International Crime Witness-Saudi Arabia
It is essential to understand that Saudi Arabia is one of the most prosperous countries in the Arab world, and it is the fourth-largest, with an estimated population of about 35 million people. A whopping 38% of its inhabitants are immigrants. Following rapid economic growth, the previously seminomadic and nomadic people, a tremendous 95% settled, and 80% lived in urban areas. This nation harbors one of Islam’s pillars that insists Muslims do the Hajj to Mecca, which should be done at least once in a lifetime. Their culture is entirely conservative, with the country adhering to the Sharia Laws. The cultural presentations have to conform to narrowly defined ethical standards. Ethnically, a vast majority of Saudi Arabians are Arabs, and many of them are tribal.
Besides, the population in this country has been composed of nomads, villagers, and townspeople. However, the patrilineal principle of kinship is imposed on every administrative organization centered on the king’s family. This principle in Saudi Arabian society is pervasive, with the extended family forming a potent social unit. The villages have local services that entail members from at least one tribe. It is also crucial to understand that the cities are not arranged according to tribal affiliation, though they have some influence in the towns (Philby et al., 2022). The social stratification in this country is more developed in the cities than anywhere else. The presence of emergent technology has inevitably produced an emergent middle-income group of technocrats aware of the fast-widening gap between the elite ruling class and the rest of the population. This discontent in some areas led to civil unrest. Most Saudis persist in traditional regalia, including ten regarded as the thawb interwoven with white cotton. Also, it is vital to note that Saudi Arabian politics happens in the context of an absolute monarchy that is firmly hinged on the Islamic lines. The king is the head of the state and also the government. The Qur’an is undoubtedly the Constitution that governs the country. The Council of Allegiance is mandated with the determination of the new king and a Crown Prince.
I was traveling to this country when I witnessed a local national committing a violent assault that involved violently grabbing a handbag from a woman who tried resisting. Still, the hooded man hurled her to the ground and began hitting her a couple of times on the head, and then tried running before he was apprehended. The criminal was arrested and charged by the police. It is crucial to understand that crimes that lay under the burden of death sentences included abandoning Islam, smuggling drugs, adultery, and even sabotage. Under specific conditions, armed robbery and rape could also lead to execution, which is carried out through beheading, stoning, and even firing squad. However, under the conditions of sharia law, a repetitive engagement in theft could result in the amputation of their right hand, although it is administered under anesthesia. Given that it is more severe, several qualifications might have been introduced to provide mitigation of the punishment. Should the thief repent of their mistake before the case before the judge, their mistakes could be pardoned.
Therefore, under the Saudi Arabian Islamic Law, God often prescribes fixed penalties in the Qur’an (Al-Mutrak, 1980). Unlike theft, which is punished by amputation of the offender’s right hand, armed or highway robbery could be punishable by crucifixion, execution, or even the amputation of the feet and hands from the opposite sides of the body, which depends on the offense’s severity. As such, the most minor punishment is amputation for the robber caught red-handed after robbing the woman violently, and the worst could be execution.
For instance, several individual rights are granted to criminal suspects in the US, such as the search and seizure right to counsel. In this case, under the right of the principle of Due Process, it implies that the laws have to be applied equally and relatively to every person. This applies especially to the citizens who have been accused of the crime. As such, the Constitution uses the phrase in the 5th and the 14th Amendments, which declares that the government should not inhibit anyone from liberty, property, or life without following the due legal processes.
The 5th Amendment protects the people from actions that the federal government might do when it comes. In contrast, the 14th protects the citizens from the measures the state and the local government could impose on them. Conversely, in Saudi Arabia, the punishment for the offenders involved in violent robbery does not warrant these rights. Saudi Arabia has to mete out street justice to most offenders that involve stoning.
Besides the rights involving searches and Seizures, in the United States, the essence of the 4th Amendment is to curtail the national government’s mandate to make general seizure of property and general searches. Over the past several years, the primary issue has been interpreting “unreasonable” seizures and searches. Therefore, the rules are complicated in this case, and there is often a thin line between these two points of the divide. However, these rules change pretty often, but the rule of thumb is that searches are entirely valid in enforcing law and order. Still, there is a prohibition on the exact concerning unreasonable searches.
