg|thumb|right|A member of the religious police beating a woman for removing her burqa headpiece in public, Kabul, 2001 (image obtained by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan)]] {{Main|Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Afghanistan)}}
Afghanistan's Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice was first established under the 1992 Rabbani government and was later adopted by the Taliban after they came to power in 1996.<ref name="Rfe2006-07-18">{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1069937.html |title=Afghanistan: Proposed Morality Department Recalls Taliban Times |first=Golnaz |last=Esfandiari |date=18 July 2006 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=28 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214162526/http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1069937.html |archive-date=14 December 2008}}</ref> The Taliban's department was modeled on a similar institution in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rashid |first=Ahmed |title=Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia |publisher=Pan Books |year=2001 |edition=1st Pan |location=London |isbn=978-0330492218 |page=106}}</ref>
The office was disbanded following the Taliban's removal from power in 2001, but the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan reinstated it in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav120704.shtml |title=Despite Karzai election, Afghan conservatives soldier on |website=Eurasianet |first=Claudio |last=Franco |date=7 December 2004 |access-date=4 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813031536/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav120704.shtml |archive-date=13 August 2008}}</ref> In 2006, the Karzai administration submitted draft legislation to create a new department under the Ministry for Haj and Religious Affairs devoted to the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice."<ref name="Rfe2006-07-18" />
When the Taliban regained power in August 2021, they established the "Ministry of Invitation, Guidance and Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," taking over the former Ministry of Women's Affairs building as its headquarters.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Huylebroek |first1=Jim |last2=Arian |first2=Wali |last3=Gladstone |first3=Rick |title=Taliban Seize Women's Ministry Building for Use by Religious Police |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/asia/taliban-women-ministry-religious-police.html |access-date=24 September 2021 |date=17 September 2021}}</ref>
=== Indonesia === thumb|Location of Aceh (red) in Indonesia
Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, some local communities in Aceh interpreted the disaster as divine punishment. In its aftermath, the governor of Aceh, Mustafa Abubakar,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-05|title=Gubernur Aceh dari Masa ke Masa|url=https://acehkita.com/gubernur-aceh-dari-masa-ke-masa/|access-date=2021-10-24|website=ACEHKITA.COM|language=en-US}}</ref> formally launched the {{langx|id|Polisi Syariat Islam|lit=Sharia Police|label=none}}.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ichwan|first=Moch Nur|date=2011|title=Official Ulema and the Politics of Re-Islamization: The Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama, Sharīʿatization and Contested Authority in Post-New Order Aceh|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26200830|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies|volume=22|issue=2|pages=183–214|doi=10.1093/jis/etr026 |jstor=26200830 |issn=0955-2340|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
The task force began with 13 officers in 2005 and expanded to 62 by 2009, including 14 women. In total, the organization has more than 1,000 members, of whom at least 400 are employed on contract while the remainder serve as volunteers. The ''Polisi Syariat Islam'' is tasked with enforcing compliance with Islamic law in Aceh. Critics have accused the force of employing heavy-handed tactics, including surveillance and property searches without warrants. Reported punishments range from a 24-hour detention for physical contact between unmarried men and women to public flogging for adultery.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/12/21/the-heavy-hand-of-religious-police-in-aceh | title=The heavy hand of religious police in Aceh |work=Al Jazeera |date=21 December 2014 |access-date=4 October 2025}}</ref>
Since 2001, Aceh has been the only province in Indonesia granted special autonomy to formally implement its own version of Islamic law, which includes corporal punishment such as flogging for certain offences.<ref name=":0" />
=== Iran === {{Main|Guidance Patrol}}
{{See also|Islamic Revolution Committees|Basij|Hezbollah of Iran}}
[[File:گشت_ارشاد_در_میدان_ونک_2.jpg|thumb|Iranian Guidance Patrol officers. The Guidance Patrol operates under the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran.]]
