That was fast. Only a few minutes after posting this, look what I found: Hamza Al Mozainy is very disappointed at Sheikh Salman Al Awdah for an article about Eid Al Fitr that he wrote for Al Jazirah daily which included what can be considered hate speech. Al Mozainy has denounced in particular the use of the term ‘raifdah’to describe Shiite Muslims. “[I]t is not meant as a description but rather discrimination against a group of Muslim Saudi citizens,” he said.
Just like Al Mozainy, I found it very surprising that Al Awdah, a sheikh that has become known for his moderation and tolerance, would say something like that. I wanted to make sure there wasn’t some sort of a misunderstanding or misquoting, so I went to Al Jazirah website to read the article myself. You can find it here, and unfortunately that paragraph Al Muzaini quoted is there.
Still, I had a feeling that there was something wrong. I went to Islam Today, a website supervised by Salman Al Awdah himself, where you can find most of his published articles and media appearances. I found the same article, but the paragraph about the Shiites was no where to be found. What is going on here? Did Al Awdah write that paragraph or not? Is it possible that an editor in Al Jazirah has added the paragraph to the article without the knowledge of Al Awdah?
In an email exchange earlier this morning, Al Mozainy told me it is unlikely that someone at Al Jazirah would have the audacity to edit the article. However, “it is the responsibility of Al Awdah to clarify this,” he added. I have emailed Sheikh Salman Al Awdah asking about the issue and I have yet to receive a response. If he responded I will update this post.
6 Comments
الرافضة يختلفون عن عامة الشيعة
اعتقد ان سلمان العودة يقصد بالرافضة الئك الذين يعتقدون ان الرسول بايع علي بالخلافة لكن ابو بكر و عمر اخذوا الخلافة من علي فرفض اتباع علي ذلك لذلك سميو بالرافضة اما بقية اتباع الشيعة الذين لايعتقدون بذلك فلا يسمون بالرافضة
In the future you should distinguish between Aljazeera the saudi daily newspaper and aljazeera the satelite channel. When i first read this post I thought you mean the television station, until i clieck on the link to the article. As many of the readers of this blog are not saudi and many do not speak arabic and thus are not aware of this paper it would be wise to note the difference between the two sources in the future.
Has he responded yet?
Ahmed,
can you explain to me what you mean with your title :speak of the devil”!
الرافضة مجرد وصف لفرقة من المسلمين. والشيخ كان يتكلم عن عموم الأعياد وعن الأعياد التي يختص بها الرافضة. لم أجد في مقاله ما يدل على (الكراهية) أو (العنصرية). فلماذا يحمل كلامه أكثر مما يحتمل.
والمعروف أن كلمة (الرافضة) يسمى بها الشيعة (الإثنا عشرية) لانهم اختصوا بسب ابو بكر وعمر. ولا أعتقد انكم تنكرون هذا (الإختصاص) وان كان بعض من الجيل الجديد من علمائكم يرفض هذا السب (والتكفير أحيانا) فنحن أول من سيسعد بهذا الأمر.
these saudi wahabi clerics r some of da most bigoted, racist, hate-filled creatures on da planet earth—they spare no one, even other muslims who r shiite or secular, not 2 mention animals, jews, females,transgenders,capitalists etc u just name it
these bastards r giving islam a very bad name due 2 their hate inciting speeches and name calling—y dont they look at themselves in da mirror and worry about their own deeds—im just sick and tired of these bastard,ignorant sheiks braying left and rite as if they r Allah’s chosen sect.