King Abdullah seeks stability by reaching out on religion
Andrew England | Monday, 30 June 2008
A photograph of King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's ruler, walking through a palace in Mecca flanked by two other notables was no doubt exactly the type of image the kingdom's leaders hoped to portray. Clearly, too, it was one intended for both internal and external consumption.
To the king's right was a beaming Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheik, Saudi Arabia's top Sunni religious leader, while to his left was Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Shia Iran. Together the trio represented the Middle East's powerhouses - two nations with a history of fraught relations but that lay claim to leadership roles for the Sunni and Shia communities respectively.
The snap was taken at a conference in Islam's holiest city last month that brought together some 500 Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world. The meeting was intended to assemble often fractious groups and present a united front.
Saudi Arabia is known for the religious intolerance of its puritanical brand of Wahabi Islam. But King Abdullah, tired of what many in his country see as a constant barrage of Islam-bashing since the attacks of September 11 2001, is hoping to change that image. His latest initiative is to foster dialogue between Moslems and Christians and Jews. The idea, a Saudi official says, is for the Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - to explore their shared values to positive effect.
But, before serious wider dialogue can happen, Muslim leaders recognise they have to put their own house in order and that means going some way to healing the divisions between Shia and Sunni communities - tensions that have been exacerbated by the sectarian violence in Iraq and Lebanon. Those factors, combined with Iran's rising influence in the Middle East, have brought the spectre of a widening Sunni-Shia conflict to the uppermost of the minds of many Arab leaders.
Having American troops stationed in Iraq is one thing, says Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "But what is happening on the other side in Iraq and Lebanon between Muslims could be considered more dangerous - because the Americans will leave but the Muslims will stay."
Yet that is only one facet of King Abdullah's initiative. Launching a high-profile religious dialogue also tackles the more immediate challenge facing the kingdom: how to deal with extremism within his own shores and widen the country's influence in world affairs.
It is not the first time such initiatives have been raised and Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is not alone in putting forward the notion of interfaith dialogue. In May, the gas-rich emirate of Qatar hosted more than a dozen Jewish rabbis - including two from Israel - as it held its sixth interfaith dialogue meeting.
Some analysts suggest there is a degree of regional rivalry in the different initiatives as states jostle for influence and Saudi Arabia, buoyed by the unprecedented oil boom, tries to consolidate its status as a regional leader. Until now, however, the kingdom's religious reputation and the restrictions imposed by its brand of Islam have kept Riyadh from attempting interfaith initiatives. Many Wahabi clerics not only are intolerant to non-Muslim faiths but also deem other sects of Islam, such as Shia, Sufi and Ismaili, as heresy.
It is not uncommon for a radical Wahabi to issue a fatwa, or religious edict, condemning the Shia. Shortly before the Mecca conference, more than 20 Wahabi clerics sent a letter to the king attacking the Shia. While leading Wahabi clerics who were instructed to go to the Mecca meeting did attend, many others who were not directly told to be there chose to stay away.
Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to the state's interpretation of Islam face significant economic, political and social discrimination, according to the US State Department. There has also been a spate of charges against the kingdom's notorious religious police, alleging their involvement in killings and harassment.
But in King Abdullah's mind "there is a misconception of what the Wahabi movement has meant and he thinks it is misunderstood", the Saudi official says.
Indeed, observers say a crucial factor behind his push for dialogue is to dilute the influence of the more radical elements of Wahabism. The kingdom has waged its own battle against Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda and bent on overthrowing the al-Saud royal family. The Saudis have attempted to counter the threat via security measures, including waves of arrests, but have also turned to ideological means that include rehabilitation programmes and a more tolerant government discourse.
Moreover, the king - who met Pope Benedict at the Vatican last November - at home introduced a "national dialogue" that brings together Saudis from different segments of society to discuss issues ranging from education to women's rights and the place of the Shia community, which complains of widespread discrimination. There are estimated to be 1.5m-2.0 Shia in the kingdom, mainly in the oil-producing east. Jafar al-Shayeb, a Shia political activist, says the dialogue could help "because here the religious establishment consider themselves above all other Muslims".
The tricky thing is for the authorities directly to take on powerful clerics, he adds. "Having the international dialogue will influence some of the radical positions here which cannot be dealt with directly because they [Wahabis] are powerful and socially rooted."
A Saudi adviser, however, disputes the analysis, saying the radical elements have to be taken on directly. He argues that the king is already trying to reform from within, with changes to legal and education systems as well as through the government's re-education programmes. "We will never weaken the religious establishment," the adviser says. "It is about reforming."
The influence of the Wahabi movement dates back to the 18th century, when an Islamic scholar and the Saud family joined forces to form a political entity. Since then, the country's rulers and religious leaders have used each other to boost their legitimacy.
The king's message at the conference was that the scholars and leaders needed to "counter the challenges of isolation, ignorance, narrow vision and convey to the world the broad Islamic messages based on humanitarian principles and away from hostility and aggression".
The key will be whether the words translate into actions - internally and externally. A year ago, Shia in the eastern town of al-Ahsa were proudly showing off the site of what was to be one of the biggest Shia mosques in the nation. Its construction was seen as a sign of changing attitudes. But work on the building has since been stopped by the authorities, according to a Shia website.