The Guidance Patrol ({{langx|fa|گشت ارشاد|Gašt-e Eršād}}<ref name="bbc-36101150">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36101150 |title=Who are Islamic 'morality police'? |date=22 April 2016 |website=BBC News |access-date=2 July 2018}}</ref>) is the main Islamic religious police, or vice squad, within the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was established in 2005, succeeding earlier institutions of a similar nature.<ref>{{cite news |first=Thomas |last=Erdbrink |date=7 May 2014 |title=When Freedom Is the Right to Stay Under Wraps |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/world/middleeast/when-freedom-is-the-right-to-stay-under-wraps.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> Its stated mission is to enforce Islamic dress codes and norms of public conduct, particularly the wearing of the hijab by women, but also certain dress restrictions for men deemed inconsistent with official codes.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharafedin |first=Bozorgmehr |date=20 April 2016 |title=Rouhani clashes with Iranian police over undercover hijab agents |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-rights-rouhani-idUSKCN0XH0WH |website=Reuters |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> The patrol also seeks to prevent the mixing of unrelated men and women without a male guardian (''mahram''), as well as other behaviours considered contrary to ''sharia''.
The patrol has been criticised by many Iranians, particularly urban women, for restricting personal freedoms and for its methods of enforcement. President Hassan Rouhani publicly expressed opposition to the Guidance Patrol, though it did not fall within his constitutional authority.<ref name="bbc-36101150" />
On 16 September 2022, the Guidance Patrol arrested Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, for alleged violations of the dress code. Authorities claimed she suffered heart failure and later died after falling into a coma.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iranian woman dies 'after being beaten by morality police' over hijab law|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/16/iranian-woman-dies-after-being-beaten-by-morality-police-over-hijab-law|website=The Guardian|access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> Reports of bruises on her body, along with accounts from medical officials and witnesses, suggested she had been beaten, though police denied this. Her death sparked widespread protests across Iran.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mahsa Amini: dozens injured in Iran protests after death in custody|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/18/mahsa-amini-dozens-injured-in-iran-protests-after-death-in-custody|website=The Guardian|access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref>
In December 2022, reports circulated that the Guidance Patrol had been dissolved, but Iranian state media denied these claims.<ref>{{cite web |last=Turak |first=Natasha |title=Iran's state media denies abolition of 'morality police' as three-day strike begins |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/iran-denies-abolition-of-morality-police-as-three-day-strike-begins.html |access-date=7 December 2022 |website=CNBC |date=5 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
=== Malaysia === {{Main|Department of Islamic Development Malaysia}}
The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) is the religious authority responsible for enforcing Islamic regulations in Malaysia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/mustafa-akyol-jawi-didnt-like-my-talk-on-commonalities-between-islam-christ |title=Mustafa Akyol: Jawi didn't like my talk on commonalities between Islam, Christianity |date=28 September 2017 |newspaper=Malay Mail |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> Its chief of enforcement has been Wan Jaafar Wan Ahmad.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/383776 |title=Jawi ramps up Ramadan enforcement |website=Malaysiakini |date=28 May 2017 |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>
Punishable offences under JAWI's enforcement include ''khalwat'' (being in close proximity with a non-mahram member of the opposite sex) and adultery, which may carry a prison sentence of up to two years. Reports in local media state that religious enforcement officers have detained hundreds of couples under these provisions.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theindependent.sg/malaysia-the-sordid-failures-of-the-illicit-sex-police/ |title=Malaysia: The sordid failures of the illicit sex police |date=18 February 2017 |newspaper=The Independent |location=Singapore |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> Other offences include extra-marital sex, alcohol consumption, failing to fast during Ramadan, and not attending Friday prayers. The department also enforces penalties against homosexual activity among Muslims.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/02/here-come-the-malaysian-morality-police/ |title=Here comes the Malaysian morality police |website=The Diplomat |date=22 February 2017 |first=Ana |last=Salvá |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>
The role of Malaysia's religious enforcement agencies has been the subject of controversy, with critics arguing that they sometimes exceed their mandate. Legal ambiguities and overlapping jurisdictions between secular and ''sharia''-based laws have also been identified as sources of confusion and conflict.<ref name="bbc-36101150" />
