Sorcery, Witchcraft, and an Epidemic of Human Rights Abuse in Saudi Arabia

According to a recent Reuters FaithWorld article, The perils of eating fire in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian religious police have been harassing a circus performer on suspicion that he may be guilty of sorcery because of his amazing feats of strength and his fire eating abilities.  Combined with last month’s breastfeeding fatwa (more about that later) and the conviction of a Lebanese news reporter for sorcery in April, one has to wonder WTF is going on?

Saudi Arabia, long known as the center of Islamic religious extremism, appears to have little control of their formidable religious police, or Mutaween, who have for decades patrolled restaurants, shopping districts, hotels, and popular hangouts looking for the tiniest infraction of the Saudi version of Sharia law.  The Police for the Protection of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as these thugs are formally called, have made a living out of making people’s lives miserable.  Women are often the object of their watchful judgmental gaze and have suffered unspeakable violations of human rights when arrested and found guilty of their accuser’s accusations.  Let’s take a look at just a few cases and events that have been picked up and reported by international news organizations.