Saudi religious police trained to work in tourist areas

In coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), 450 members of the religious police, also known as the Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) received intensive training to be able to maintain law and order in tourist areas and to deal with different echelons of the society, said Sheikh Abdul Latif Al al-Sheikh, CPVPV Director General.

“We signed an agreement with SCTA,” he told the Saudi newspaper al-Watan, “We provide them with the staff that we believe is suitable for the job, and they pay for the training they also conduct.”

The training, he explained, included familiarizing members of the religious police with tourist attractions in the kingdom and the type of tourists expected to visit each place including foreign ones.

“They were taught how to deal with each type in a way that does not violate Islamic laws,” the CPVPV Director General said.

The Sheikh noted that the training consisted of 12 courses in 12 different areas in the kingdom and lasted for a total of 5 months.

“Each course included 35 trainees, with the exception of the one held in Riyadh, which included 50,” the Sheikh said.

He stressed the importance of cooperation between CPVPV and SCTA in the field of tourism.

“Both institutions have to work together in order to boost tourism and serve tourists within the framework of Islamic teachings,” he concluded.

[Translation by Sonia Farid]