=== Nigeria === {{Further|Kano State Hisbah Corps|Sharia in Nigeria}}
Nigeria has twelve northern states where Islam is the dominant religion. In these states, religious police are organized under the name ''hisbah''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nigeria International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108385.htm |website=US Department of State Archive |date=19 September 2008 |access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref> In 1999, several states declared the adoption of full ''sharia'' law,<ref name="Implementation" /> leading to the establishment of institutions such as ''sharia'' and Zakat commissions, along with bodies tasked with "promoting Islamic virtue" and discouraging vice.<ref name="Implementation">{{cite book |last1=Mustapha |first1=Abdul Raufu |last2=Ismail |first2=Mustapha |title=Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria Over 15 Years: The Case of Hisbah |date=2016 |publisher=Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program |url=https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/sites/www.odid.ox.ac.uk/files/Sharia%20-%20POLICY%20BRIEF%20TWO%20Final%20Version.pdf |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605110620/https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/sites/www.odid.ox.ac.uk/files/Sharia%20-%20POLICY%20BRIEF%20TWO%20Final%20Version.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
As of 2016, ''hisbah'' organizations varied significantly by state. In larger states such as Kano and Zamfara, they were formally sanctioned, organized, and funded, with thousands of salaried staff. In other states, such as Gombe, they operated entirely on a volunteer basis, while in some states, such as Borno, they existed only nominally.<ref name="Implementation" />
According to Human Rights Watch, many hisbah members lack formal education, legal training, or knowledge of law enforcement procedures. Although there are no codified rules governing their operations, they are generally understood to be empowered to arrest offenders, but not to enter private homes or conduct surveillance based only on suspicion. In practice, however, these privacy protections have often been ignored. While hisbah groups have been responsible for floggings and beatings of suspected offenders, Human Rights Watch reported no cases of killings by hisbah as of 2004, distinguishing them from some vigilante groups. The organization has also noted that no women were serving as hisbah members.<ref name="hrw-2004-sharia-hisbah">{{cite web|title=The enforcement of Shari'a and the role of the hisbah|website=hrw.org|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=2004|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/nigeria0904/8.htm}}</ref>
In Kano State, the Hisbah Corps was formally established by the state government in 2003, institutionalizing previously local and privately organized hisbah groups.<ref name="hrw-2004-sharia-hisbah" /> It operates under a Hisbah Board that includes government officials, secular police officers, and religious leaders, and is decentralized into local units overseen by community committees. The Hisbah Corps does not have authority to execute arrests and is permitted to carry only non-lethal weapons for self-defence. Officers observing violations of ''sharia'' are expected to notify the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Duties of the Corps include mediating disputes on a voluntary basis, verbally warning individuals against infractions, maintaining order during religious events, and providing assistance in disaster response.{{sfn|Olaniyi|2011|pp=71}}
The Hisbah Corps has had a contentious relationship with the NPF, which has frequently refused to cooperate in enforcing religious law,<ref>{{cite news|title=Nigeria's religious police: Out on patrol|url=https://www.economist.com/unknown/2010/06/11/out-on-patrol|access-date=27 June 2015|newspaper=The Economist|date=11 June 2010}}</ref> and has on multiple occasions arrested hisbah members for trespassing on private property.<ref>{{cite book|last=Olaniyi|first=Rasheed|title=Community Vigilantes in Metropolitan Nigeria|date=2005|publisher=IFRA|page=66}}</ref>
In 2020, the Kano State Hisbah Board destroyed approximately 1,975,000 bottles of beer valued at over ₦200 million (US$500,000) that had been confiscated in metropolitan Kano.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bello |first=Bashir |title=Nigeria: Hisbah Destroys Over N200m Beers in Kano |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/202011090131.html |website=All Africa |access-date=21 July 2021 |date=8 November 2020}}</ref> That same year, reports described frustration among some youths in northern Nigeria, particularly in Kaduna State, regarding strict enforcement measures. Allegations included punishment for certain hairstyles, restrictions on women and girls using mobile phones or wearing sunglasses, and other perceived intrusions into personal freedoms.<ref name="NAIJAPLEDGE-8-10-2020">{{cite news |title=Sharia Court 'Hisbah' Bans Muslim Girls/Ladies In Kaduna From Using Mobile Phones And Wearing Sunglasses |url=https://www.naijapledge.com/2020/10/sharia-court-hisbah-bans-muslim-girls-ladies-in-kaduna-from-using-mobile-phones-and-wearing-sunglasses/ |access-date=21 July 2021 |agency=NAIJAPLEDGE |date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721172351/https://www.naijapledge.com/2020/10/sharia-court-hisbah-bans-muslim-girls-ladies-in-kaduna-from-using-mobile-phones-and-wearing-sunglasses/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Palestine === {{Main|Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Gaza Strip)}}
