Ali Bin Abbas Hakami, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema and the Supreme Judiciary Council, has said that setting up any unofficial bodies to practice “ihtisaab” – promoting virtue and preventing vice – trespasses on the authority of the government. “No individual is entitled to take upon themselves the jurisdiction of the government,” Hakami said. “Only the government has the authority to establish departments and appoint staff, and no individual has the right to tackle vice by force, as this is for those who are granted a certain sort of authority, such as parents over their children.” Even in the case of parents, Hakami said, forced change could cause “greater harm”. “Change is required through speech, and if that also causes greater harm, then the erroneous act should be left to professionals with parents condemning it in their hearts, which is the third level of preventing vice in Islam,” he said. “The public should not practice vice prevention. Those assigned to the task by the government are the only ones allowed to do so within the limits of the government's orders.” Hakami said that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice must adhere to the law “without negligence or excess”. “Promoting virtue and preventing vice is a task of every Muslim, and they do so to the best of their abilities,” he said.
