Joy C Raphael speaks to Hiren
Kumar Bose on the Mutawas

Islamic Gestapo, elder siblings of Taliban… who are the Mutawas?
The Mutawas are the offshoot of the Wahabi sect of Saudi Arabia, who has inspired the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. With their tentacles spread across every aspect of Saudi life and every sector of Saudi society, they are like Islamic Gestapo.
Do expats too work as informers for the Mutawas?
Yes, many of their spies are expatriates. I happened to meet one guy from my hometown, Calicut, who confessed to being a Mutawa spy and seemed to be proud of being one. He told me
his main job was to inform about
those who drink and womanise. Non-Muslims who pray were also his targets.
Why the Western world has been quiet about the menace of the Mutawas?
The Western world has not been
exactly quiet about the atrocities of the Mutawas. The US State Department’s annual report has slammed the lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have also blasted
the Saudis, for repressing religious
freedom, in their reports. But these reports have remained just reports.
With this book do you think you
have become a persona non grata for Saudi Arabia?
Yes, I have a feeling that I will not be able to go anywhere near Saudi Arabia because of the book.

Mutawas: Saudi Arabia’s Dreaded Religious Police Joy Raphael, Turtle Books Rs 200

Raiders from the North,
Alex Rutherford, Hachette India, Rs 495

This first volume, in an epic historical fiction series - The Empire of the Moghuls, set around the rise and fall of the
Moghul dynasty, captures the turbulence of the times. The real-life hero of the novel, Emperor Babur, aspires to live up to the legacy of his ancestor. With the support of wise advisors and valiant warriors, he rides forth to fulfill his destiny and lay the foundations of an empire in India. A world of tribal rivalries, bloodthirsty armies and powerful enemies threaten his very existence at each step.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star,
Paul Theroux, Penguin, Rs 350

Paul Theroux sets out all over again on a journey which he once made thirty years ago. His accounts of his travels from London across Asia and back
again by train resulted in his landmark book, The Great Railway Bazaar. Now, he chronicles the sweeping changes that have taken place and offers descriptions laced with insights. Equally at home with Haruki Murakami and Maharaja Gaj Singh II, Theroux also recounts with humour, oddball fellow travellers and barmaids in raunchy Laotian nightclubs.