The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ({{langx|ar|هيئة الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر|hayʾa al-ʾamr bil-maʿrūf wan-nahī ʿan al-munkar}}) is a group in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip responsible for enforcing ''sharia''.<ref name="accused" /><ref name="islamic">Spyer, Jonathan. "Analysis: The Islamic republic of Gaza." ''Jerusalem Post''. 29 September 2009.</ref> According to journalist Khaled Abu Toameh and Middle East researcher Jonathan Spyer, the group operates as part of the police forces of the Hamas de facto government.<ref name="accused" /><ref>{{cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Spyer|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254163537553&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|title=Analysis: The Islamic republic of Gaza|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616174949/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254163537553&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=16 June 2011|website=Jerusalem Post|date=29 September 2009}}</ref>
The force has described its purpose as fighting "those who are being corrupted by Satan and do not observe ''sharia'' law".<ref name="accused">{{cite news|author=Khaled Abu Toameh|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1246443716574|title=They accused me of laughing in public|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616180558/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1246443716574 |archive-date=16 June 2011|website=Jerusalem Post|date=8 April 2009}}</ref><ref name="islamic" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Middle East: New jihadi cells multiply in the Gaza Strip - Adnkronos Security |url=http://www1.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1399729803 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206181108/http://www1.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1399729803 |archive-date=6 December 2018 |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=www.adnkronos.com |quote=In Gaza, there also appears to be a morality police, or 'authority for the propagation of morality and the prohibition of vice,' a name frequently used by Saudi Arabia's religious police and by Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, to impose and respect Islamic rules. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Jonathan Schanzer - Hamas Rules |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/221807/hamas-rules/jonathan-schanzer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202111704/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/221807/hamas-rules/jonathan-schanzer |archive-date=2 February 2014 |access-date=2025-10-04 |work=National Review Online |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2009, the Hamas government's Islamic Endowment Ministry deployed Virtue Committee members to caution citizens against what it described as the dangers of immodest dress, card playing, and dating.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push (Update1) - Bloomberg |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118123632/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk |archive-date=18 November 2015 |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=www.bloomberg.com |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Saudi Arabia === {{Main|Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)|Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia}}
The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV; colloquially known as the ''hai'a'', "committee", and its enforcers as ''mutaween'') is an institution historically tasked with enforcing conservative Islamic norms of public behaviour as defined by Saudi authorities.<ref>{{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-first Century: The Military and International Security Dimensions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGEJvqjn-1MC |volume=1 |first=Anthony H. |last=Cordesman |publisher=Praeger Publishers |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=2003 |pages=294–96, 298 |isbn=978-0275980917}}</ref>
Committee members monitored observance of the dress code, gender segregation in public spaces, and whether shops closed during prayer times.<ref name="bbc-2002">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2399885.stm|work=BBC News|title=Saudi minister rebukes religious police|date=4 November 2002}}</ref> Established in its most recognized form in the mid-1970s,<ref name="EI3" /> the committee was estimated in the early 2010s to have 3,500–4,000 officers, supported by thousands of volunteers and administrative staff.<ref name="Lief">{{cite news|author=Louise Lief|title=With youth pounding at kingdom's gates, Saudi Arabia begins religious police reform|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0523/With-youth-pounding-at-kingdom-s-gates-Saudi-Arabia-begins-religious-police-reform|access-date=19 February 2014|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=23 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Antoinette Vlieger|title=Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates: A Socio-legal Study on Conflicts|year=2012|publisher=Quid Pro Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNzeP2cTIywC&pg=PT45|page=45|isbn=9781610271295}}</ref> The head of the committee held the rank of cabinet minister and reported directly to the king.<ref name="Lief" />
