One of the last remaining vestiges of the once feared Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), also known as
Hai’a or religious police was their strict enforcement of closure of all shops and businesses during the five daily prayers.
Despite repeated attempts to overturn this ruling, it remained enforced and violators were immediately met with the full wrath of the Hai’a. Punishments included shop closures for an indefinite time while those caught working in them during prayers calls were subject to detention or deportation in the case of expatriate shop attendants.
With Saudi Arabia embarked on a new vision under a new leadership, fuelled by the determination of a young Crown Prince to move the country out of its malaise and boost ahead, this bizarre ruling of closures had no place in modern times.