Thorny issues infiltrate Saudi religious establishment
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 17:01
- By Habib TRABELSI
The traditional debate between reformers and ultra-conservatives on issues that plague the lives of many Saudis, like the mixing of women with men or women's right to drive a car, begins to timidly infiltrate the religious establishment, which is one of the pillars of the regime in Saudi Arabia where a battle on the authorization of the cinema, considered by the clergy as "an absolute evil," had raged last summer.
A muttawa official manners: yes to the mixing
Sheikh Ahmed bin Qassim Al-Ghamdi, the Director General of The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also known as the muttawa, in the Mecca region, proclaimed loudly last month that "the preventing the mixing between sexes has never been a Sharia law (Islamic law strictly enforced in Saudi Arabia) and is a natural fact in the life of the country and Companions of the Prophet Muhammad.”
"Those opposed to the mixing are practicing it in their homes that are full of servants working in the presence of foreign men,” Sheikh Ghamdi told the Okaz daily.
Saudi Arabia applies a strict separation of sexes and punishes by flogging and/or imprisonment of "khilwa", a one-to-one meeting between a man and an unrelated woman.
Liberals rejoice
These statements have not fallen on deaf ears. Liberals - represented especially by intellectuals, businessmen and journalists and are accused by the ultra-conservatives of being "lackeys of the depraved West "- claimed victory.
"It is a turning point in the debate on the mixing, a debate that has cost us a great loss of time," said Hmoud Abu Taleb in Okaz, hailing Sheikh Ghamdi’s courage.
Mohammed Abdel Al-Sheikh, a critique of the religious police or muttawa, has reviewed the "mess" caused by the debate over the mixing, in particular "the conviction of many women's skills to idleness or work in an atmosphere full of suspicion and mines, which has created an isolated feminine world in all areas, not to mention the enormous expenses incurred in the national economy.”
Sheikh Ghamdi’s statement, which occurred after the strong criticism of the opening of the first two sexes' university in the kingdom (KAUST) last September, has shaken the media landscape for several days and resulted in an internet campaign for his favour.
The ultras revile
Meanwhile, Sheikh Ghamdi has been disgraced by many guardians of virtue.
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Munajid - who in September 2008 took aim at Mickey Mouse and his fellows, decreeing that they were "soldiers of Satan, corrupting creatures and repulsive" and must be killed - decreed that Sheikh Ghamdi’s "defamatory" statements were "a violation of Sharia."
Sheikh Munajid confirmed that the anti-mixing fatwa, decreed by the former kingdom's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel ziz bin Baz, still serves as a reference.
The preacher Sheikh Abderrahman Al-Atram, considered Sheikh Ghamdi’s remarks "inappropriate", because "they come at a time when the kingdom is facing serious challenges, such as fighting Huthis and dealing with Jeddah disaster" in reference to the Saudi military intervention against Yemen’s Zaidi rebels since last November and the deadly flooding caused by torrential rains on November 25 in this Red Sea city.
The controversy has even spilled over into Kuwait where clerics and preachers have strongly denounced Sheikh Ghamdi’s statements, calling them "heresy."
Ahmad bin Baz: yes to women driving
Sheikh Ahmed bin Baz, the son of former Grand Mufti, advocated on January 14 the "right" of the woman to drive a car.
"Driving is part of the inalienable rights granted by Islam to women, such as property rights or freedom of movement. Rights are not luxuries. They cannot be acquired nor can they be subjected to a vote," wrote bin Baz in an opinion piece published by Al-Watan daily, the strong critique of the ultraconservatives.
Sheikh bin Baz was due to appear January 18 on Al-Arabiya, the Saudi-owned channel based in Dubai, to clarify that his father’s "fatwa" prohibiting women from driving was “a discretionary and debatable appreciation, given that there is no evidence in the Sharia about banning women from driving.”
The fruit of 'freedom'
The day before, Daoud Al-Sharayan welcomed in his tribune in "Al Hayat" daily "the debate on social issues affecting religion have finally infiltrated the official religious institution.”
"Freedom granted in recent years to the press to discuss such topics such begins to bear fruit. It will have a positive impact on the evolution of society. It is not currently a debate between liberals and Islamists anymore, but a debate within the religious establishment, an unprecedented situation in the history of the kingdom," wrote Sharayan.
