ISLAM AS CONSTRUED BY SAUDI ARABIA
This paper is comprised of three parts:
Part I: 2008 Update: Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance with Excerpts from Saudi Ministry of
Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies.
Part II: Islam according to the Royal Embassy, Washington D.C. www.iad.org
Part III: Definitions of terms used in the Islam religion.
To read the entire report, go to http://www.crf.hudon.org-->Publications and Op-Eds-->Reports-White Papers--> 2008 Update: Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance by Nina Shea, Director, July 15, 2008.
About the Center for Religious Freedom.
The Center for Religious Freedom promotes religious freedom as a component of U.S. foreign policy by working with a worldwide network of religious freedom experts to provide defenses against religious persecution and oppression.
Muslim religious leaders, when speaking for public consumption in the west, describe the religion of Islam as a religion of peace, mercy, forgiveness, equality, tolerance, and justice.
But what are students of Islam taught in Saudi Arabia and around the world?
Selected quotes from the 2007 - 2008 Textbooks of the Saudi Ministry of Education:
[1] “The Jews and Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims.”
[2] “The clash between this [Muslim] nation and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills.”
[3] “He (praised is He) prohibits killing the soul that God has forbidden [to kill] unless for just cause . . . [such as] unbelief after belief, adultery, and killing an inviolable believer intentionally.”
[4] “Major polytheism makes blood and wealth permissible.”
[5] “Building mosques on graves is an expression of polytheism” [Condemns Shiite practice].
[6] “The punishment for homosexuality is death.” . . . “Ibn Qudamah said, ‘The companions of the Prophet were unanimous on killing, although they differed in the description, that is, in the manner of killing. Some of the companions of the Prophet stated that [a homosexual] is to be burned with fire. It has also been said that he should be stoned, or thrown from a high place. Other things have also been said.”
[7] “As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus.”
[8] “The decisive proof of the veracity of the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion] and the infernal Jewish plans they
contain is that the plans, plots, and conspiracies they list have been carried out. Whoever reads the protocols – and they emerged in the 19th century – will realize today how much of what they described has been implemented.”
[9] “You can hardly find an example of sedition in which the Jews have not played a role.”
[10] “The new approach to the crusades took several forms, including . . . the establishment of schools. They founded many schools in the Islamic world at various educational levels. These include: the American Universities of Beirut and Cairo, the Jesuit University, Robert College in Istanbul, Gordon [Memorial] College in Khartoum, and others too numerous to mention.”
The list below is taken directly from the 2006 report [of the Hudson Institute] and applies equally to the Saudi textbooks for the 2007-2008 year that are currently posted on the website of the Saudi Education Ministry (http://www2.moe.gov.sa/ebooks/index.htm).
Regarding Sunni, Shiite, Sufi and other non-Wahhabi or non-Salafi Muslims, the textbooks, teachers are to:
1. Condemn the majority of Sunni Muslims around the world as “bad successors” of “bad
predecessors.”
2. Condemn and denigrate Shiite and Sufi Muslims’ beliefs and practices as heretical and call them “polytheists.”
3. Denounce Muslims who do not interpret the Qur’an “literally.”
Regarding Christians, Jews, Polytheists (including Muslims who are not followers of
Wahhabism) and other infidels, the books:
4. Command Muslims to “hate” Christians, Jews, polytheists, and other “unbelievers,”
including non-Wahhabi Muslims, though, incongruously, not to treat them “unjustly.”
Now teaches that a true believer “worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the
infidels.”
5. Teach that the Crusades never ended and identify the American Universities in Beirut and
in Cairo, other Western and Christian social service providers, media outlets, centers for
academic studies of Orientalism, and campaigns for women’s rights as part of the modern
phase of the Crusades.
6. Teach that “the Jews and the Christians are enemies of the [Muslim] believers” and that
“the clash” between the two realms “continues until the Day of Resurrection.”
7. Instruct students not to “greet,” “imitate,” “show loyalty to, “be courteous to” or
“respect” non-believers.
8. Define jihad to include “wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling
against them” and assert that the spread of Islam through jihad is a “religious obligation.”
Regarding Anti-Semitism, they should:
9. Instruct that “the struggle between Muslims and Jews” will continue “until the hour [of
judgment],” that “Muslims will triumph because they are right,” and that “he who is right is
always victorious.”
10. Cite a selective teaching of violence against Jews, while, in the same lesson, ignore the
passages of the Qur’an and hadiths [narratives of the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad]
that counsel tolerance.
11. Teach the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact and relate modern events to
it.
12. Discuss Jews in violent terms, blaming them for virtually all the “sedition” and wars of
the modern world.
