On March 24, 2008, the reformist Arabic website Aafaq posted an op-ed by Dr. Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ansari, former dean of Islamic law at Qatar University, about a fatwa issued in Saudi Arabia denouncing and calling for the killing of two Saudi writers for articles they had published in the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh.
The fatwa, issued earlier this month by prominent Saudi cleric Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak, declared the two writers takfir – that is, that their views constituted apostasy from Islam, making them infidels (kuffar) and subject to the death penalty if they did not repent and retract their views. A few days after it was issued, a group of 20 Saudi clerics published a signed letter supporting it.[1]
In the following op-ed, titled "Slow Down, You Sheikhs Who Excommunicate,"[2] Dr. Al-Ansari criticizes Sheikh Al-Barrak and examines the fatwa in the context of the growing dispute between Salafist fundamentalist establishment sheikhs and Islamic reformists and modernists. He also calls for legislation to outlaw unfounded charges of takfir.
The following is Al-Ansari's op-ed, as posted on Aafaq's English-language website http://aafaq.org/English/.
To view the MEMRI TV page for Al-Ansari, visit http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/406.htm.
"This Fatwa Must Be Seen in the Context of the Intellectual Conflict Raging Between The Followers Of Salafist – Fundamentalist – Inflexibility and the Advocates of Change and Reform"
"Sheikh Abdurrahman Al-Barrak, one of the leading clerics in Saudi Arabia, has issued a controversial fatwa declaring that two Saudi writers – Abdullah bin Bjad Al-Otaibi, and Yusuf Aba Al-Kheil – have ceased to be Muslims and are infidels, on the basis of his objection to what they expressed in two articles published in the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh.
"In the fatwa, which was published on his website on March 14, Sheikh Al-Barrak stated that it is regrettable that articles containing this kind of blasphemy and infidelity are published in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques. He demanded that Saudi Arabia's rulers hold accountable the newspapers that published such falsehood, and [that the papers] were clearly acting as partners in sin, and demanded that the two writers be prosecuted and subjected to the penalties for apostasy if they do not repent and retract their views.
"This was also stated by the group of 20 clerics associated with Al-Barrak, who declared their support for their sheikh, contending that the fatwa is supported by the Koran and the Sunna and that the writers must be brought to trial.
"This fatwa must be seen in the context of the intellectual conflict raging between the followers of Salafist – fundamentalist – inflexibility and the advocates of change and reform. It constitutes a most serious attack on the reformists, since the writer Aba Al-Kheil is a specialist in Islamic intellectual issues, which he addresses from an Islamic viewpoint that is reconciled with the spirit and conditions of our age. And I know Abdullah bin Bjad Al-Otaibi very well and have followed his writings on various websites, and I see in him a brilliant Islamic mentality.
"He is known for his in-depth analyses of the phenomena of extremism and religious violence that have been sweeping the region and destroying our youth, as well as his skill and expertise in dissecting the intellectual and ideological structure of the various groups of political Islam, and the ideology of Al-Qaeda and of the rest of the prominent fundamentalist movements."
"Saudi Arabia... Has In Recent Years Witnessed a Productive Intellectual and Social Movement"
"I was surprised – personally – that such a fatwa was issued at this time in Saudi Arabia, which has in recent years witnessed productive intellectual and social movement that separates out a healthy space in which parties breathe invigorating thoughts, which was in association with raising the ceiling of the freedoms of thought and expression.
"I did not read the article by Aba Al-Kheil, but I had read the article by bin Bjad ('The Islam of the Text and the Islam of Conflict') at the time it was published, and did not find anything in it that called for its author to be declared an apostate and infidel – not in any way. So, after the fatwa was issued I went back to read it again, and was more convinced and satisfied that there was nothing that merits anger, much less a charge of apostasy. The entire article focused on one fundamental idea, that being that this Islam is simple, which was known by the Bedouins of the desert, and which was believed, and was convincing, without the complexities of the clerics and their jurisprudential inventions."
"[Different] 'Islams' [Were Formed] Reflecting the Vision of Each Faction, Supporting the Theory of Each Sect"
"It [i.e. this Islam] is without any hostility to others of different religion – so long as peaceful – but has been turned by the jurists and religious scholars into the Islam of conflict.... They developed into factions and protagonists of ideologies that made use of religion of their competitive goals, forming in the end 'Islams' reflecting the vision of each faction and supporting the theory of each sect.... This brings the example of the excesses that the adversaries introduced into the text through the Traditions to justify their goals....
"Is there anything is this that calls for excommunication?
"Were there not differences among the Islamic sects and legal schools over a thousand years ago – over who would alone enter paradise – a known historical fact? Did not more than 73 religious and juristic tendencies dispute, and each one of them claim that it possessed religious truth?
"I am saying this, and I am a student and specialist in the shari'a, and obtained a Ph.D. from Al-Azhar University, and I say truly and honestly that I did not find in bin Bjad's article anything that touches on the proofs of the shari'a, or any denial of what must be known about the religion, not in this article nor in his other critical articles.
