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Destroy all churches: Obama silent while Saudi grand mufti targets Christianity

Published on 30 March, 2012
Destroy all churches: Obama silent while Saudi grand mufti targets Christianity

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

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.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/16/destroy-all-churches/

 

Christian Council condemns Saudi Grand Mufti Call For Destruction Of Churches In West Asia

 

New Delhi, March 30, 2012   

The All India Christian Council has condemned the call by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.”

Christian Council President Dr Joseph D’ Souza, said the Mufti’s controversial statement placed Christian churches throughout the Arabian peninsula in  jeopardy and could have repercussions for religious minorities in other countries.

Council secretary General Dr John Dayal called upon the government of India and other civilised countries to use their good offices to ensure that the nations in the Arabian peninsula rebuffed the Wahabi Imam’s bigoted statement, and assured the safety and security of churches in the Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Christianity is already forbidden in Saudi Arabia which has no churches.

West Asian media had reported the controversial statement in the context of another statement by a Kuwaiti member of parliament who reportedly called for the ‘removal’ of churches in his country. Legislation was also recently introduced in Kuwait’s parliament that would mandate the removal of Christian churches from the country and impose strict  Shariah laws. Kuwait has later clarified the legislation would not remove the churches, but prohibit further construction of Christian churches and non-Muslim places of worship in the country. The Saudi Grand Mufti  emphasized that because Kuwait is part of the Arabian Peninsula, it would be necessary to destroy all churches in the country. There are a large number of Christians living in Saudi Arabia and the other countries of the Arabian gulf,  many of them from India and the Philippines, with their population estimated at over 3.5 million, over 800,000 of them in Saudi Arabia alone.

The All India Christian Council has been following developments in the region with growing alarm and concern as Christians continue to be coerced and harassed at various times. It is particularly disturbing because India has a large number of its citizens, mostly labour but also businessmen, engineers and medical personnel, in the region. A large number of migrant from the  states of South India are Christians.

The All India Christian Council  said the Mufti’s statement flew in the face of the United Nations Charter and the UN Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Of Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief.

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