However, this excess of enthusiasm provokes the indignation of a reader who protested against the emphasis on sheikh Ghamdi and bin Baz "at the expense of the men of the Commission. That's what liberals seek! "
Source: Saudi Wave
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
For those Who Just Discovered Allah, Still Curious about Allah and Need to Know More about Allah
O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah, and His Word, which he bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is One God: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
Al-Koran Surah [4] Al-Nisa': 171
Then those who believe in Allah, and hold fast to Him -- soon will He admit them to mercy and grace from himself, and guide them to Himself by a straight Way.
(ibid: 174)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Malaysia's war of words over God
Malaysia's war of words over God Spurious objections to Malaysian Christians' use of the word Allah must be countered by inclusivist Muslims
by Nazry Bahrawi guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 January 2010 12.00 GMT
In countless tourism adverts, Malaysia asks the world to see it as "Truly Asia". In the past days and weeks, its government's bid to portray the nation as a harmonious multicultural society has gone up in flames.
Since its high court lifted a three-year embargo that prevents non-Muslims from using the Arabic word Allah in their prayers and literature on 31 December, detractors firebombed several churches and vandalised others across the nation. While there were no casualties, several churches have thus far been hit, with one so severely damaged that its members had to conduct their service elsewhere. Eight of the attackers have now been arrested.
Despite these attacks, Malaysia's Christians, who make up about nine percent of the 27 million-strong Southeast Asian nation, are insisting that the use of Allah is not exclusive to Muslims, who account for some 60% of the population.
Last February, Malaysia's Catholic archbishop, Murphy Pakiam, publisher of the Herald newspaper, filed for a judicial review against the ban that was first enforced in 2007 by the then home affairs minister, Syed Hamid Albar, against the Catholic weekly for using Allah to refer to God in its Malay language version.
The rationale behind the Catholic church's appeal was that Allah is a generic word for God that preceded the spread of Islam. After all, the word Allah, when translated from Arabic, comprises the definite article al, and the noun ilah which means God – connoting a singular deity, a belief common to adherents of the Abrahamic faiths.
Indeed, Biblical scholar Kenneth J Thomas outlined evidence in a 2001 research paper (pdf) suggesting that Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Arab world have used Allah when citing and translating the Bible since the first centuries of Islam.
In Malaysia, its use by Christians developed along similar lines. Since Christianity became widespread there in the 19th century, primarily through the missionary efforts of English colonisers, Allah has been used extensively by Malay-speaking Christian indigenous peoples of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
When juxtaposed against the fact that Malay-speaking Christians in neighbouring Indonesia have long used Allah in their worship to no complaint, it is understandable that Malaysia's church attacks have been viewed with much chagrin.
Observers have rightly argued that the rumpus is tied to Malaysia's ethnic-based political landscape. To be more precise, it arises from the form of Islam nurtured by a segment of the nation's Malay political elites.
The country's constitution not only makes Islam the official state religion but also specifies that a "Malay" must be a "Muslim". With ethnicity tied so closely to religion, defending the purity of Islam against corruption by foreigners has become both a religious duty and a matter of national pride.
This dogma has been fostered by the nation's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), whose popularity is partly derived from its status as a defender of Malay rights.
This would explain Umno's ambivalent stance on the issue. Even as prime minister Najib Razak decried the church attacks as heinous, his Umno colleagues in government had filed an appeal against the high court decision to overturn the Allah ban. Home affairs minister Hishamuddin Hussein even went as far as to allow demonstrations against the Allah ruling in mosques across Malaysia after Friday prayers on 8 January.
Christians were not the only group targeted by adherents of exclusivist Islam following the fallout from the ruling. On 13 January, the country's Sikhs became the latest to suffer attacks when vandals threw stones at a temple in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The Sikhs, who number approximately 120,000, also use Allah to refer to God in their worship.
Even the Hindus are not exempt from this kind of discrimination. Last September, a group of Muslim protestors stamped on a cow's severed head to protest at the building of a Hindu temple in a Muslim-majority neighbourhood.
Yet there is some encouragement to be had in the fact that not all Malays subscribe to this form of exclusivist Islam. Respected Muslim scholar Asri Zainul Abidin, a former state mufti, backs the use of Allah by non-Muslims. Surprisingly, this is the same stance taken by the opposition Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia, which had advocated the full-blown implementation of Sharia laws in past campaigns.