Saudi Wahhabism.
Saudi Wahhabism, as it spreads throughout the Islamic diaspora, has been likened by one terrorism expert to “kindling for Usama Bin Laden’s match.”
It has become quite clear that extreme Islamist ideologies have been gaining adherents throughout the world. Where they are implemented as governing ideologies, we see a brutally enforced
hierarchy of group rights, favoring Muslims over non-Muslims, men over women, and
a dominant Muslim sect over other Muslims, with individual rights and freedoms subordinated
for all. Such extreme rule lies at the heart of the Islamist terrorists’ radical agenda.
It is equally clear that much of this extremist religious thought is originating from and being
spread by the Saudi Arabia’s Islamist sect known as Wahhabism.
Wahhabi teachings, if one reads their fatwas and these Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks, are murderously intolerant toward the Shi’a, Jews, Baha’i, Ahmadiyya, homosexuals, apostates, and “unbelievers” of all kinds, and horribly repressive with respect to everyone else, especially
women. The ultimate Wahhabi objective is quite clear from a wide range of their writings – the
establishment of a world-wide theocratic dictatorship, the caliphate. These are essentially the
same basic beliefs as those expressed by al Qaeda.
Beginning in the 1980s, in return for the protection of their own powers
and privileges, the Saudi royal family chose not only to accommodate Wahhabi views about propriety, pious behavior, and Islamic law, but effectively to turn over education in the Kingdom to the Wahhabi establishment.
It is now nearly thirty years on, and the Faustian bargain still stands.
The Saudis also began to fund with over $75 billion during the intervening years the expansion throughout the world of the Wahhabis’ extreme, hostile, anti-modern and anti-democratic form of Islam. Many Wahhabi-funded madrassahs world-wide, using the very types of texts examined
in this report, echo and perpetrate this Wahhabi hatred and thus promote its consequences.
According to Lawrence Wright in his book Looming Tower, with just over one per cent of the
world’s Muslim population, the Saudis support via the Wahhabis “90 per cent of the expenses of
the entire faith, overriding other traditions of Islam.”
History recounts that "isms" rise, "isms" fall. Today the world is faced with an "ism" with the power to pose a fundamental threat to the underpinnings of the free world that could soon mount a world-wide attack on the rule of law and the right of people to govern themselves – on our lives, our liberties, and our pursuit of happiness.
As the result of our dependence on oil, we are placed in an untenable position: when we pay for Middle Eastern oil today, this Long War in which we are engaged becomes the only war the U.S. has ever fought in which we pay for both sides.
In brief, all efforts by world organizations to persuade Saudi Arabia to modify their textbooks and delete the teachings that plainly contradict their public proclamations that the religion of Islam is one of peace, mercy, forgiveness, equality, tolerance, and justice have been remarkably unsuccessful.
For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith. [My emphasis]
Islam prescribes order for individuals, societies and governments and codifies law, family relationships, matters of business, etiquette, dress, food, hygiene and much more. The ummah, or community of believers, is unified across national boundaries by its conscious acceptance of the oneness of God and its dedication to the teachings of Islam. There is no human hierarchy that intervenes between the individual and God; in the eyes of Islam, all people are equal.
Shari'ah (Islamic law) has been the pillar and source of Saudi Arabia's basic system of government. It identifies the nature of the state and its goals and responsibilities, as well as the relationship between the government and its citizens. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy based on Islam. Its constitution is the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. The Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah provide the framework for Shari'ah, the sacred law of Islam, which governs all aspects of the public and private, social and economic, religious and political life of every Muslim.
The government is headed by the King, who is also the commander in chief of the military.
Coming of Muhammad, the Prophet. Around the year 570 AD, Muhammad was born into a family of the ruling tribe of Makkah [Mecca]. In 610 God, through the Angel Gabriel, began to reveal His word to Muhammad when he was 40 years old. This revelation, which occurred over a period of twenty-three years, is known as the Qur'an.
THE QUR'AN: The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final Prophet. The Sunnah (teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) complements the Holy Qu'ran as it embodies his meticulously documented teachings that were preserved by his companions in a body of writings called the Hadith.
The Qur'an is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. It was memorized by Muhammad and then dictated to his Companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked it during his lifetime. Not one word of its 114 chapters [Surahs], has been changed over the centuries, so that the Qur'an is in every detail the unique and miraculous text which was revealed to Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.
SAUDI ARABIA: ISLAM'S HEARTLAND:
Islam has profoundly affected the history and development of the Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular.
