Condemned....to learn religion!

Ah, good old Gulf News, never fails to provide a juicy titbit or two.

This one is about a Saudi bloke who decided to marry 6 women and got busted. It gets murkier. This nutter worked for the Vice Police.

Apart from the obvious wise cracks around Vice Police itself not being vice free and the practice what you preach comeback, this is worrying on multiple grounds.

Saudi Arabia, as a self appointed protector of the Faith, has a force known as the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The charter for this force is simple - make everyone who sets foot on Saudi soil adhere to the strict rules imposed by it as protector of the Faith. This force has absolute powers and is able to arrest anyone, anywhere and for reasons as flimsy as a lady showing 2 centimeters of skin from the soles of her feet when she fell down flat on her face.

The poor sods who get arrested for these 'offences' are humiliated, punished, whipped and in general made miserable.

Back to our bloke. His story is that he's married six women when he's only(!) allowed to take on 4! The story is worrying from several angles because:

1. the bloke works for the Vice Squad and he does this!
2. he claims he had no idea that 4 was the maximum - this coming from a person who is in charge of implementing said rule is even more worrying
3. then comes the punishment he was given:

• 120 lashes
• travel ban for 5 years
• memorise the last 2 sections of the Qu'uran.

How can a punishment be a punishment if it involves memorising Holy Scriptures? Doesn't it defeat the purpose of if 'Protectors of the Faith' consider it a punishment to learn what their religion says?

Reminds me of my good friend, Mr. 23rd Pulikesi. Among the many gems he doled out as punishment, was one where a court dabari (crier) was punished with repeating Pulikesi's praise for a week. While getting fed with kollu (horse feed). Once a day...