"Do what we say, not what we do." David
On Sep 10, 2014, at 11:34 PM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi clerics condemn Islamic State > > but preach intolerance > > (Reuters, September 10, 2014) > > Dubai, Sept 10 (Reuters) - When Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz > Al al-Sheikh described Islamic State and al Qaeda as "kharijites" last month, > he was casting them as the ultimate heretics of Muslim history, a sect that > caused the faith's first and most traumatic schism. > > That sort of rhetoric aimed at expelling militants from the Muslim mainstream > has grown increasingly common among top Saudi clerics in recent weeks as they > work to counter an ideology that threatens their political allies in the Al > Saud dynasty. > > But while Saudi Arabia's official Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam attacks > Islamists as heretical and "deviant", many of its most senior and popular > clergy preach a doctrine that encourages intolerance against the very groups > targeted by IS in Iraq. > > The arch conservatives Abdulrahman al-Barrak and Nasser al-Omar, who has more > than a million followers on Twitter, have accused Shi'ites of sowing "strife, > corruption and destruction among Muslims". > > Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan was sacked as judiciary head in 2008 for saying > owners of media that broadcast depravity have forsaken their faith, a crime > punishable in Sharia law by death, but he remains a member of the kingdom's > top Muslim council. > > Abdulaziz al-Fawzan, a professor of Islamic law and frequent guest on the > popular al-Majd religious television channel, has accused the West of being > behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, saying "these > criminals want to take control over the world". > > Such opinions, which echo the views of militants in Iraq, are not unusual in > Saudi Arabia, which applies Sharia Muslim law, has beheaded 20 people in the > past month, and where clerics oversee a lavish state-funded religious > infrastructure. > > Saudi Arabia and its ultra conservative Wahhabi school are often seen in the > West as the ideological wellspring of al Qaeda, which has staged attacks > across the world and of Islamic State, which has beheaded hostages in Syria > and Iraq. > > It is a viewpoint vociferously denied by the Saudi establishment, including > the ambassador to London, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, who wrote last month > that it "does not even faintly correspond" with Wahhabi teachings. > > The Al Saud are sensitive to such criticism not only because of the costs of > suppressing a militant insurgency a decade ago that killed hundreds, but > because their legitimacy rests partly on religious credentials underwritten > by Wahhabi clerics. > > Saudi authorities point to the influence of the radical wing of the Muslim > Brotherhood in developing modern jihadi thinking, but play down Riyadh's > decades of support for Islamists around the world as a counterweight to > anti-royal leftist ideology. > > The government's inability or reluctance to crack down on expressions of > intolerance towards non-Sunnis has led some Saudi liberals and foreign > analysts to ask if the kingdom is committed to tackling radicalism's roots, > or only its symptoms. > > "It's their definition of extremism we may not agree with. It is still very > mainstream to call Shi'ites infidels. That's not seen as extremist," said > Stephane Lacroix, author of Awakening Islam, a book about Islamism in Saudi > Arabia. > > JIHAD > > When the Al Saud first raised a state near Riyadh in the mid 18th century, > they did so with the support of a local preacher, Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, > whose purist doctrine is often known as Wahhabism, a term rejected by those > who follow it. > > Wahhabi ideology is focused on eliminating incorrect doctrine, particularly > when it appears to undermines monotheism, a category that includes Shi'ite > reverence for the Prophet Mohammed's descendents and the Christian belief in > a trinity. > > Like Shi'ites, the Kharijites wanted Mohammed to be replaced as leader of the > Muslims by his son-in-law, Ali, but they later assassinated him for > compromising with the early Sunnis. That act won them the enmity of both > Islam's main sects. > > Wahhabi clergy offer legitimacy and public support to a king who styles > himself "custodian of the two holy mosques", and leave all matters of > governance and foreign policy to him so long as his edicts do not contradict > Muslim law. > > In return, the ruling family has given them top government jobs, control over > Saudi Arabia's Sharia Muslim law, great influence over social issues and > public morality, and funds