Muṭawwaʿūn

…police force (known as the Muṭawwaʿūn) enforces strict codes of public behaviour—including, for example, mandatory observance of Islamic rituals and gender segregation.

Known as the Muṭawwaʿūn (colloquially, Muṭawwaʿīn), this force operates in plain clothes and enforces such Islamic precepts as ensuring that women are properly veiled, that shops close during prayer, and that the fast is kept during Ramadan. Imposing impromptu corporal punishment for infractions is an accepted part of…