Title: Saudi Columnist Calls for End of Religious Police
Time/date: Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 11:36:50 am

A columnist for a Saudi newspaper stood up and called for the “religious police” to be abolished.

Abdallah bin Bakhit, Saudi liberal and columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, stated in an interview on Al-Arabiya that “the time has passed” for the Saudi religious police, and that it should be abolished.

He said that the organization employs extremists who reject cinema, resist women’s driving, and encourage polygamy.

There’s a lot more wrong with the mutaween than their rejection of cinema, but hey, that’s a start, right?

In response, Al-Jazirah banned Bin Bakhit from continuing to write for it.

Our friends the Saudis!