This commentary was published in the Arab News on 29/12/2010
I realize I am taking up a very sensitive subject.
I also understand that I would be stereotyped as liberal or secular, but I don't care as long as this article provokes readers to consider thoughtfully the future of our country.
My thinking was stimulated by the participation of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, director of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Makkah Region, at a forum held recently at Khadija Bint Khowailid Business Women Center in Jeddah. The strident reactions to his speech deserve an answer. I commend Sheikh Al-Ghamdi for his modern and civilized views in spite of the numerous difficulties he has faced. I also applaud those women who organized and attended the Jeddah forum and who daily combat the tough and inflexible culture of relegating women to second-class status because of intolerant religious edicts.
Despite all the difficulties that currently exist, the bigger issue is how to address the misguided conservative interpretation of Islam that seeks to justify greater repression of Saudi women. This fundamental issue is so problematic and complex that it has dominated and controlled ways of our thinking and the intellectual discourse in the Kingdom.
The present situation requires that we ponder the following points:
First: Certainly, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, where Islamic Law is followed. However, certain puritan religious leaders have ignored Islam's tolerant and flexible nature and have imposed a kind of strict interpretation that betrays our religion and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) teachings. Islam is a faith that does not require persons to establish a direct link or relationship with the Creator. Yet, regrettably, many of our clerics are still talking in the name of God and his Messenger and advancing the mistaken view that "He who opposes me also must oppose God and his Messenger." This is quite similar to the Catholic Church's stance in the Middle Ages where many people were persecuted in the name of God. One must ask, "How can Saudi society progress if it allows such a defeatist culture teaming with fear, skepticism and unequal relations between men and women?"
Second: The prevailing attitude for the past three decades is to relegate Saudi women to an inferior status. I doubt that anybody can equal this school of thought in its dogmatism and strictness with the exception of a few Muslim countries that still live in the Dark Ages. Those of us who grew up in the 1960s still remember when we could go to movies and attend festivals and other forms of entertainment in Jeddah without being harassed. Engaging in these activities was not prohibited until the rise of religious dogmatism in the recent past. Never before has our society experienced such an arbitrarily enforced separation between men and women as that which currently exists. Does this mean that Islam has changed or simply that our religious leaders have failed to keep up with modern societal trends?
The failure of this ideology of religious fanaticism is apparent, yet it continues to dominate and control Saudi society in the guise of the pious and in the name of Islam despite preaching intolerance.
Third: Saudi religious schools must enter the modern age or be an impediment to Saudi Arabia's economic and political development. Many reforms depend on an informed and tolerant citizenry. Justifying intolerance and ignorance breeds terrorism that strikes at the very security of the Kingdom. We need to consider these leaders of thought, who are called our religious scholars, of whom we should revere? Who among them has contributed anything to the advancement of the human race with scientific breakthroughs like those of Newton, Einstein, Edison, Socrates, Aristotle, or Archimedes? Instead, could they simply be memorizers who celebrate and continue to live in the past and ignore the rapid changes taking place in the world?
Fourth: Most irritating is the way that these religious dogmatists wrongfully meddle with our lives and personal freedoms contrary to the very teachings of Islam. Who gave them the power to decide how our lives should be lived? Why should a social issue like women driving cars be so contentious?
Shouldn't a woman decide this? Moreover, why is a woman not entitled to travel without the consent of a man? Why are her employment opportunities so constricted?
Fifth: When Saudis meet together, their talks center on: "This particular Sheikh has sanctioned doing this, while another Sheikh has prohibited it, describing it as an illicit taboo based on a fatwa." So, they become obsessed with what individual Sheikhs say rather than the true message of our faith. To combat this nonsense, we need to pay attention to current issues, such as the environment and climate change, the technological revolution, genetic engineering, medicine, industry, research, philosophy, and art. If we fail to do this, we would find ourselves living on the margins of history.
Sixth: In short, there is a prevailing conviction and belief that the existing situation is what the majority of Saudi society wants and, therefore, the country should listen only to the majority. I believe this is wrong. If we look at history, we will see that those who challenged current ways of thinking and advanced reforms were often in the minority. Indeed, constructive change sometimes comes about through the act of a single person, such as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, the great founder of the Kingdom, King Abdul Aziz, and all the prophets and messengers, including Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of God. In order to move forward as a modern civilized society, we must make a clear and decisive choice: Either accept the current reactive and intolerant school of thought which seeks to control our lives and restrict our country's progress, or promote tolerance and intellectual pursuits to create a better and more productive future for all Saudi citizens.
Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser is a Saudi lawyer and columnist. He can be reached at: khalid@lfkan.com
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