In the 18th century, a religious scholar of the central Najd, Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, joined forces with Muhammad bin Saud, the ruler of the town of Diriyah, to bring the [area of] Najd and the rest of Arabia back to the original and undefiled form of Islam. [The religion that Wahhab promulgated is known as Wahhabism.]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the heartland of Islam, the birthplace of its history, the site of the two holy mosques and the focus of Islamic devotion and prayer. Saudi Arabia is committed to preserving the Islamic tradition in all areas of government and society.
Saudi Arabia is a leader in the pursuit of worldwide Islamic solidarity. It hosts the Muslim World League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, institutions dedicated to preserving Islamic interests.
UNDERSTANDING ISLAM: Belief of Muslims.
What does 'Islam' mean? The Arabic word 'Islam' simply means 'submission', and derives from a word meaning 'peace.' In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God.
Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him; in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability for actions; in God's complete authority over human destiny and in life after death.
Why does Islam often seem strange?
Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion does not dominate everyday life in the West today, whereas Muslims have religion always uppermost in their minds, and make no division between secular and sacred. They believe that the Divine Law, the Shari'a, should be taken very seriously, which is why issues related to religion are still so important.
Are there any other sacred sources?
Yes, the Sunna, the practice and example of the Prophet, is the second authority for Muslims. Belief in the Sunna is part of the Islamic faith.
Examples of the Prophet's sayings:
'God has no mercy on one who has no mercy for others.'
'None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.'
'He who eats his fill while his neighbor goes without food is not a believer.'
'The truthful and trusty businessman is associated with the prophets, the saints, and the martyrs.'
'Powerful is not he who knocks the other down, indeed powerful is he who controls himself in a fit of anger.'
'God does not judge according to your bodies and appearances but He scans your hearts and looks into your deeds.'
Does Islam tolerate other beliefs?
The Qur'an says: God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just. [Surah 60:8]
It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: when the caliph Omar entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam granted freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city.
Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves.
What Do Muslims Think About Jesus?
Muslims respect and revere Jesus, and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's Messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as 'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace'. The Qur'an confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Qur'an is entitled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation.
[Surah 3:42-50] [Surah 3:59]
What About Muslim Women?
Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property and earnings. A marriage dowry is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use, and she keeps her own family name rather than taking her husband's.
Both men and women are expected to dress in a way which is modest and dignified; the traditions of female dress found in some Muslim countries are often the expression of local customs.
The Messenger of God said: 'The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manner and kindest to his wife.'
Can A Muslim Have More Than One Wife?
The religion of Islam was revealed for all societies and all times and so accommodates widely differing social requirements. Circumstances may warrant the taking of another wife but the right is granted, according to the Qur'an, only on condition that the husband is scrupulously fair.
What does Islam say about war?
Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant in the world if good men were not prepared to risk their lives in a righteous cause.
The Qur'an says:
Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors. [Surah 2:190]
If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things. [Surah 8:61]
War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term Jihad literally means 'struggle', and Muslims believe that there are two kinds of Jihad. The other 'Jihad' is the inner struggle in which everyone wages against egotistic desires, for the sake of attaining inner peace.
How Does Islam Guarantee Human Rights?
Freedom of conscience is laid down by the Qur'an itself: 'There is no compulsion in religion.' [Surah 2:256]
The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred whether a person is Muslim or not.
Racism is incomprehensible to Muslims, for the Qur'an speaks of human equality in the following terms:
O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. [Surah 49:13]
EDUCATION.
Today, Saudi Arabia's public education system includes 19 universities, with more planned; some 25,000 schools; and a large number of colleges and other institutions. The system is open to all citizens, and provides students with free education, books and health services.
While the study of Islam remains at its core, the modern Saudi educational system also provides quality instruction in diverse fields of arts and sciences. This diversity helps the Kingdom prepare its citizens for life and work in a global economy.
Education is a requirement for every Muslim, both male and female. The Holy Qur’an and the Hadith [teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad] repeatedly emphasize the importance of learning.
Imam Muhammad bin Saud University offers programs in Islamic and Arabic studies at its branches in the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Mauritania, Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates.
BAHAISM: a religion founded in Iran in 1863; emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind; incorporates Christian and Islamic tenets; many adherents live in the United States; "Bahaism has no public rituals or sacraments and praying is done in private."
FATWA: A legal opinion or ruling issued by an Islamic scholar.
In Islamic law, an authoritative legal opinion on a point of doctrine. In 1989, a fatwa calling for the death of British novelist Ahmed Salman Rushdie was made by the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, following publication of Rushdie's controversial and allegedly blasphemous book The Satanic Verses (1988). Rushdie was forced into hiding. The fatwa is still in effect and apparently may be in full force and effect for the foreseeable future.