"The government has to stop and say enough is enough,"says a Saudi editor, referring to the more radical Wahabis. The king should "knock some sense into people and instil in them the principle of dialogue, tolerance and acceptance".
.........................................
To the king's right was a beaming Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheik, Saudi Arabia's top Sunni religious leader, while to his left was Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Shia Iran. Together the trio represented the Middle East's powerhouses - two nations with a history of fraught relations but that lay claim to leadership roles for the Sunni and Shia communities respectively.
The snap was taken at a conference in Islam's holiest city last month that brought together some 500 Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world. The meeting was intended to assemble often fractious groups and present a united front.
Saudi Arabia is known for the religious intolerance of its puritanical brand of Wahabi Islam. But King Abdullah, tired of what many in his country see as a constant barrage of Islam-bashing since the attacks of September 11 2001, is hoping to change that image. His latest initiative is to foster dialogue between Moslems and Christians and Jews. The idea, a Saudi official says, is for the Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - to explore their shared values to positive effect.
But, before serious wider dialogue can happen, Muslim leaders recognise they have to put their own house in order and that means going some way to healing the divisions between Shia and Sunni communities - tensions that have been exacerbated by the sectarian violence in Iraq and Lebanon. Those factors, combined with Iran's rising influence in the Middle East, have brought the spectre of a widening Sunni-Shia conflict to the uppermost of the minds of many Arab leaders.
Having American troops stationed in Iraq is one thing, says Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "But what is happening on the other side in Iraq and Lebanon between Muslims could be considered more dangerous - because the Americans will leave but the Muslims will stay."
Yet that is only one facet of King Abdullah's initiative. Launching a high-profile religious dialogue also tackles the more immediate challenge facing the kingdom: how to deal with extremism within his own shores and widen the country's influence in world affairs.
It is not the first time such initiatives have been raised and Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is not alone in putting forward the notion of interfaith dialogue. In May, the gas-rich emirate of Qatar hosted more than a dozen Jewish rabbis - including two from Israel - as it held its sixth interfaith dialogue meeting.
Some analysts suggest there is a degree of regional rivalry in the different initiatives as states jostle for influence and Saudi Arabia, buoyed by the unprecedented oil boom, tries to consolidate its status as a regional leader. Until now, however, the kingdom's religious reputation and the restrictions imposed by its brand of Islam have kept Riyadh from attempting interfaith initiatives. Many Wahabi clerics not only are intolerant to non-Muslim faiths but also deem other sects of Islam, such as Shia, Sufi and Ismaili, as heresy.
It is not uncommon for a radical Wahabi to issue a fatwa, or religious edict, condemning the Shia. Shortly before the Mecca conference, more than 20 Wahabi clerics sent a letter to the king attacking the Shia. While leading Wahabi clerics who were instructed to go to the Mecca meeting did attend, many others who were not directly told to be there chose to stay away.
Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to the state's interpretation of Islam face significant economic, political and social discrimination, according to the US State Department. There has also been a spate of charges against the kingdom's notorious religious police, alleging their involvement in killings and harassment.
But in King Abdullah's mind "there is a misconception of what the Wahabi movement has meant and he thinks it is misunderstood", the Saudi official says.
Indeed, observers say a crucial factor behind his push for dialogue is to dilute the influence of the more radical elements of Wahabism. The kingdom has waged its own battle against Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda and bent on overthrowing the al-Saud royal family. The Saudis have attempted to counter the threat via security measures, including waves of arrests, but have also turned to ideological means that include rehabilitation programmes and a more tolerant government discourse.
Moreover, the king - who met Pope Benedict at the Vatican last November - at home introduced a "national dialogue" that brings together Saudis from different segments of society to discuss issues ranging from education to women's rights and the place of the Shia community, which complains of widespread discrimination. There are estimated to be 1.5m-2.0 Shia in the kingdom, mainly in the oil-producing east. Jafar al-Shayeb, a Shia political activist, says the dialogue could help "because here the religious establishment consider themselves above all other Muslims".
The tricky thing is for the authorities directly to take on powerful clerics, he adds. "Having the international dialogue will influence some of the radical positions here which cannot be dealt with directly because they [Wahabis] are powerful and socially rooted."
A Saudi adviser, however, disputes the analysis, saying the radical elements have to be taken on directly. He argues that the king is already trying to reform from within, with changes to legal and education systems as well as through the government's re-education programmes. "We will never weaken the religious establishment," the adviser says. "It is about reforming."
The influence of the Wahabi movement dates back to the 18th century, when an Islamic scholar and the Saud family joined forces to form a political entity. Since then, the country's rulers and religious leaders have used each other to boost their legitimacy.
The king's message at the conference was that the scholars and leaders needed to "counter the challenges of isolation, ignorance, narrow vision and convey to the world the broad Islamic messages based on humanitarian principles and away from hostility and aggression".
The key will be whether the words translate into actions - internally and externally. A year ago, Shia in the eastern town of al-Ahsa were proudly showing off the site of what was to be one of the biggest Shia mosques in the nation. Its construction was seen as a sign of changing attitudes. But work on the building has since been stopped by the authorities, according to a Shia website.
"The government has to stop and say enough is enough,"says a Saudi editor, referring to the more radical Wahabis. The king should "knock some sense into people and instil in them the principle of dialogue, tolerance and acceptance".
.........................................