A Royal Middle East Definition of Vice and Virtue...and Free Speech
“The authority for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV, and since I like to use mathematics let’s make it <PV>sq) was established by order of Allah…and we should heed what Allah has ordered…” Thus spoke Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior- may the Lord extend his Life. Amen, your royal highness..
The prince was promoted recently to deputy prime minister (really a deputy to the king). He was a reservist, essentially a bench-warmer in the race for kingship, until the health of Crown Prince Sultan took a turn for the worse and has been spending his time outside the country.
PVPV is the para-something group that oversees public morality. It is not exactly para-military, or para-police, because its members are mainly hairy chubby sexually-and-otherwise-repressed men. It is the religious police, the mutawaeen, the Hayaa', that makes it its business to make sure nobody in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is having any fun other than eating kosher (halal) food and drinking soda pop.
Anyone who wants to have other kinds of fun can resort to taking another wife or two, or they can resort to the spreading mesayyar (what I call a time-share marriage). They can also travel to bountiful places outside the country.
PVPV=<PV>sq restricts its definition of Vice to things if the ‘flesh’. Its goal in life is to keep men and women separate and dressed appropriately. It also makes sure all businesses are closed five times a day during prayer call times (that is too many lunch breaks, if you ask me, and can make you fat).
PVPV=<PV>sq does not concern itself with silly things like bribes, kickbacks, who gets the oil money, or any other financial issue.
As for voting, I imagine that its leader once may have opined “what is voting?”
As for free speech, I imagine that its leader once opined “I never pay for my speech, and neither should you. It is a gift of Allah.” Neither should you, and indeed it is….
Speaking of free speech: news say that the mullahs, some of them, have blocked cell phones and all forms of messaging in Iran for now. They too are making it harder for their people to have fun. Well, let them use land lines…
Cheers
mhg
Mon Email
Comments