Committee officers and volunteers patrolled public spaces, focusing on enforcement of strict rules regarding hijab (in Saudi Arabia defined as covering the entire body except the hands and eyes), segregation of the sexes, and daily prayer attendance.<ref name="EI3" /> They also banned certain products and activities, including the sale of dogs and cats,<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14738358 "Cats and dogs banned by Saudi religious police"], NBC News, 18 December 2006.</ref> Barbie dolls,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/religion/islam|title=Islam|date=7 October 2022|website=Fox News}}</ref> ''Pokémon'',<ref>{{cite book|title=CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Saudi Arabia|last1=Tripp|first1=Harvey|last2=North|first2=Peter|edition=3rd|date=2009|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|url=https://archive.org/stream/CultureShockSaudiArabia/Culture%20Shock!%20Saudi%20Arabia_djvu.txt|page=180|ref=HT2009}}</ref> and gifts associated with Valentine's Day and Christmas.<ref name="red">{{cite news|title=Saudi religious police see red over Valentine's Day|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/saudi-religious-police-see-red-over-valentines-day-20100212-nvik.html|date=12 February 2010|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=22 November 2013|quote=Each year, the religious police mobilise ahead of 14 February and descend on gift and flower shops, confiscating all red items, including flowers.|archive-date=25 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125003928/http://www.smh.com.au/world/saudi-religious-police-see-red-over-valentines-day-20100212-nvik.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Officers were empowered to pursue, detain, and interrogate suspected violators, administer flogging for certain offences,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.memri.org/reports/saudi-media-debates-flogging-saudi-religious-police |title=The Saudi Media Debates Flogging by the Saudi Religious Police |first=Yotam |last=Feldner |date=8 January 2004 |website=Middle East Media Research Institute |access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/140000/mde230572000en.pdf |title=Saudi Arabia: Gross Human Rights Abuses Against Women |date=27 September 2000 |website=Amnesty International |access-date=2 July 2018}}</ref> and arrest priests for conducting private Mass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Catholic-priest-arrested-and-expelled-from-Riyadh-5869.html |title=Catholic priest arrested and expelled from Riyadh |date=10 April 2006 |website=AsiaNews |access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref>
The CPVPV faced domestic and international criticism. Reported abuses included breaking into private homes on suspicion of illicit behaviour,<ref name="bbc-2002" /> and the recruitment of individuals with limited qualifications, such as former convicts whose sentences were reduced in exchange for memorising the Qur'an.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Wright |title=Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |date=2006 |page=[https://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig/page/149 149] |isbn=978-0375414862|url=https://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig |url-access=registration}}</ref> The most widely publicized incident was the 2002 Mecca girls' school fire, in which fifteen girls died and fifty were injured. Reports alleged that ''mutaween'' prevented students from leaving the building because they were not wearing headscarves or abayas, and were unaccompanied by male guardians; firemen were also reportedly obstructed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1874471.stm |title=Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue |website=BBC News |date=15 March 2002}}</ref> The event generated significant criticism both within Saudi Arabia and internationally.
The institution retained support among conservative segments of society but was unpopular with liberals and younger people.<ref name="bbc-36101150" /> In 2016, its powers were significantly curtailed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/910016|title=Haia can't chase, arrest suspects|website=Arab News|access-date=14 April 2016|date=14 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQPhBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|page=66|last=Commins |first=David Dean |author-link=David Commins|title=Islam in Saudi Arabia|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2015|isbn=9781848858015}}</ref> A royal decree prohibited the CPVPV from pursuing, questioning, demanding identification, arresting, or detaining individuals suspected of offences.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bashraheel |first1=Aseel |title=Rise and fall of the Saudi religious police |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1558176/saudi-arabia |access-date=28 February 2021 |agency=Arab News |date=22 September 2019}}</ref>
=== Sudan === The Community Service Police serves as the Sudanese religious police. Originally known as the Public Order Police, the enforcement body was established in 1993 by President Omar al-Bashir.<ref name="bbc-36101150" /> The Public Order Law was first introduced in 1992 in Khartoum State and later extended nationwide. The force was renamed in 2006.