When it comes to Saudi Arabia, concerning searches and Seizures, for one to comprehend the notion of searches and seizures, investigating the Qur’an and the Sunna treat this topic. The Qur’an offers, “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong…” (Cicotte, 2014). They were referred to as the mujtahid, and their mandate was to walk the street and enforce the provisions of religion, including the prohibitions concerning drinking, playing, or owning musical instruments. As time passed, in the later centuries, and the Muslim world grew and effectively split, they worked together with the police employed by the state. It suffices to maintain that the committee ensures virtue and vice prevention are the persistence of this old practice.
One of the verses in the Qur’an posits that “…It is not righteous to enter houses from the back, but righteousness is in one who fears Allah. And enter houses from their doors. And fear Allah that you may succeed,” Cicotte (2014), which implies that it is an extension of the preceding two commandments and warns against sneaking through the back door of any building. The Quran posits three rules. In this case, it urges Muslims to enter the homes of other Muslims, whether it is empty or not, and without permission. It cautions them from spying on one another.
The various Muslim scholars reinterpreted and provided an expansion on the Quran and the traditional stories existing in the ages of medieval times. For instance, the search rules might be applied differently. The deciding factor is who is mandated to exact the search. They could relax for the state’s actors, especially those with a higher authority. This is more relaxed in modern Saudi criminal practices with procedures for getting search warrants. It is essential to understand that when it comes to crime, the police in Saudi Arabia ensure that the detention of a defendant is carried out in the areas designated for such intentions. In this case, therefore, it should also follow the specific period specified by a competent authority. When arrested, such a person should not be subjected to physical or moral harm (Walker, 1992). The Sharia Law posits that the defendant should not be put through torture or any dehumanizing treatment.
Lastly, it is imperative to understand that in the police culture between Saudi Arabia and the US, the similarity is that for the Islamic rules, the suggestion is that the concerns are similar to the ones behind the 4th Amendment, which insists on the protection of property and persons from intrusion that is uninhibited. The Supreme Court in the US defines this privacy as “reasonable,” Islamic law seems concerned with privacy interests, and breach of the seizure and searches would invite a curse. The main difference between the police cultures of the two nations is that in Saudi Arabia, the police movements and the extent of the power they have are influenced strongly by the Sharia Laws, and their actions seem religious. On the other hand, it is crucial to understand that the Constitution directly influences the police culture in the US, and it does not hinge on their actions through religion. Also, their efforts can be changed based on the Constitution and not the Bible, while in Saudi Arabia, they still follow medieval rules today.
References
Al-Mutrak, O. (1980). Sharia Penalties and Ways of Their Implementation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Second-Fixed Penalties’ Hudoud’and Discretionary Penalties’ Ta’zir'(From Effect of Islamic Legislation on Crime Prevention in Saudi Arabia-Proceedings, P 403-489, 1976-See NCJ-87248).
Cicotte, D. T. (2014). Saudi Search and Seizure Law Compared with the Fourth Amendment.
Philby, H. St. John Bridger , Ochsenwald, . William L. and Teitelbaum, . Joshua (2022, March 12). Saudi Arabia. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia
Walker, J. K. (1992). The Rights of the Accused in Saudi Criminal Procedure. Loy. LA Int’l & Comp. LJ, 15, 863.
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Question 
For this assignment, you will select one of the six model nations in the textbook to research the differences in criminal code and legal procedures between the United States and your selected country.
Imagine you are traveling abroad in your chosen country when you witness a local national committing a violent assault. The criminal is arrested and charged by the police. Upon returning to the United States, a professor in one of your criminal justice classes asks you to complete a written report about your experience and the differences in criminal code and legal procedures. Use the Internet and the Strayer Library to conduct your research.
International Crime Witness-Saudi Arabia
Write a 3–5 page paper in which you:
Determine the pertinent demographic, social, political, and economic factors about your chosen country.
Examine how your chosen country’s criminal code would likely view the crime you witnessed. Provide a rationale for the response.
Choose two individual rights that the United States grants criminal suspects, such as search and seizure and the right to counsel, et cetera, and analyze the country’s perspective on each right. Provide support for the analysis.
Summarize how the police in your chosen country would likely treat the defendant. Justify the response.
Classify the fundamental similarities and differences between the police culture in your chosen country and the United States.
Use at least four quality references. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not count as quality references.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Distinguish the differences in criminal code and legal procedures between the United States and another country.