On the Muslim World...Anecdotally

I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia a few years ago and stopped into a western style convenience store to grab a bottle of water. Sitting on the ground just to the side of the door was a woman in a filthy, black abaya holding an 18 month old child. As I walked by she softly held her cupped hands out towards me, looked away from my eyes, and quietly said, "Min fadilak…" Arabic for please. I reached into my pocket and handed her 20 Saudi Riyals, about five US dollars. She took the money and with a hint of relief in her voice she said "Shukhran…" Thank you. Inside the store I asked my Somali driver why she would be destitute and begging, an activity you typically do not see on the streets of Saudi Arabia. He postulated that she had had the child out of wedlock, was now shunned from her family, and forced to beg on the streets. “She could have been killed,” he quickly added as if her life had luckily been spared. As we exited the store, I saw two men dressed in the traditional Saudi dish dash and kefeyah standing over the women beating her with a long black cane. I was immediately shocked and then immediately angry. I moved to intervene, and my driver grabbed my arm. “Mutawah,” he said, the Saudi religious police. He pulled me away quickly to our car. As I looked back, the two mutawah stood staring at me with a level of contempt hard to describe. “She should not have taken your money," my driver said quietly. "Good Muslims do not accept charity from infidels.”