Haia chief for shorter prayer break

January 1, 2014
Jeddah, Jan 1: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) is considering shortening the time shops close for prayer, the Haia chief has said.
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The period would be limited to just enough time for ablution and the actual time needed to complete a prayer, said Sheikh Abdullateef Al-Asheikh in the interview broadcast on an Arabic channel on Monday. “We would need the legislature to pass the proposed policy,” he said.

The Haia staff would do random inspections in malls to make sure people follow the new policy. He said Haia members would not chase people to pray.

“It is acceptable to perform prayers in a mall or shop in a group if the mosque is far away,” he said.

Shops across Saudi Arabia are required to close from the time of the call to prayer until the prayer is finished, which could take up to 30 minutes.

During the 35-minute TV program, Al-Asheikh toured a Riyadh shopping mall and interacted with shoppers and shopkeepers to get first-hand experience from people on the performance of his organization.

The chief said he would like his organization to do its job as envisaged by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah “with moderate and tolerant views, and avoiding hurting the feelings of the public.”

Al-Asheikh took office two years ago with a mission to improve the image of the Haia and clear away decades of public distrust and contempt.

He has revamped the Haia's administrative and field operations to regain public trust. “It was an uphill task and resistance to change was expected,” he said.

Many of the old guard lost their privileges “as I stopped accepting donations to the Haia from private businesses,” he said.

Al-Asheikh said there were staff members who wanted the Haia to take an extremist view to serve their personal interests and ideological beliefs. “I will continue with the most moderate and tolerant view to lead this organization," he said.

He said he was not bothered by foreign media calling the organization the religious police.

“We look at a set of principles to follow within the teachings of Islamic Shariah. Let them call us whatever they want,” he said. The Haia has a mission to respect people, protect them, and keep women safe from harassment, he said.

The foreign media has tried to depict the Haia as a monster “but every country has rules and systems on which it operates. The Haia doesn’t block social movement as long as it doesn’t contradict our religion and culture,” he said.

Al-Asheikh said he upheld his promise to reform the organization. “I was once on an unannounced visit to a mall and found a Haia member not displaying his badge. I asked him to leave the mall immediately,” he said.

Shoppers in the mall asked him to employ more friendly Haia members. “We feel safe with them around us,” one woman shopper told Al-Asheikh.

During his tour of the mall, he stepped into an all-female shop, but to his surprise found a salesman. “We completely support women working in women-related shops, but in a case like this, we'll give them a chance to bring in a saleswoman,” he said.

In another women’s shop, he interacted with a saleswoman who said she appreciated the Haia’s mission and the professional treatment and respect of her shop-owner.

He reiterated that the Haia staff members are not allowed to check people’s cell phones unless they suspect of being involved in harassment, drinking alcohol or drug dealing.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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