Saudi University Professor Yousuf Al-Ahmad: Al-Walid bin Talal, Other Owners of Saudi TV Channels Should Be Executed According to Islamic Law
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2216.htm.
Al Waleed: not Islamic enough!
“We Should Say to [LBC TV Owner] Al-Walid Bin Talal: Beware”
Interviewer: “A year ago, Sheikh Saleh Al-Lahidan issued a fatwa that made all hell break loose. He demanded that owners [of liberal Arab TV channels be placed on trial] and repent. Do you support Sheikh Al-Lahidan’s demand?”
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad: “I believe all Muslim scholars support him in this.
“I believe that one of our problems is that we continue to bury our heads in the sand, and talk about ‘Lebanese’ TV channels, as if we are being honest. Take LBC, for example. We all know who owns it. We should say to [the owner] Al-Walid bin Talal: Beware. The same is true of MBC TV, Al-Arabiya TV, the ART and Rotana channels – all these [Saudi] channels serve to destroy Islam and the Muslims.
[...]
“Regarding these base channels that I have mentioned, and others like them – I have no doubt whatsoever that their danger to the Islamic nation is no less than that of the Zionist Jews, or of the Crusader Americans in Iraq and elsewhere.”
Interviewer: “What led you to such an extremist view? Note that you are equating channels owned by Muslims, by Saudi citizens, with the Jews.”
“The Deadly Poison That They Are Spreading Has Reached the Bone Marrow”
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad: “I wasn’t equating them. I said they are more dangerous. I was being precise. In my view, the deadly poison that they are spreading has reached the bone marrow.
[...]
“The people who spread corruption in the land – whether highway robbers, drug dealers, or the owners of these TV channels, who are even more dangerous… These channels broadcast corruption and nudity. They are all people who spread corruption in the land, and they should be tried in an Islamic court of law and sentenced to death. This [fatwa] is clearly in accordance with Islamic law. There’s no doubt about it.”
Interviewer: “The ferocity of this fatwa has cast fear in the hearts of…”
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad: “… of the hypocrites.”
Interviewer: “In everybody’s hearts. Even in the West, it received much attention.”
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad: “Islam itself casts fear…”
Interviewer: “No, it doesn’t. Islam is a religion of tolerance and leniency, Sheikh.”
“We Demand That They Face Trial in an Islamic Court of Law”
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad: “Allah says otherwise. Islam is lenient, but the infidel West trembles in fear of it. Allah has ordered us to prepare: ‘Prepare for them what force and steeds of war you can, to cast fear in the hearts of Allah’s enemies and of your own.’ Our human nature may tell us that stoning is unacceptable, but this is a punishment decreed by Allah. If Allah decrees death – this is how it should be. If the Islamic scholars ruled that the punishment for drug dealers is death, this is how it should be.
“I believe that [the TV channel owners] are more dangerous than all of these. Forget about whether or not they should be killed – we demand that they face trial in an Islamic court of law.
“I call upon the good, honorable businessmen to contribute their millions in order to hire lawyers to file Islamic lawsuits against these TV channels owners, and to persecute them legally. I call upon lawyers and good people in Saudi Arabia, in the Gulf states, in Egypt, in Yemen, and everywhere, to banish them from all Muslim countries.”
“Islam is a religion of tolerance and leniency, Sheik.” “Allah says otherwise.”
Al-Walid bin Talal’s influence on the American media has not been positive, but that has not prevented one Saudi professor from considering him to present a “danger to the Islamic nation is no less than that of the Zionist Jews, or of the Crusader Americans in Iraq and elsewhere.”
Al-Ahmed, meanwhile, in his denial that Islam is a religion of tolerance and leniency, must be some kind of ignorant Islamophobe. But seriously, note al-Ahmed’s words about how if Allah said it, it must be true, and it must be obeyed. This is the obstacle that prevents Islamic reformers from gaining significant headway among Muslims.
