Saudi Cleric Demands Trial Over Drawings

[bif]

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's top cleric called on the world's Muslims to reject apologies for the "slanderous" caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed and demanded the authors and publishers of the cartoons be tried and punished, Saudi newspapers reported Saturday. Thousands of Muslims, meanwhile, took to the streets in London and several other European cities to protest the drawings that were first published in a Danish newspaper in September and recently reprinted in other European publications. One depicted the prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse.

Full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060211/ap_on_re_mi_ea/prophet_drawings_168;_ylt=Akf6q0SRdWQnphkkHcYvf_HbEfQA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[mark11727]

1. "tried and punished...?"

by whom, and under whose authority...?

...and as for deliberately rejecting any offered apologies, that doesn't enhance the "religion of peace" meme they're trying to push.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Do not confuse the Saudi state religion with Islam

Most Muslims consider Wahhabism to be heretical. Nearly all of the *ahem* cartoon violence has been encouraged by, even sponsored by, by Saudi clerics. The vast majority of Muslims really do follow a religion of peace.

[Harper_is_Bush]

5. There are 80,000 clerics in Saudi Arabia. What is your source that

violence has been encouraged/sponsored by Saudi clerics? How many Saudi clerics? Do you have a source?

Saudi Arabia does not encourage violence amongst it's clerics:

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/03/06/25/91085.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. I base my assertions...

I base my assertions on the principle of the Saudi state: to spread the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam throughout the world. I back up my assertions by pointing to the fact that the Saudis have used petro-dollars to fund religious centers and schools around the which invariably use extremely anti-Semitic and anti-western texts in teaching, and which invariably end up as the principle home of extremists preaching violence against western values and demanding that Sharia be given equal standing next to secular law. Further, mosques, religious schools and Islamic centers which do not receive a significant part of their funding from Saudi sources have only very rarely been associated with such extremism and have instead denounced the violence and extremism of others.

If you are interested in some reading, I would suggest these books:

The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role In Terrorism by Stephen Schwartz
Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars Behind Terror Networks by Loretta Napoleoni
Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-US Connection by Gerald Posner
Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism by Dore Gold

And these articles:

Saudis in Covert-Aid Web; Probe Reveals Role in Arming Afghan Rebels by Terry Atlas and James O`Shea, Chicago Tribune, Dec. 7, 1986
Seized Bosnian Documents Link Sauds to Terror Funding, Lawyers Say by Tony Barthleme, Post And Courier (Charleston, S.C.), June 22, 2003
Saudi Funds Tied to Extremism in Europe by David Crawford and Ian Johnson, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30, 2003
The Saudi Money Trail by Michael Isikoff with Evan Thomas, Newsweek, Dec. 2, 2002
U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities by David Ottaway, Washington Post, April 18, 2004
List of Early al Qaeda Donors Points to Saudi Elite, Charities by Glenn Simpson, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 18, 2003
Unraveling Terror's Finances by Glenn Simpson, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 24, 2003
The Saudi - Terror Subsidy by David Tell, Weekly Standard (London), May 20, 2002

You might also want to read:
The Facts That the Muslim Must Know About Christianity and Missionary Activity by the Directorate for Religious Research (a department of the Saudi government)

This is just the documentation I have handy; it is a bit out of date. A Google search will turn up quite a bit more, including more recent references.

[Karenina]

9. The Saudis, AGAIN???

"Hey ROCKY! Watch me pull a rabbit outtta my hat."
"AGAIN?"
"Nothing up my sleeve... PRESTO! A Clash of Civilizations!"

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. *Shrug* There is overwhelming evidence

Most of it produced under official imprimateur of the Saudi government itself. Saudi Arabia was formed specifically to promote Wahhabism. The Wahhabi sect is very openly anti-Semitic, anti-western values and pro-extremist. Saudi Arabia -- and therefore the official, recognized leaders of the world's only Wahhabi theocracy -- has a very documented trail of theological, financial and material support to extremist groups who spout a fanatical doctrine identical to the tenets of Wahhabism.

Hiding your head in the sand doesn't change these facts.

[Copperred]

13. The Saudies with the A-OK of the USA

The Saudies have destroyed the Pashtun people and their punishement will be final.

