mutawa

== English == === Alternative forms === mutawwa muttawa === Etymology === From the Arabic مُطَوَّع (muṭawwaʕ, “compliance officer, pious volunteer”), from طَوَّعَ (ṭawwaʕa, “to subjugate”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /mʊˈtɑːwə/, /muːˈtɑːwə/ === Noun === mutawa (plural mutaween) A member of the religious police in Saudi Arabia. ibidem, page 37: Conservatively dressed, but not in the standard attire of Saudi women, Wynn-Stanley was harangued by a mutawwa, so she pulled out her Saudi-issued diplomatic identity card. The mutawwa’s response was to throw it on the ground and grind it into the pavement with the sole of his shoe, a gesture considered a grave insult in Arab custom. The religious police as a body. === Further reading === Mutaween on Wikipedia.Wikipedia