Special Dispatch - Saudi Arabia
January 11, 2006
No. 1069
Saudi Professor of Islamic Law on Saudi TV Exhorts Muslims to "Positive
Hatred" of Christians
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Sheikh Abd Al-Aziz Fawzan Al-Fawzan, a professor of Islamic law at
Al-Imam University, who frequently appears on Saudi TV recently made
anti-Christian comments on Saudi Al-Majd TV. He told his audience to hate
anyone "who worships Christ, son of Mary" and added that "whoever says 'I
don't hate him [i.e. a Christian]' is not a Muslim..." He went on to
explain that such an attitude "is not racism" since the Christian is not
hated "because of his color, gender, blood, country, or because he is
American, European, Chinese, or Asian," and stipulated that this hatred
should be "positive hatred" that guides and reforms.
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Following these statements are excerpts from other interviews from the
past year, including Al-Fawzan's views on the tsunami which he says was
Allah's punishment for homosexuality and fornication at Christmas; a
call by Al-Fawzan to Iraqis to do their individual duty and wage Jihad;
and his views on a woman's ability to drive and lead prayers:
Muslims Must Hate Christians With "Positive Hatred" - December 16,
2005, Al-Majd TV
Al-Fawzan: "Someone who denies Allah, worships Christ, son of Mary, and
claims that God is one third of a trinity - do you like these things he
says and does? Don't you hate the faith of such a polytheist who says
God is one third of a trinity, or who worships Christ, son of Mary?
"Someone who permits and commits fornication - as is the case in
Western countries, where fornication is permitted and not considered a
problem - don't you hate this? Whoever says 'I don't hate him' is not a
Muslim, my brother."
[...]
"This is not racism, my brother. We don't hate a polytheist because of
his color, gender, blood, country, or because he is American, European,
Chinese, or Asian. They are our partners in humanity. An American
Muslim may be better in Allah's view than all the Arabs."
[...]
"But if this person is an infidel - even if this person is my mother or
father, God forbid, or my son or daughter - I must hate him, his
heresy, and his defiance of Allah and His prophet. I must hate his abominable
deeds. Moreover, this hatred must be positive hatred. It should make me
feel compassion for him, and should make me guide and reform him."
Tsunami is Allah's Punishment for Homosexuality and Fornication at
Christmas - December 31, 2004, Al-Majd TV
Al-Fawzan: "These great tragedies and collective punishments that are
wiping out villages, towns, cities, and even entire countries, are
Allah's punishments of the people of these countries, even if they are
Muslims.
"Some of our forefathers said that if there is usury and fornication in
a certain village, Allah permits its destruction. We know that at these
resorts, which unfortunately exist in Islamic and other countries in
South Asia, and especially at Christmas, fornication and sexual
perversion of all kinds are rampant. The fact that it happened at this
particular time is a sign from Allah. It happened at Christmas, when fornicators
and corrupt people from all over the world come to commit fornication
and sexual perversion. That's when this tragedy took place, striking
them all and destroyed everything. It turned the land into wasteland,
where only the cries of the ravens are heard. I say this is a great sign
and punishment on which Muslims should reflect.
"All that's left for us to do is to ask for forgiveness. We must atone
for our sins, and for the acts of the stupid people among us and
improve our condition. We must fight fornication, homosexuality, usury, fight
the corruption on the face of the earth, and the disregard of the lives
of protected people."
Reactions to Criticism From Saudi Press on Tsunami Statements: This is
Allah's Punishment - January 14, 2005, MBC TV
Al-Fawzan: "I ask Allah to guide these journalists and grant them full
repentance. It saddens me that they are so ignorant of the religious
law. I don't care what they said about me. Allah be praised, people know
my thoughts and opinions, which I present on the TV channels, in my
books, letters, articles, lectures, and classes. I'm not bothered by their
distortion, accusations, and incitement. It is beneath me.
"Collective punishments, such as earthquakes, devastating volcanoes,
torrent floods, rampant plagues, lethal storms and gales according to all
scholars, they are divine punishments and divine warnings to all those
rebelling against Allah, whether or not they are Muslims.
"But this does not mean we can say that it is a natural phenomenon,
caused by the weakness of the earth's crust. Some of them even said this
occurs every 200 years. As the infidels said: 'Our fathers, too, were
touched by suffering and affluence,' and they ceased praying to Allah.
These are punishments and a warning from Allah because of the spreading
of obscenities and abomination in this country and others, and we must
be God-fearing. Therefore, I advise our brothers, and call upon us to be
God-fearing, so that what happened to them won't happen to us."
