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| Arabia |
| Article about Concept of Divinity Leads to Arrest of Its Author |
| 2011-10-15 |
| [MEMRI] On September 5, 2011, Saudi columnist 'Abd Al-'Aziz 'Ali Al-Suweid published in the daily Al-Madina a highly controversial philosophical-theological article, which claimed that mankind must abandon the traditional and popular perception of the divine and adopt a "secular, universal, scientific, and humanistic" perception of this concept. He explained that the only way to gain knowledge of God is through scientific investigation of His "ways and laws," as they are reflected in the cosmos and in human nature. He added that the ways of God are open to endless interpretations, none of them more correct than any other, and that each individual is free to choose his beliefs and opinions according to his own understanding. Senior Saudi Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Barak responded to the article on his Facebook page on September 13, describing it as "erring" and containing heretical ideas. He also called it atheistic, because, he said, it perceives the divine in a non-religious way, different from the perception familiar to the Mohammedans. He urged Al-Suweid and the editor of Al-Madina to publish an apology, saying that if they did not, they should be prosecuted along with Soddy Arabia's Information minister, Dr. 'Abd Al-'Aziz Khoja.[1] After several websites[2] reported that he had accused Al-Suweid of heresy, Al-Barak clarified, on September 19, that he had not meant to commit takfir ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... against Al-Suweid (i.e., to proclaim him an apostate) but only to describe some of his ideas as heretical and to warn him against this. "According to the scholars of Islamic law," he explained, "there is a difference between passing judgment upon a statement and passing judgment upon the person who made it... That said, there is nothing to keep [us] from pointing out that the person who made the statements may be in danger of falling into heresy, in order to warn him of the danger in his words."[3] Also on September 19, Al-Suweid wrote on Al-Madina that some readers had apparently misunderstood the intention of his article. The purpose of the article, he said, had been to stress that "God is above the various names, attributes, and actions that have been ascribed to Him by the erring sects, or by the texts of various religions that have distorted the Word of God and by the texts of the non-monotheistic religions."[4] On September 20, 2011, the Saudi daily Sabq reported that, on the orders of the Saudi king, Al -Suweid had been locked away for the publication of his September 5 article, along with Al-Madina's editor-in-chief, Dr. Fahd Al-'Aqran, and that the latter had been replaced as editor by 'Abdallah Al-'Umri. According to the report, the king has instructed to investigate the two and to bring charges against them before the Information Ministry Legal Committee. The report explained that the article had enraged the king because it contravened the tenets of Islam, an offense that cannot be justified even on the grounds of free speech.[5] It should be noted that the article, as well as Al-Suweid's September 19 clarification, have been removed from Al-Madina's website. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 A very interesting note in that his accuser backed down from calling him out, saying in effect that it was the idea that was in error, not the man. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, and speak to the king on the subject of the necessity of "academic freedom" to the advancement of the kingdom. And that "correcting" them is a much better policy than decapitating them. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-10-15 11:33 |