[Karenina]

17. Erraaa...

I think you completely misinterpreted my post! :silly:

[Harper_is_Bush]

10. Your assertion was that Saudi clerics encouraged/sponsored the violence

related to the publishing of these Mohammed depictions.

Nothing you subequently posted supports that.

Your articles are interesting...yes, there is support for fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia. You didn't address this article I posted though:

1,000 Saudi preachers sent back to school
Reuters
Saudi Arabia has suspended more than 1,000 preachers until they are retrained to promote religious moderation and reject the "extremism" of Al Qaida militants, a government official said yesterday.

Abdul-Rahman Al Matroudi, deputy minister at Saudi Arabia's Religious Affairs ministry, said clerics would be instructed to tell worshippers the September 11, 2001, attacks violated Islamic teachings.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/03/06/25/91085.html

This is direct involvement by the Saudi government to chastise and promote moderation among 1000 of it's clerics (out of 80,000).

So, there's two sides to every story I guess.

I would appreciate it if you didn't make specific claims for which you have no backup though, as your claim about Saudi clerics clearly was.

[mark11727]

15. I also believe that the majority of Muslims would rather put

this whole ugly episode behind them (or better still, wish it had never happened), but of course the world's media is going to concentrate on the "crazies," and I'm not sure if anyone out there is going to understand or bother finding out the difference between them. It's a shame that a universal Gandhi-like Muslim (an Anti-bin Laden, if you will) has not yet emerged to condemn this and all violent acts --- I'm sure there is one out there, and it would give the coverage some much-needed balance.

[Drum]

3. Oh, get over it!

This whole thing is starting to resemble a Dr. Seuss book...the big stand-off of puff and bluster.

Hey demonstrators, killers of Danes, and fatwah-issuers: please get over yourselves and move on.

Even if I'd seen the cartoons in question, I still wouldn't be interested in this saga. Is this where their list of greivances against the rest of the world really starts?

Sheesh!

[Harper_is_Bush]

4. I think we can agree that those calling for violence

are wrong.

I would also hazard a guess that we agree this cleric is wrong to call for a trial of the cartoonists.
He is a big-shot cleric in Saudi Arabia, but there are 80,000 of them there.

I can't agree with you that "demonstrators", if they be peaceful, should "get over" themselves. We should not presume to believe that they should just "get over" the offense these depictions caused them.

[Drum]

6. sorry...to clarify:

that little rant was for the rioters, killers, and others who pour fuel onto fires.

Where are the cool heads of statesmanship any more? What is wrong with our planet???

Thanks, H_is_B, for the opportunity to clarify. Of course I remember that our nation here in the US was an outgrowth of protest, and I revere Ghandi and Dr. ML King Jr. (et al) for having the audacity to change things for the better without violence. Wish there were more like that, or at the very least, like us.

[Rex_Goodheart]

8. You see, this is why I could never be a diplomat...

Because if I were Denmark I'd issue an unequivocal "KISS MY ASS"

[Odin2005]

12. What a moron, you can't try someone who hasn't broken the law.

:crazy:

[Rex]

14. Hope he includes the muslim cleric who added 3 inflamitory cartoons

and started all this shit. I hate self-rightous insane people!

[hedgehog]

19. I was scrolling down to the bottom of the thread to say the same thing

Why haven't we heard more about the cleric who prepared the 3 additional cartoons which were far worse than anything the Danes put together? What about the sin of lying about who authored the additional three cartoons? Surely such slander is also a very serious sin.

[Rex]

21. It is more than just a coincidence that it isn't being mentioned here

in the USA. I believe this is part of the PNAC plan; the War Machine wants to move on to Iran now. Probably Syria too. Looks like Iran and Syria will go along with it, if for no other reason than hatred for the West. This is an old, never ending battle between two different ideologies. The problem is that with today's technology, we really can wipe each other off the map. :(

Greed is gonna get us all killed IMO.

[madmark]

16. note to saudi clerics: go fuck yourselves

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. And Saudi Arabia's our ally

That's why so amny of the 9/11 hijackers were from there.

[saberjet22]

20. message to saudi arabia's top cleric re cartoons offensive.

With all due respect, sir, blow it out yer ass.