The Vice Squad

When I think of the vice squad, I have two very different and distinct images in my mind. The first is of the troubled soul, no sock wearing, undercover cops that seek to make the streets a little safer for Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public. The other image is of bearded mean grimacing as they beat women on the legs with sticks because a breeze lifted the hem of their garment. This last image is what troubles me when there are reports that the "vice squad" in Gaza may be responsible for bombings. I understand the rationale behind the vice squad, although I don't agree with the need for them. As Muslims, we are suppose to command the good and forbid the evil, but there is nowhere that I can recall that the Sahabahs (may Allah be pleased with them) patrolled the streets waiting for a breeze to meet a hem, and then dish out some old-fashion beat downs. It is my understanding that we are suppose to encourage the good and forbid the bad, but we are also suppose to conceal the faults of our brothers/sisters (see 72 excuses) in most cases. Vice squads seem like method to instill fear in people while they are being oppressed. I find it ironic that in many places that have vice squads, they also are ruled by regimes that are rooted with vice, yet the vice squad never seems to knock on the palace door. Instead they knock on the door of those that espouse Islam in all of it's taqwa, truth, and justice. I would finish this post, but I hear a knock at the door......