The Community Service Police was responsible for enforcing regulations on personal behaviour, including rules against "indecent" clothing, alcohol consumption, offensive acts, and seduction, among others.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/more-than-40-000-public-order-cases-annually-in-sudan-capital-sdfg |title=More than 40,000 public order cases annually in Sudan capital: SDFG |website=Dabanga Sudan |date=7 January 2018 |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> In June 2015, ten female students were charged with "indecent dress" for wearing long-sleeved shirts with skirts or trousers after leaving a church.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Women Risk Flogging for 'Indecent' Clothing |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AFR5420462015ENGLISH.pdf |website=Amnesty International |access-date=4 February 2025 |date=9 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/opinion/mona-eltahawy-the-middle-easts-morality-police.html |title=The Middle East's Morality Police |date=19 August 2015 |first=Mona |last=Eltahawy |author-link=Mona Eltahawy |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> In December 2017, 24 women were arrested at a private gathering for wearing trousers, but were later released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/12/11/sudanese-women-arrested-for-wearing-trousers-released |title=Sudanese women arrested 'for wearing trousers' released |website=The New Arab |date=11 December 2017 |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> Punishments included flogging and fines. Such cases were handled by the Public Order Court, a parallel judicial system that delivered summary judgments.<ref>{{cite book |last=Köndgen |first=Olaf |date=30 October 2017 |title=The Codification of Islamic Criminal Law in the Sudan: Penal Codes and Supreme Court Case Law under Numayri and al-Bashir |publisher=Brill |page=85 |isbn=978-9004357082|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FDI9DwAAQBAJ}}</ref> Many Sudanese viewed the activities of the religious police as intrusive and oppressive, while it remained supported by Salafists and other conservative groups.<ref name="bbc-36101150" />
Following the July 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan began a political transition. In December 2019, the government repealed the Public Order Law, which had allowed police to arrest women for activities such as dancing, wearing trousers, selling goods on the street, or interacting with unrelated men. Those convicted could face flogging, fines, and, in rare cases, stoning or execution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Meriam |title=Sudan repeals public order law that let police flog women for wearing pants |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/01/sudan-has-repealed-its-repressive-public-order-law-that-had-let-police-flog-women-wearing-pants/ |access-date=20 July 2021 |agency=The Washington Post |date=1 December 2019}}</ref>
As part of its legal reform process, a political agreement signed on 3 September 2020 affirmed Sudan as a "multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural society" and declared that the state would not establish an official religion nor discriminate against citizens based on religion.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Political_Agreement_on_establishing_the_structures_and_institutions_of_the_transitional_period_between_the_Transitional_Military_Council_and_the_Declaration_of_Freedom_and_Change_Forces |title=Political Agreement on establishing the structures and institutions of the transitional period between the Transitional Military Council and the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces |via=Wikisource |publisher=Transitional Military Council & Forces of Freedom and Change |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.voaafrica.com/a/africa_south-sudan-focus_sudans-government-agrees-separate-religion-and-state/6195464.html |title=Sudan's Government Agrees to Separate Religion and State |author=Michael Atit |work=Voice of America |date=4 September 2020 |access-date=8 September 2020}}</ref> These reforms effectively ended the role of the Community Service Police.
=== Tahrir al-Sham and ISIL-controlled areas === {{expand section|date=September 2025}}
* A religious police force known as al-Hisba operated in Idlib Governorate as of 2017, during the period when the area was controlled by Tahrir al-Sham.<ref>{{cite news |last=McKernan |first=Bethan |date=16 February 2017 |title=Syrian schoolgirl arrested by religious police for 'inappropriate clothing' freed after classmate protest |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-schoolgirl-idlib-inappropriate-clothing-religious-police-freed-classmate-protest-al-orouba-a7583461.html |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |access-date=2 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="bbc-36101150" /> * The militant group ISIL also deployed religious police, commonly referred to as the Hisbah, in areas under its control. The Hisbah enforced strict interpretations of ''sharia'', monitoring public behavior, dress, and social interactions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Life Under ISIS Religious Police is Brutal and Merciless |url=https://ijr.com/2014/08/167051-life-isis-religious-police-brutal-merciless/ |first=Justen |last=Charters |website=Independent Journal Review |date=11 August 2014 |access-date=18 April 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419120449/https://ijr.com/2014/08/167051-life-isis-religious-police-brutal-merciless/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Issues of enforcement == {{Expand section|date=August 2021}} {{Globalize|date=December 2025}}
