Saudi fatwa ruling seeks to contain the clergy

RIYADH, (Reuters) – A move by Saudi Arabia to allow  only clerics approved by King Abdullah to issue religious edicts  is a signal that the absolute monarchy wants to rein in a  conservative clergy that has sometimes stood in the way of  political reforms.

The world’s biggest oil exporting country, a close U.S.  ally, is ruled by the Al Saud family with influence from clerics  who follow the austere Wahhabi school of Islam. Political  freedom, including women’s rights, is limited.

The move would help Saudi rulers push through education and  justice reforms without having to contend with religious edicts,  or fatwas, of politically driven conservative clerics opposed to  modernisation efforts.

Opposition from independent and establishment clerics has  already limited the scope of changes aimed at modernising a  system that has historically focused more on religion than job  skills.

Reforms are seen as needed urgently if the kingdom is to  create jobs for a fast growing population and reduce its  reliance on oil.

“The decree should give the king bigger room to manoeuvre in  pushing reforms,” Saudi political writer Khalid al-Dakhil said.

King Abdullah issued the decree this month demanding the  Grand Mufti, the kingdom’s top cleric, limit fatwas to members  of the 20-cleric Senior Scholars Authority, which advises the  king on religious issues, and an affiliated committee.

That step came after attempts to modernise Saudi Arabia led  to a profusion in fatwas from scholars and mosque imams, spread  on the Internet, often in opposition to what they see as the  rampant Westernisation in a country that is Islam’s birthplace.

“The order is aimed at dealing with the pockets of radical  clerics outside the official clergy. But the Senior Scholars  Authority itself has some hardline clerics among its members,”  said Abdulaziz al-Qassem, a former Saudi judge.

“The difference is it can’t meet or issue any recommendation  without the king’s approval,” he added.

The king’s order was specifically aimed at blocking  religious decrees that hurt national security or “challenge  knowledgeable clerics”.

Riyadh, keen to curb Islamist militancy, has wrestled with  the idea of diluting the sway of puritanical Wahhabism after the  Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. landmarks carried out by mostly  Saudi militants, and after an al Qaeda campaign to oust the  monarchy emerged in 2003.

But that has proved a tough sell in the kingdom, where  Wahhabi clerics wield strong influence, overseeing mosques, the  judiciary and education, and running a coercive morals police.

The move was not viewed as likely to herald an imminent  political change although the ageing King Abdullah is seen to  favour reforms that would water down some Wahhabi tenets such as  the ban on women driving and gender mixing.

EMBARRASSING FATWAS

Saudi Arabia has undergone a rapid modernisation brought by  oil revenues and this has shaken the foundations of what used to  be a deeply tribal and conservative society and caused a  backlash among traditionalists.

Before the order, virtually anyone who memorised the Koran  could issue fatwas, or religious opinions on matters that can  range from how to conduct oneself in private family life to  state politics.

Some have embarrassed the Senior Scholars Authority and a  monarchy that prides itself for being the custodian of two of  Islam’s holiest shrines.

In one fatwa, a prominent scholar issued an edict calling  for the execution of anyone who adamantly opposes strict gender  segregation. The scholar who issued that fatwa, Sheikh  Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, is a pillar of Wahhabism but not a  member of the official religious establishment.

That fatwa followed a decision by the king to remove a  member of the authority who demanded scholars vet the curriculum  at Saudi Arabia’s first mixed-gender university, which bears the  name of the king.

“The past three decades have seen a mess in fatwas,” said  Lebanese author Redwan al-Sayyid.
Other fatwas that have disturbed the monarchy range from one  calling for the execution of owners of Arab entertainment  satellite television channels to another that sanctioned adult  breastfeeding to get around strict gender segregation rules.

Prior to King Abdullah’s order, Saudi authorities have  rarely interfered in taming firebrand clerics so long as their  edicts did not pose a direct threat to the state’s security.

Former judge Qassem said the decree would end what he  described as clerical anarchy on Islamic matters.

“It will silence the radical clerics like Barrak since  violators will end up in courts,” he said.