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Religious Reforms Led by Saudi Arabia
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Religious Reforms Led by Saudi Arabia

Al-Okaz, Saudi Arabia, March 10

In his recent interview with the American magazine The Atlantic, HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman touched upon the issue of religious reform in Saudi Arabia with a frankness and courage that no leader before him ever did. The Saudi state, since its inception, has been based on the concept of religious reform. This religious reform has been built on major foundations, the most important of which are the religious legitimacy of the regime and the separation of powers between the state’s civil and religious judiciaries. One of the fundamentals of the division in the Islamic world between extremist Muslims and the rest of the Muslims is the hadith: a collection of traditions containing sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, which constitute the major source of guidance apart from the Quran. The fact of the matter is that the number of oft-cited hadiths doesn’t exceed several hundred. And yet there are thousands of hadiths circulating around that have never been proven. These have been used to justify and legitimize many injustices that took place across the Muslim world, including those committed by Al-Qaida, ISIS and others.  In his interview, His Highness explained the need to prevent the spread of illegitimate hadiths that serve as the basis for these criminal acts. He suggested concentrating Islamic constitution and laws on the Quran and eliminating many hadiths that may be incorrectly construed or interpreted. Based on this interpretation, only 10% of the valid hadiths would remain – namely those converging with the Quran. In addition, some Islamic laws would disappear, such as stoning, scourging and amputating the hands of thieves, as well as Islamic criminal laws, such as the death penalty to infidels and homosexuals. This is where the Islamic world diverges into two paths. There is one world that ensures religion continuously evolves to meet modern civil life, and there is another world – led by extremist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood and the like – that seeks to impose a strict and violent interpretation of Islamic law on its people. The latter lead to the implosion of society by undermining our shared Muslim and Arab culture, which serves as the basis for our coexistence. – Wafa Al-Rasheed (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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