Jadi, selama ini mereka itu nggk becus...
Allahu Akbar.
Saudis to retrain 40,000 clerics
By Magdi Abdlehadi
BBC Arab Affairs analyst
Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as
imams - in an effort to counter militant Islam.
Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq
al-Awsat.
The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a
few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.
The ministry of religious affairs and new centre for national dialogue will
carry out the training, the paper said.
The centre was created five years ago to disseminate a moderate interpretation
of Islamic tradition.
There is growing awareness in Saudi society that security measures
alone are not enough to counter the threat of Islamic militancy.
Scepticism
Saudi clerics have long been accused of encouraging Saudi youth to join global
jihad and of inciting hatred of non-Muslims.
Nearly 1,000 imams have already been sacked over the past few years.
The Saudi royal family has come under increasing pressure - mainly from
Washington - to change religious textbooks and to rein in militant
clerics.
But critics are sceptical about whether such
initiatives would work as long as the powerful, and ultraconservative,
religious establishment in Saudi Arabia continues to exert enormous
influence over society.
Only last week, a prominent cleric called for the
beheading of two liberal writers who had questioned the orthodox view
that Muslims can not change their religion.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7308040.stm
Published: 2008/03/20 22:45:56 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
---------------
Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
___________________________________________________________
Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! For Good
http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