for foreign evangelism and massive Wahhabi > seminaries. > > Riyadh, which sees itself as a protector of Sunnis against Shi'ite factions > manipulated by an expansionist Iran, has given arms and cash to Syrian rebels > fighting President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawite sect close to > Shi'ites. > > But it also sees militant groups among the rebels, including IS and the Nusra > Front, as a threat to its own security, fearing that thousands of Saudi > nationals who have gone to fight there will be radicalised and target their > own country. > > It has declared both groups illegal and imposed long prison terms for any who > offer them support, help them raise money or join them to fight. > > That position is backed by the Wahhabi establishment, which has declared the > struggle in Syria a jihad, or holy war, for the Syrian people, but not for > Saudis, and repeatedly urged citizens not to go to fight. > > "Peace and war have to be directed by the government and the king himself. As > for those encouraging others to go and fight, I don't agree with it at all. > It doesn't comply with our religion and it's not legal," said Sheikh > Abdulmohsen Al al-Sheikh, a former member of the Sharia faculty at Mecca's > Umm al-Qura seminary. > > The militants, in turn, often cite Wahhabi clerics from the 18th and 19th > century, but they regard their modern successors as tools of the Saudi > government, which they have vowed to topple with the slogan "kadimoun" or "we > are coming". > > "The jihadis stopped citing senior mainstream Saudi clerics many years ago," > said Thomas Hegghammer, a research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research > Establishment and author of Jihad in Saudi Arabia. > > Even the few Saudi clerics who once supported al Qaeda, and are now in prison > in the kingdom, are shunned by IS because of its own rift with the older > militant group, he said. > > However, there are clearly contacts between some lower-level clerics and > militants in Iraq and Syria. The authorities said last month they had > detained mosque imams who urged people to go and join the fight and prepared > sermons for use by IS fighters. > > Another cleric was sentenced to five years in prison in August for > "glorifying" extremist ideology and urging others to go to Syria to fight. > Thousands of Saudis are believed to have joined militant groups in Syria and > Iraq. > > LIBERAL SAUDIS > > Over the past decade, the authorities have tried to hem in radical clergy by > imprisoning or sacking those who overtly support militancy. They have vetted > Friday sermons and restricted the power to issue fatwas (religious rulings) > to the 21 members of the Council of Senior Scholars. > > This does not go far enough for liberal Saudis. They believe the clergy's > willingness to use highly sectarian language and voice contempt or hatred for > non-Muslims fuels radical ideology. > > "The only way to fight al Qaeda and Islamic State is by being transparent and > open about it. We have a problem: some of our teachings promote militancy and > we don't need those teachings any more," said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a > television news channel owned by a prince. > > Some school textbooks, many of which are written by clerics, still feature > strong sentiments against non-Muslims despite Riyadh's pledge to purge the > curriculum of intolerant language. > > King Abdullah has pushed more tolerant interpretations of Wahhabi thought, > appointing Shi'ites to the Shoura Council which advises on policy and calling > for a new centre to study Islam's sects to be built in Riyadh, to the chagrin > of some Wahhabis. > > However, he has also been quoted in a 2006 U.S. embassy cable released by > WikiLeaks as attacking Shi'ites for "worshipping stones, domes and statues" > and has done little to rein in clerical attacks on the sect. > > "Anti-Shi'ism in Saudi religious discourse is extremely strong. So Saudis are > open to understanding and accepting those justifications for militancy," said > Lacroix. > > Supporters of the Al Saud argue they have to tread carefully when dealing > with conservative clerics. They say the ruling family is more liberal than > most Saudi citizens, and is wary of provoking public anger. > > But liberal Saudis and some foreign analysts say that is not the case, and > argue that if the government really wanted to reduce intolerant religious > discourse, it could readily do so. > > "When the government wants things to be done, they will be done," said > Mohammed al-Zulfa, a former member of the Shoura Council and an early public > advocate of allowing women to drive. > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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