=== Haircuts === In 2020, the Kano State Hisbah Corps reportedly shaved the Mohawk hairstyles of young men in public in Kano City.<ref name="Orjinmo-16-8-2021" /> Another report indicated that afro hairstyles were targeted by hisbah in Kaduna,<ref name="NAIJAPLEDGE-8-10-2020" /> despite there being no such prohibition in Islam. In Afghanistan, on 25 January 2001, the Taliban reportedly arrested 28 barbers in Kabul for giving customers haircuts styled after Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the film ''Titanic'', according to officials at the Embassy of Afghanistan, Islamabad.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shah |first1=Aamir |title=Taliban ban DiCaprio hairstyle |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/01/25/Taliban-ban-DiCaprio-HairstyleTitanic-hairstyle/4760980398800/ |access-date=30 August 2021 |work=UPI |date=25 January 2001}}</ref>
=== Hijab === After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the hijab was gradually made mandatory.<ref name="Milani" /> In 1980, it became compulsory in government and public offices, and by 1983 it was required for all women, including non-Muslims and non-citizens.<ref name="Milani">{{cite book|author-link=Farzaneh Milani|first=Farzaneh|last=Milani|year=1992|title=Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers|location=Syracuse, New York|publisher=Syracuse University Press|pages=37–38|isbn=9780815602668}}</ref> From 2017 to 2019, protests were held against the mandatory hijab, with authorities reporting the arrests of 29 women.<ref name="RFE/RL-13-5-2021">{{cite news |title=Jailed Iranian Anti-Hijab Campaigner Goes On Hunger Strike |access-date=30 August 2021 |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hijab-campaigner-hunger-strike/31253323.html |agency=RFE/RL |date=13 May 2021}}</ref>
=== Chastity === In 2023, the Iranian government introduced the Hijab and Chastity Bill to enforce stricter laws, such as the inclusion of artificial intelligence and mass surveillance, to monitor public chastity and women's attire.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/6305813/iran-hijab-laws-stricter/ |title=Iran is Set to Make Hijab Laws Stricter |magazine=Time|first=Armani|last=Syed|date=17 August 2023}}</ref>
=== Mannequins === In 2009, Iranian authorities warned shopkeepers not to display female mannequins with visible body contours or without a hijab. In 2010, to enforce public morality in the Gaza Strip, Hamas ordered the removal of mannequins and advertisements depicting scantily-clad models. In 2021, the Kano State Hisbah Corps instructed shops to use only headless mannequins to display clothing, and required the mannequins to remain covered at all times.<ref name="Orjinmo-16-8-2021">{{cite news |last1=Orjinmo |first1=Nduka |title=Nigeria's Kano state moves to ban mannequin heads on Islamic grounds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58175709 |access-date=30 August 2021 |agency=BBC News |date=16 August 2021}}</ref>
== See also== * Ban on sharia law * Criticism of Islam * Islamization
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite journal |last=Olaniyi |first=Rasheed |title=Hisbah and Sharia Law Enforcement in Metropolitan Kano |journal=Africa Today |date=2011 |volume=57 |issue=4 |page=71 |doi=10.2979/africatoday.57.4.71 |s2cid=154801688}} * {{cite book |title=Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-first Century: The Military and International Security Dimensions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGEJvqjn-1MC |volume=1 |first1=Anthony H. |last1=Cordesman |publisher=Praeger Publishers |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=2003 |isbn=978-0275980917}}
== External links == {{Wikiquote|Religious police}} * {{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7837512.stm |title=Sharia police block women's rally |date=19 January 2009 |website=BBC News}} * {{cite news |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/08/sharia-police-who-are-they.html |title=Sharia police: who are they? |last=Simanjuntak |first=Hotli |date=8 February 2010 |newspaper=The Jakarta Post}} * {{cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-muslims-protest-sharia-vigilante-patrolling-in-cedar-riverside-area/419321224/ |title=Minneapolis Muslims protest 'sharia' vigilante in Cedar-Riverside area |last=Mahamud |first=Faiza |date=13 April 2017 |newspaper=Star Tribune |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726131209/https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-muslims-protest-sharia-vigilante-patrolling-in-cedar-riverside-area/419321224/ |url-status=dead}}
{{Religious persecution}}
Category:Islamic religious police Category:Sex segregation enforcement Religious police Religious police Religious police Category:Islamic extremism Police Category:Prohibition Category:Religious discrimination