HADITH: (Islam) a tradition based on reports of the sayings and activities of Muhammad and his companions; (Islam) the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of Muhammad and interpretations of the Koran.
HAJJ: The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijja; at least once in a lifetime a Muslim is expected to make a religious journey to Mecca and the Kaaba. "for a Muslim the hajj is the ultimate act of worship."
HEJAZ: A region of northwest Saudi Arabia on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. It includes the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
ISLAM: Islam, one of the world's great monotheistic religions, has Saudi Arabia as its heartland. The followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe in God - in Arabic, Allah - and that Muhammad is His Prophet. Today, the worldwide community of Muslims, which embraces the people of many races and cultures, numbers well over one billion.
Proponents of the religion proclaim that Islam is a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness.
JIHAD: The term Jihad used without any qualifiers is generally understood to be referring to war on behalf of Islam. "To strive" or "to struggle", in Arabic, is an Islamic term and a duty for Muslims. It appears frequently in the Qur'an and common usage as the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God."
KA'ABAH [KAABA]: According to the Qur'an, the Kaaba was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. Islamic traditions assert that the Kaaba "reflects" a house in heaven called al-Baytu l-Mamur and that it was first built by the first man, Adam. Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the old foundations.
MADRASAH: The Arabic word for any type of school, secular or religious (of any religion). In common English usage the word "madrasah" has been taken to refer to an Islamic religious school.
MECCA: Located in western Saudi Arabia; as the birthplace of Muhammad it is the holiest city of Islam.
MEDINA: A city in western Saudi Arabia; site of the tomb of Muhammad; the second most holy city of Islam.
MUHAMMAD: The Arab prophet who, according to Islam, was the last messenger of Allah (570-632).
MUSLIM: A person who practices the religion of Islam. Muslims believe there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah. They pray five times a day.
Currently, there are an estimated 1.4 billion Muslims, making it the second largest religion in the world. There are about five million Muslims in America.
NAJD also NEJD: A vast central plateau region of the Arabian Peninsula, the nucleus for the modern state of Saudi Arabia. Formerly an independent sultanate until 1932 when it united with Hejaz to form the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
QUR'AN: The sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina. Believed by Muslims to be the infallible word of God dictated to Mohammed. It contains 114 Surahs [chapters].
The Qur'an has been described as "a complete and original compilation of the Final Revelation from God to mankind through the last Prophet, Muhammad.
Saudi Arabia is run according to a version of shari'a (traditional Islamic legislation) with the Quran declared to be the constitution and is therefore sometimes classified as theocratic, but it is officially and in political fact a hereditary monarchy, with the King wielding near-absolute power and the organs of official religion subservient to them, which is rather caesaropapism: [1] a state structure in which the government ('Caesar') is also in control of the main religious institutions; [2] the doctrine that the state is supreme over the church in ecclesiastical matters.
SHARIA: The dynamic body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. The primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and Sunnah.
SUNNAH [SUNNA]: (Islam) the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of Muhammad and interpretations of the Koran. The sunnah is the secondary source of Islamic law after the Qur'an.
THEOCRACY: A political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided); The belief in government by divine guidance.
UMMAH: The ummah, or community of the faithful, is unified across national boundaries by its conscious acceptance of the oneness of God and its dedication to the teachings of Islam.
WAHHAB, WAHHABISM: In 1924 the al-Saud dynasty, who were influenced by the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, conquered the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. This gave them control of the Hajj [the annual pilgrimage], and the opportunity to preach their version of Islam to the assembled pilgrims. However, Wahhabism was a minor current within Islam until the discovery of oil in Arabia, in 1932. Especially following the Arab Oil Embargo in the mid 1970s, vast oil revenues gave an immense impetus to the spread of conservative Islamic theology. Saudi laypeople, government officials and clerics have donated many tens of millions of US dollars to create religious schools, newspapers and outreach organizations.
Wahhabis see their role as restoring Islam from what they perceive to be polytheism, innovation, superstition, deviance, heresy and idolatry.
Wahhabi theology treats the Qur'an and Hadith as fundamental texts.
Sources:
[1] Hudson Institute, http://www.crf.hudson.org
Freedom House/Center for Religious Freedom
http://www.crf.hudon.org-->Publications and Op-Eds-->Reports-White Papers-->
2008 Update: Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance by Nina Shea, Director, July 15, 2008.
[2] Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington D.C. www.iad.org
See Islam in left hand column.
[3] The Wikipedia Encyclopedia. http://www.thefreedictionary.com
In left hand column, click on Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Note: Numerous statements in this paper were quoted verbatim from the source.
February 28 2009