1. Middle East Forum (http://www.meforum.org)
Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for "Destruction of All Churches in Region", 14 March 2012
by Raymond Ibrahim
Jihad Watch
According to several Arabic news sources, last Monday, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."
The Grand Mufti made his assertion in response to a question posed by a delegation from Kuwait: a Kuwaiti parliament member recently called for the "removal" of churches (he later "clarified" by saying he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait), and the delegation wanted to confirm Sharia's position on churches.
Accordingly, the Grand Mufti "stressed that Kuwait was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore it is necessary to destroy all churches in it."
As with many grand muftis before him, the Sheikh based his proclamation on the famous tradition, or hadith, wherein the prophet of Islam declared on his deathbed 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.
While the facts of this account speak for themselves, consider further:
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah is not just some random Muslim hating on churches. He is the Grand Mufti of the nation that brought Islam to the world. Moreover, he is the President of the Supreme Council of Ulema [Islamic scholars] and Chairman of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas. Accordingly, when it comes to what Islam teaches, his words are immensely authoritative.
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.
Yet the Grand Mufti—the highest Islamic law authority of our "friend-and-ally" Saudi Arabia—gets a free pass when he incites Muslims to destroy churches, not that any extra incitement is needed (nary a month goes by without several churches being bombed and destroyed throughout the Islamic world). In fact, at the time of this writing, I have not seen this story, already some three days old, translated on any English news source, though "newsworthy" stories are often translated in mere hours.
Likewise, consider the significance of the Grand Mufti's rationale for destroying churches: it is simply based on a hadith. But when non-Muslims evoke hadiths—this one or the countless others that incite violence and intolerance against the "infidel"—they are accused of being "Islamophobes," of intentionally slandering and misrepresenting Islam, of being obstacles on the road to "dialogue," and so forth.
Which leads to perhaps the most important point: Islam's teachings are so easily ascertained; there is no mystery in determining what is "right" and "wrong" in Islam. The Grand Mufti based his fatwa on a canonical hadith, which Muslims and (informed) non-Muslims know is part of Islam's sources of jurisprudence (or usul al-fiqh). And yet the West—with all its institutions of higher learning, including governmental agencies dealing with cultural and religious questions—is still thoroughly "confused" as to what Islam teaches.
All of this is nothing short of a scandal—a reminder of just how deep the mainstream media, academia, and most politicians have their collective heads thrust in the sand.
Meanwhile, here is the latest piece of evidence of just how bad churches have it in the Muslim world, for those who care to know.
・Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
・This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.
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The Middle East Forum.
2. Washington Times (http://www.washingtontimes.com)
EDITORIAL: Destroy all churches
Obama silent while Saudi grand mufti targets Christianity
by THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Washington Times
Friday, March 16, 2012
If the pope called for the destruction of all the mosques in Europe, the uproar would be cataclysmic. Pundits would lambaste the church, the White House would rush out a statement of deep concern, and rioters in the Middle East would kill each other in their grief. But when the most influential leader in the Muslim world issues a fatwa to destroy Christian churches, the silence is deafening.
On March 12, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.” The ruling came in response to a query from a Kuwaiti delegation over proposed legislation to prevent construction of churches in the emirate. The mufti based his decision on a story that on his deathbed, Muhammad declared, “There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula.” This passage has long been used to justify intolerance in the kingdom. Churches have always been banned in Saudi Arabia, and until recently Jews were not even allowed in the country. Those wishing to worship in the manner of their choosing must do so hidden away in private, and even then the morality police have been known to show up unexpectedly and halt proceedings.
This is not a small-time radical imam trying to stir up his followers with fiery hate speech. This was a considered, deliberate and specific ruling from one of the most important leaders in the Muslim world. It does not just create a religious obligation for those over whom the mufti has direct authority; it is also a signal to others in the Muslim world that destroying churches is not only permitted but mandatory.
The Obama administration ignores these types of provocations at its peril. The White House has placed international outreach to Muslims at the center of its foreign policy in an effort to promote the image of the United States as an Islam-friendly nation. This cannot come at the expense of standing up for the human rights and religious liberties of minority groups in the Middle East. The region is a crucial crossroads. Islamist radicals are leading the rising political tide against the authoritarian, secularist old order. They are testing the waters in their relationship with the outside world, looking for signals of how far they can go in imposing their radical vision of a Shariah-based theocracy. Ignoring provocative statements like the mufti’s sends a signal to these groups that they can engage in the same sort of bigotry and anti-Christian violence with no consequences.
Mr. Obama’s outreach campaign to the Muslim world has failed to generate the good will that he expected. In part, this was because he felt it was better to pander to prejudice than to command respect. When members of the Islamic establishment call for the religious equivalent of ethnic cleansing, the leader of the free world must respond or risk legitimizing the oppression that follows. The United States should not bow to the extremist dictates of the grand mufti, no matter how desperate the White House is for him to like us.
3. Worldwider Religious News (http://wwrn.org)
'Destroy all churches,' says Saudi Arabian Islamic leader, 16 March 2012
by Luiza Oleszczuk ("The Christian Post," March 16, 2012)
Saudi Arabia - Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the highest official of religious law in the Sunni country, has 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 from a Kuwait-based NGO, Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage, in response to a question on what Shariah law says about building churches, according to the Arabic Christian publication, Linga.org.
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 specified later that he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait. In February, 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 the further construction of Christian churches and non-Muslim places of worship in the country.
Saudi Arabia is officially Muslim and other religions are forbidden. Nevertheless, a small minority of Christians are known to worship there, unofficially. According to one 2008 estimate, 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 informed The Christian Post that a group of Christians from Ethiopia had been imprisoned 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, to which Al-Asheikh stressed that Kuwait was part of the Arabian Peninsula and it was therefore necessary to destroy all churches. 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.
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
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