Jihad in Iraq is an Individual Duty Incumbent Upon Iraqis - November
21, 2004, Al-Majd TV
Al-Fawzan: "Defensive Jihad must be authorized by the leader, if the
Muslims have a legal leader. It is possible that the leader, along with
the leading jurisprudents and the nation's leaders, will think that the
Jihad should be postponed due to certain interests. But if they don't
have a leader, as is the case unfortunately, in some Muslim countries,
should the Muslims surrender to the occupying enemy? No cleric would
allow such a thing. The clerics have all agreed that if an enemy invades a
Muslim country, Jihad against this enemy becomes an individual duty
applying to anyone who can wage Jihad.
"But I'd like to highlight a very important issue, about which, in my
opinion, even some clerics make mistakes. They read in the religious law
books that Jihad becomes an individual duty when an enemy invades a
Muslim country. But they say it applies to all Muslims worldwide - while
no cleric says this.
"Jihad is an individual duty applying to the people of that country. If
they cannot defend themselves against this enemy then it applies to the
next in line, to the next in line after them, and so on, and it is
possible that it will eventually apply to all the countries of Islam. But
this does not mean that if an enemy enters Iraq, for instance, then all
the Muslims in all the countries of the world need to come to Iraq to
fight. No one has said so. Only an ignoramus would say so.
"Jihad is an individual duty applying to the Iraqi people. They need to
wage this Jihad against this enemy until it leaves their country,
especially as this enemy hurts their honor, blood, and property. Is it
conceivable that we will let it be? Never. Jihad in this case is an
individual duty applying to anyone capable of waging it in this country."
Why Women Cannot Drive - June 17, 2005, Al-Majd TV
Al-Fawzan: "In conservative countries like Saudi Arabia - this blessed
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - which, Allah be praised, is the most
conservative in the Muslim world, in which a woman maintains her honor,
decency, and modesty - and she does not reveal anything - not her hands, her
face, or anything - how can she drive a car?
"Those who call to allow women to drive - according to what has been
written - can be divided into two groups. The first group includes
Westernized people who, to tell the truth, want to Westernize the society.
They want to destroy society, corrupt it, and drag it down into the
depths of decay and permissiveness, like in Western societies. These people
have been blinded by what they saw there when they studied or visited
there, and they want our society to be like other societies. They want
it to be devoid of all values, morals, and modesty. They want women to
go out on the streets all made up, like a harlot, with her face
uncovered, like they see in the West. They think that the shortest and best way
to reach this goal is to allow women to drive, because if a woman
drives, she will reveal her face, drive without a male chaperone, will have
an easy opportunity to meet all kinds of young men and women, and she
will get all made up, will mix with men, and so on.
"I don't think that any woman, throughout human history, has been as
oppressed as the Western woman today - and they still claim that they
have given her freedom. They took her out (of the home) in order to
exploit her, to exploit her honor and dignity. Furthermore, in many
countries, her salary is lower than the man's, but she works more than him. She
does not get what she wants unless she sacrifices her honor, to her
bosses or co-workers. How strange! Even though they have permissiveness
there, and any man can satisfy his desires outside of marriage... he's
not satisfied with 10 or 20. Any girl he sees, who has certain features,
he wants. If she consents - fine. If not - he rapes her."
"How Can a Woman Be Permitted to Become a Preacher?" - March 28, 2005,
Al-Majd TV
Al Fawzan: "Even if the imam makes a mistake during prayers, the
Prophet banned women from saying 'subhan allah' ['God forbid'] like the men
say in such a case... Women must clap their hands [instead]. Why?
Because the voice of women is tender by nature, and arouses [urges], and it
is improper for men to engage in thoughts about women during prayer...
"Thus, how can a woman be permitted to become a preacher? Undoubtedly,
this is unacceptable, and must be condemned...
"I know of no clerics who permit men to be led in prayer by a woman,
not even in the five [required daily] prayers - and all the more so in a
sermon... The controversy amongst the clerics concerns women leading
women in prayer... [and whether] this is lawful or merely permissible...
[Even in this case,] the clerics have determined that a female imam
must stand amongst the women, not in front of them, so as not to be like
the men [where the imam stands in front of them]. This being the case,
how is it conceivable that she deliver a sermon? This is a strange
thing... that emanates from lack of faith, from religious weakness, and from
laxity in religious knowledge, and also from behaving in accordance
with the will of the enemies of the [Muslim] nation - the Jews and the
Christians..."