“Saudi University Professor Yousuf Al-Ahmad: Al-Walid bin Talal and Other Owners of Saudi TV Channels Should Be Executed According to Islamic Law,” from MEMRITV, August 8 (thanks to JW):
Following are excerpts from an interview with Sheik Yousuf Al-Ahmad, a professor of Islamic law at Al-Imam University, Riyadh, which aired on Daleel TV on August 8, 2009.
[...] I believe that one of our problems is that we continue to bury our heads in the sand, and talk about “Lebanese” TV channels, as if we are being honest. Take LBC, for example. We all know who owns it. We should say to [the owner] Al-Walid bin Talal: Beware. The same is true of MBC TV, Al-Arabiya TV, the ART and Rotana channels – all these [Saudi] channels serve to destroy Islam and the Muslims.
[...]
Regarding these base channels that I have mentioned, and others like them – I have no doubt whatsoever that their danger to the Islamic nation is no less than that of the Zionist Jews, or of the Crusader Americans in Iraq and elsewhere.
Interviewer: What led you to such an extremist view? Note that you are equating channels owned by Muslims, by Saudi citizens, with the Jews.
Sheik Yousuf Al-Ahmad: I wasn’t equating them. I said they are more dangerous. I was being precise. in my view, the deadly poison that they are spreading has reached the bone marrow.
[...]
The people who spread corruption in the land – whether highway robbers, drug dealers, or the owners of these TV channels, who are even more dangerous… These channels broadcast corruption and nudity. They are all people who spread corruption in the land, and they should be tried in an Islamic court of law and sentenced to death. This [fatwa] is clearly in accordance with Islamic law. There’s no doubt about it.
“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.” — Qur’an 5:33
Interviewer: The ferocity of this fatwa has cast fear in the hearts of…
Sheik Yousuf Al-Ahmad: … of the hypocrites.
Interviewer: In everybody’s hearts. Even in the West, it received much attention.
Sheik Yousuf Al-Ahmad: Islam itself casts fear…
Interviewer: No, it doesn’t. Islam is a religion of tolerance and leniency, Sheik.
Sheik Yousuf Al-Ahmad: Allah says otherwise. Islam is lenient, but the infidel West trembles in fear of it. Allah has ordered us to prepare: “Prepare for them what force and steeds of war you can, to cast fear in the hearts of Allah’s enemies and of your own.”
That’s Qur’an 8:60.
Our human nature may tell us that stoning is unacceptable, but this is a punishment decreed by Allah. If Allah decrees death – this is how it should be. If the Islamic scholars ruled that the punishment for drug dealers is death, this is how it should be.
I believe that [the TV channel owners] are more dangerous than all of these. Forget about whether or not they should be killed – we demand that they face trial in an Islamic court of law. I call upon the good, honorable businessmen to contribute their millions in order to hire lawyers to file Islamic lawsuits against these TV channels owners, and to persecute them legally. I call upon lawyers and good people in Saudi Arabia, in the Gulf states, in Egypt, in Yemen, and everywhere, to banish them from all Muslim countries.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Of course the blog-owner wants the world to think that radical Muslims are the correct followers of Islam and thus he is in fact supporting radical islamists.
What this article shows is that there are a lot more liberal Muslims out there than he wants the readership to think. The fact is that there are hundreds of saterlite channels in the Arabic language with huge followings that are simply giving information, entertainment as is demanded by the public that watches it.
It also shows that there is debate, not in the theocratic institutions (which is a shame but will come) but in the airwaves and homes versus the rhetoric in those radical Mosques.
