The jump of a Haia member

CHILDREN are often fond of the jumping game. They like to jump high in the air but they are always safe when they land on the ground. Therefore they continue to jump heedless of the people around them.

September 03, 2014

Khalaf Al-Harbi

 


Khalaf Al-Harbi

Okaz

 


 


CHILDREN are often fond of the jumping game. They like to jump high in the air but they are always safe when they land on the ground. Therefore they continue to jump heedless of the people around them.



From this angle, I liked the jump of the guardian of virtue onto a British expatriate because it defied all laws of gravity. The jumper, “Abu Okasha”, defeated all obstacles including his excessive weight and tight national dress. He took inspiration from the kangaroo before he landed heavily on the British guy, who is not used to being jumped on in his country.

This shameful incident is not the first of its kind and will not be the last as long as the safety of the jumper is guaranteed one way or the other.



A year had hardly passed since the death of two young brothers in Riyadh on the National Day. I wrote an article on this story titled "It is the bridge which is to blame". This is exactly how the story ended. The people who caused the accident were acquitted and the blame was put on the bridge that the two brothers banged into.



I do not think the incident of Friday night, when members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) attacked a British man and his Saudi wife, will have a different end. With due respect to the statements made by the Haia chairman and its spokesman that an investigation committee was set up to investigate the case, I am sure nothing will happen.



The incident makes us repeat the same old question: for how long will we keep silent on the blunders committed by some Haia members? When will the dignity of man become important for these members? In what language can we communicate with these members to make them understand that attacking people under the pretext of preserving Islamic values is a great harm to the religion?



We need enlightened religious men to talk to the Haia members and make them understand that punching, kicking and jumping over people has nothing to do with Islam or its noble values.



If the Haia members are adamant on attacking people to satisfy personal whims, let them do that under any justifications that have nothing to do with Islam. By so doing, the Haia members have hurt Islam more than its flagrant enemies.



These members, who are government employees, should realize that whenever they jump on people in an act of unjustified aggression, they will fall on the ground and hurt themselves. They should realize that the dignity of man, whether Saudi or expatriate, is priceless.



There is little hope that the aggressor will be punished. Under the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, I want the British citizen to be given the chance to jump on "Abu Okasha" in front of spectators and security men.



The jumper should be made to know that such actions should not come from a mature man, let alone the employee of a government organization that should promote virtue and prevent vice.


September 03, 2014
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