TODAY I will write about the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or Haia, which is an official government organization with its own system and positions. Its employees are like the staff of any other government agency or institution. We have to differentiate between the religious duty of promoting virtue and preventing vice — for which the whole society should stand up seeking the pleasure of Allah — and the work of the Haia men and women as government employees, receiving a salary. Because of this difference, people criticize the performance of some Haia members or demand reforms in the organization while restricting its powers. We should also differentiate between the activities of Hisba, the religious police which was active before the formation of security and monitoring agencies and that of the commission, because many of the latter's erstwhile responsibilities are now being carried out by security agencies as pointed out by my friend Qenan Al-Ghamdi in an article. If the security and monitoring agencies takes away many of the Haia's responsibilities, if not all, it will lead to two things. Firstly, its importance as an organization will be reduced as pointed out by some writers. However, the abrogation of Haia does not mean nullification of the religious duty of advising the public to do good and prevent them from vice. Secondly, the organization's nature of work needs to be revised adopting a new strategy but without overlapping or conflicting with the activities of security and monitoring agencies. The Haia will remain as an organization to carry out its mission of promoting virtue and preventing vice but will not be sole authority to carry out this religious duty. The Haia should play the role of an agency that gives advice to people and prevents them from vice, with educated and wise men and women as its members. People will approach the organization whenever they face an issue like they do with the associations for reconciliation. Here the Haia's role will be giving advice and consultancy. The Haia will undoubtedly represent the spirit and conscience of society. It will definitely have a special position in society as people will heed its advice, implement its orders and respond favorably to its prohibitions. People in the past used to receive advice from mosque imams, Qur'an teachers and elderly men in the neighborhood who did not have any powers but were accepted in society because of their good reputation and desire to establish goodness in the community.