Thus the reality is that there are elements still in some form of power who want to shore-up their power and give statements like the above, whilst at the same time there is the increasing power of the moderate Muslim media whom simply will show what people really think, give entertainment, movies, humour, free journalism, show religous items as chosen by them and so on. Here in Morocco I can see all those channels – I do not like most of them because they do not follow my taste, and we also have private Moroccan Arabic/French channels that are similar – with no problems from authoritities at all (2M, Med1Sat and others). The article mentioned MBC, that includes MBC2 (mostly western movies and series in English with arabic sub-titles), MBC3 for kids, MBC 4 are just series and MBC Action which is action-series. FOX Movies and FOX Series are Egypt based. MBC 4 late at night shows David Letterman, ET and the Insider and Inside Edition and sometimes CBS News. The Rotana Group have many music video stations which I think the blog-owner would want to supress from his agenda-blog with singing, dancing (some belly dancing) and pretty much what he would like to tell us is banned under Islam.
A last point, one of the realities of the above article has nothing to do with what is Islamic or not or halal or not – it really has to do with Saudi Politics as the King gets older the succession is voted and not necessarily the oldest son or the King’s choice. Talal is one of the candidates as he is a favourite nephew, ultra-rich world-class businessman and very anti-wahhabist. So go figure.
All muslims are followers of the false prophet, Solkhar, regardless of any
agenda-driven labels you might like to apply to a sub-set of them, such
as “radical islamists”.
Islam is as Islam does and no matter how you squirm and protest Solkhar you cant hide that your fellow CULT followers are demonstrating exactly what Islam is every day. So all your Taqqiya is in vain.
* [... I think the blog-owner would want to supress from his agenda-blog with singing, dancing (some belly dancing) and pretty much what he would like to tell us is banned under Islam ...]
It isn’t the “blog-owner” with his “agenda-blog” who tells us what is
banned under islam – it is muslims themselves – prohibited things include, but are not limited to – Bibles, churches, soccer, music, cd’s
mobile phones, television, exposed female faces, mixed sex swimming, weddings, alcohol hand wash, basic hospital hygiene,
eating food in front of muslims during ramavan, guide dogs and service animals – you name it, some muslim somewhere has banned it, often backing up the ban with threats of “dire consequences” if the ban is not observed. YMMV.
About the only thing not banned is barking madness.
It always makes me laugh ‘ muslim scholar ‘
What kind of ‘scholar’ is this ?
Someone studying a nonsensical book and they don’t even know it’s nonsensical .
They’d be washing dishes if they had to make their own way in UK .
Sorry, they’d be on our dole .
In Oz, the “muslim scholars” get Centres of Excellence in Islamic Studies set up and funded in universities, often with “help” from the
Swordi government and other moderate muslim states (eg)
[The Australian - April 2008]
GRIFFITH University’s embarrassment over a sweetheart funding deal with the repressive Saudi Arabian Government, with a $100,000 donation in the bag and potentially $1.37 million more to follow, has highlighted a growing disquiet in some quarters over sources of financing for Islamic studies.
[...]
There is even a guarded comment from a senior Muslim academic, the University of Melbourne’s Sultan of Oman professor of Arab and Islamic studies Abdullah Saeed, who is an associate of Mohamad Abdalla, founding director of Griffith University’s Islamic research unit through their joint involvement in the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies.
He agrees funding is a sensitive area. “In the current climate one has to be very careful,” says Saeed, the centre’s lead director.
The establishment of the $2.4million Sultan of Oman chair in 2004 occurred without incident, but when Ismail Albayrak was appointed to the newly created Fethullah Gulen chair in the study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne last October, there was controversy.
[...]
And so on – national-false-prophet-assisted-suicide.
Mullah
Also on the banned list chess , criket and badminton…even tho criket is every Pakistani boy’s dream. No doubt the list will keep growing. Can’t have any fun or enjoyment can we?
Mullah
Also on the banned list chess , criket and badminton…even tho criket is every Pakistani boy’s dream. No doubt the list will keep growing. Can’t have any fun or enjoyment can we? Chess playing producers very strategic thinkers…no definetly not allowed. There is a small country somewhere where the leader is a chess fanatic……throughout the whole education system all children play chess. He is hoping to create an intelligent population. Lets hope they don’t get invaded by the peaceful ones.