"How can it be permitted for a major religious scholar to hurry to declare his brother Muslim an infidel merely on the basis of a suspicion or misunderstanding? Did this sheikh read the article?...Did this sheikh now know that the judgment of apostasy is an issue for the judges, based on specified procedures and measures, and not an issue for preachers, muftis and clerics?"
"A Judgment of Apostasy is a Serious Judgment, Because of its Serious Consequences... Where is the Wisdom of the Sheikhs and their Clear Insight in This Matter?"
"A judgment of apostasy is a serious judgment, because of its serious consequences, ranging from the person to his wife, children, family. Where is the wisdom of the sheikhs and their clear insight in this matter? The Messenger of (Peace be upon him) warned us against making accusations of apostasy.... The greatest sin that a Muslim can commit against a brother Muslim is to declare him an infidel, while knowing that he witnesses the two testimonies [i.e. There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God], leading the religious obligations mere suspicion, or drawing conclusions from statements and writings of biased persons and persons lying in ambush. If Islam is our concern we must avoid punishing on the basis of suspicions, and 'excommunication' is the first thing to be avoided. "And what is the state of mind of our religious sheikhs in hurrying to excommunicate?
"When the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (King Abdullah) was still crown prince, at the beginning of 2003, he met with Saudi clerics and asked them to deliberate carefully in issuing judgments, to accept a commitment to rationality, and to scrutinize what is preached from the pulpits and its impact and effects. And the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia issued a bold and famous fatwa calling for exchanges of accusations of apostasy to end, and for careful consideration in issuing judgments of excommunication, and warned against the consequences of deviations that lead to assassinations, bombings and the loss of lives.
"... Why did the sheikh not comply with this fatwa? And why did he violate the instructions of the ruler?
"The fatwa was issued by the senior clerics of the Kingdom in the context of the chaos of excommunication that prevailed in the area several years ago, from which no one was spared... beginning with the excommunication of the beloved Kuwaiti artist Abdullah Al-Ruweishid, and ending with the writers and intellectuals, not sparing even enlightened clerics of the type of Sheikh Mohammed Abdu and Sheikh Al-Ghazali."
"The River Of Excommunication is Broad and Sweeping, Its Roots Extending Deep into Our History and Our Heritage"
"The river of excommunication is broad and sweeping, its roots extending deep into our history and our heritage, and the best example of this destructive thought was the 'Kharijites,' who did not hesitate to declare the society of the companions to be apostates and declare it legal to shed their blood – and they were the 'pious ancestors' of the 'new excommunicators,' who monopolize the religious truth and grant themselves the right to excommunicate writers and intellectuals without accountability or oversight, immune from questioning, these people do not hesitate even to question the beliefs of all Muslims, ... and hold that only they are the owners of the true faith. [A Kharijite assassinated Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam, and the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad].
"Much blood has been shed because of these declarations of excommunication. In today's world, we rely on dialog and understanding instead of the methods of casting doubts and excommunicating, but the tragedy of Arab life is the 'new excommunicators' who still hold dominance over the pulpits and make accusations without being held accountable!!"
"It Is Part of the Misery of Arab Life that the 'Sheikhs Of Excommunication' Have the Right to Excommunicate and Declare Apostasy Against Intellectuals – While No One Has the Right to Sue These 'Sheikhs' in Court"
"It is part of the misery of Arab life that the 'sheikhs of excommunication' have the right to excommunicate and declare apostasy against intellectuals, while no one has the right to sue these 'sheikhs' in court. This contradiction is a travesty of Arab law, for you have the right in Arab law to sue someone who insults you and slanders you, but you do not have the right to sue a person who declares you an infidel, which is the most serious and the most dangerous accusation! And why?
"The reason is that the religious sheikhs are placed above the people and have immunity, which prevents their being prosecuted. Several years ago 'Imam University' in Riyadh granted a Ph.D. 'with distinction' to a Saudi researcher who, in his doctoral thesis, declared 200 Arab intellectuals – prominent proponents of modernity, rationality and enlightenment – to be infidels. He said 'they are infidels and it is legal to kill them,' and not one of these accused intellectuals is able to demand justice for himself!
"Imagine the misery, absurdity, and contradictions in the Arab world when one person is able to excommunicate all of the Arab reformists in a Ph.D. thesis without any of them having the right to go to court against him!"
"It Is Time for Arab States to Make Declarations of Apostasy (Tafkir) A Crime"
"And if an ignorant person believed what that researcher wrote and assassinated one of the scholars who was labeled and infidel, because the researcher made the shedding of his blood licit, there is no legal blame on the researcher who instigated the crime and misled the killer.
"It is time for Arab states to make declarations of apostasy (tafkir) a crime, just as murder is a crime, and an issue of great gravity not to be left to the unilateral declaration of an individual sheikh. We must have legislation to govern this matter to prevent anarchy and protect the dignity and reputation of the Muslim and his family...."
Endnotes:
[1] For more on Aafaq.org about the fatwa and the clerics' letter in support of it, see the Arabic articles "Saudi Cleric Declares Two Writers at the Newspaper 'Riyadh' Infidels and Calls for their Killing," and "Saudi Clerics Support Fatwa Calling for Killing of Two Liberal Writers."
[2] See the Arabic original.
