Top Saudi Religious Official Calls for 'Destruction of All Churches'
By : _Luiza Oleszczuk_
(http://www.christianpost.com/author/luiza-oleszczuk/) , Christian Post
Reporter
March 15, 2012|4:56 pm
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the highest
official of religious law in the Sunni country, reportedly declared this
week that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches" in the region,
implying that no other religion besides Islam will be tolarated on the Arabian
Peninsula -- as there are currently no churches in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Asheikh made the statement Monday during a meeting with a delegation of
a Kuwait-based NGO, Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage, in response
to a question of what Shariah law says about building churches, reported
an Arabic Christian publication, _Linga.org_
(http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://www.linga.org/international-news/MzYzMg==&ei=XhB
iT7qGI8SIrAeTsLirCA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ7gEwAA&pre
v=/search?q=http://www.linga.org/international-news/MzYzMg%3D%3D&hl=en&clien
t=firefox-a&hs=MmY&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns) .
The question was a reference to a recent controversial statement by a
Kuwaiti member of parliament who reportedly called for the "removal" of
churches. The MP _reportedly _
(http://www.uscatholic.org/news/2012/03/bishop-kuwait-criticizes-legislation-restricting-christian-churches)
specified later
that he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait. In February,
a legislation was introduced in the parliament to remove Christian churches
from Kuwait and impose Islamic law, according to Catholic News Service.
Party officials said later the legislation would not remove the churches but
prohibit further construction of Christian churches and non-Muslim places
of worship in the country.
Saudi Arabia is a country that is officially 100 percent Muslim, and other
religions are forbidden. Nevertheless, a small minority of Christians is
known to worship there, unofficially. According to one _2008 estimate_
(http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723715,00.html) , there were
800,000 Catholics living in Saudi Arabia at the time. Although there are no
official church buildings, Christians are allowed to worship at homes and some
other designated buildings.
Saudi Christians often include foreign immigrants. Recently, a Christian
watchdog organization informed The Christian Post that _a group of Christians
from Ethiopia had been imprisoned_
(http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-imprisoned-in-saudi-arabia-pressured-to-convert-to-islam-69067/)
in
the Saudi kingdom for holding a prayer meeting in a private apartment.
In Kuwait, however, there are church buildings.
The Kuwaiti delegation reportedly wanted to confirm with the Grand Mufti
what Islamic law says concerning the building of churches, and Al-Asheikh
stressed that Kuwait was part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore it is
necessary to destroy all churches in it. He referred to one of the phrases
believed to have been uttered by the prophet Muhammad in which the prophet
said that there are "not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula,"
which has always been interpreted to mean that only Islam can be practiced in
the region.
The Grand Mufti's words evoked some heated reactions. Raymond Ibrahim of
Jihad Watch, a blog critical of Islamic laws considered extremist or
intolerant, said that if a similar event took place in the Western world, its
religious leaders would surely be shunned.
"Considering the hysteria that besets the West whenever non-authoritative
individuals offend Islam -- for instance, a fringe, unknown pastor --
imagine what would happen if a Christian counterpart to the Grand Mufti, say
the
Pope, were to declare that all mosques in Italy must be destroyed; imagine
the nonstop Western media frenzy that would erupt, all the shrill screams
of 'intolerance' and 'bigot,' demands for apologies if not resignation,
nonstop handwringing by sensitive politicians, and worse," Ibrahim, a Shillman
Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the
Middle East Forum, _wrote_
(http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/03/raymond-ibrahim-saudi-grand-mufti-calls-for-destruction-of-all-churches-in-region.html)
.
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