There are even voices of dissent coming from within Umno itself. Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has always been something of a maverick, condemned his party's reactions following the ruling. For Malaysians to stop warring in God's name, this emerging inclusive Malay-Muslim voice must drown out the rallying cries of the divisive vandals. Insha'Allah.
Source: Guardian.co.uk
by Nazry Bahrawi guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 January 2010 12.00 GMT
In countless tourism adverts, Malaysia asks the world to see it as "Truly Asia". In the past days and weeks, its government's bid to portray the nation as a harmonious multicultural society has gone up in flames.
Since its high court lifted a three-year embargo that prevents non-Muslims from using the Arabic word Allah in their prayers and literature on 31 December, detractors firebombed several churches and vandalised others across the nation. While there were no casualties, several churches have thus far been hit, with one so severely damaged that its members had to conduct their service elsewhere. Eight of the attackers have now been arrested.
Despite these attacks, Malaysia's Christians, who make up about nine percent of the 27 million-strong Southeast Asian nation, are insisting that the use of Allah is not exclusive to Muslims, who account for some 60% of the population.
Last February, Malaysia's Catholic archbishop, Murphy Pakiam, publisher of the Herald newspaper, filed for a judicial review against the ban that was first enforced in 2007 by the then home affairs minister, Syed Hamid Albar, against the Catholic weekly for using Allah to refer to God in its Malay language version.
The rationale behind the Catholic church's appeal was that Allah is a generic word for God that preceded the spread of Islam. After all, the word Allah, when translated from Arabic, comprises the definite article al, and the noun ilah which means God – connoting a singular deity, a belief common to adherents of the Abrahamic faiths.
Indeed, Biblical scholar Kenneth J Thomas outlined evidence in a 2001 research paper (pdf) suggesting that Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Arab world have used Allah when citing and translating the Bible since the first centuries of Islam.
In Malaysia, its use by Christians developed along similar lines. Since Christianity became widespread there in the 19th century, primarily through the missionary efforts of English colonisers, Allah has been used extensively by Malay-speaking Christian indigenous peoples of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
When juxtaposed against the fact that Malay-speaking Christians in neighbouring Indonesia have long used Allah in their worship to no complaint, it is understandable that Malaysia's church attacks have been viewed with much chagrin.
Observers have rightly argued that the rumpus is tied to Malaysia's ethnic-based political landscape. To be more precise, it arises from the form of Islam nurtured by a segment of the nation's Malay political elites.
The country's constitution not only makes Islam the official state religion but also specifies that a "Malay" must be a "Muslim". With ethnicity tied so closely to religion, defending the purity of Islam against corruption by foreigners has become both a religious duty and a matter of national pride.
This dogma has been fostered by the nation's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), whose popularity is partly derived from its status as a defender of Malay rights.
This would explain Umno's ambivalent stance on the issue. Even as prime minister Najib Razak decried the church attacks as heinous, his Umno colleagues in government had filed an appeal against the high court decision to overturn the Allah ban. Home affairs minister Hishamuddin Hussein even went as far as to allow demonstrations against the Allah ruling in mosques across Malaysia after Friday prayers on 8 January.
Christians were not the only group targeted by adherents of exclusivist Islam following the fallout from the ruling. On 13 January, the country's Sikhs became the latest to suffer attacks when vandals threw stones at a temple in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The Sikhs, who number approximately 120,000, also use Allah to refer to God in their worship.
Even the Hindus are not exempt from this kind of discrimination. Last September, a group of Muslim protestors stamped on a cow's severed head to protest at the building of a Hindu temple in a Muslim-majority neighbourhood.
Yet there is some encouragement to be had in the fact that not all Malays subscribe to this form of exclusivist Islam. Respected Muslim scholar Asri Zainul Abidin, a former state mufti, backs the use of Allah by non-Muslims. Surprisingly, this is the same stance taken by the opposition Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia, which had advocated the full-blown implementation of Sharia laws in past campaigns.
There are even voices of dissent coming from within Umno itself. Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has always been something of a maverick, condemned his party's reactions following the ruling. For Malaysians to stop warring in God's name, this emerging inclusive Malay-Muslim voice must drown out the rallying cries of the divisive vandals. Insha'Allah.
Source: Guardian.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)