Saudi Arabia to vet use of Prophet's sayings to counter extremism

[New World]

So are we getting our own New Testament now?

you have a point. because in KSA most cleric, scholars and imam are govt. appointed and they mostly say those things which kingdom wants to hear whether on regional politics or domestic issues..


Soon Khamenei will issue a royal decree to form a committee to counter extremism..

 

[Sinnerman108]

So are we getting our own New Testament now?

The book remains the same.
Thus,
it is not a new testament,
but clearing the book of all the different interpretations

 

[SALMAN F]

They will fail al saud can't create a monster that they created

 

[HAIDER]

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is to monitor interpretations of the Prophet Mohammad’s teachings to prevent them being used to justify violence or terrorism, the Culture and Information Ministry has said.

In a decree, King Salman ordered the establishment of an authority to scrutinize uses of the “hadith” - accounts of the sayings, actions or habits of the Prophet that are used by preachers and jurists to support teachings and edicts on all aspects of life.

The ministry said late on Tuesday that the body’s aim would be to “eliminate fake and extremist texts and any texts that contradict the teachings of Islam and justify the committing of crimes, murders and terrorist acts”.

The body will be based in Medina and overseen by a council of senior Islamic scholars from around the world, according to the decree. The ministry offered no specific details of how it would work in practice.

Islamist groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda have used interpretations of hadiths - numbered in the thousands and pored over by scholars for centuries - to justify violence and to urge supporters to carry out attacks.

Saudi Arabia’s approach to religious doctrine is important because of its symbolic position as the birthplace of Islam, while its oil exports allow it to fund mosques abroad.

Its ultra-conservative Wahhabi clergy have been close to the Al Saud dynasty since the mid-18th century, offering it Islamic legitimacy in return for control over mosques and universities.

The traditional Wahhabi doctrine favors a strict version of Islamic law and a return to early Muslim practices, and views Shi‘ites as heretics.

But senior clergy have denounced militant Islamist doctrines such as those of al Qaeda or Islamic State, while the government, which vets clerics in Saudi Arabia’s 70,000 mosques, has sacked many for encouraging violence or sedition.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said last month that thousands of extremist clerics had been dismissed, although he gave no timeframe.

The government has begun to promote an alternative narrative of Saudi identity that keeps Wahhabism as a central focus, but still allows secular themes such as nationalism and cultural heritage that predates Islam to shine through.

The ministry said the body would serve Islam by creating “a solid scientific reference to vet and verify the authenticity of hadiths”, which are second in importance only to the Koran in Islam. It did not say what form the reference would take.

The decree issued by the king, whose official title is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - Islam’s most revered places in Mecca and Medina - said the body would be chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hassan al-Sheikh, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, which serves as Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ts-sayings-to-counter-extremism-idUSKBN1CN1SZ

But you can counter the hadees , but Quran, a very common verse all over media and all molvi frequently quote this on TV and other religious sermons .... Is count as religious extremism or wrong interpretation ...??? . If you follow news, west has force Saudi govt to change the religious curriculum and remove all hardcore ideology. You can find on CSPAN, Arynews, The Reporters details. Well, Quran give equal rights to all religion under statehood. Are these people lost in interpretation ????????????

 

[Hack-Hook]

Well as far as I'm aware hadith have been reviewed and vetted for last 1400 years to separate the real ones from the false one and we have very good sorces of real hadith.

My guess is that ahadith themselves are not the problem . the problem is each hadith have a situation that it apply to. And we some times apply a true hadith for wrong time and case and we need to work on that.
Also we must not forget the only thing that can't be challenged is Quran and pillars of faith the rest very much depend on the situation and necessities.

 

[I.R.A]

A long awaited step .......... hear says associated with Messenger Muhammad peace be upon him, narrations and history need to be revisited in light of Quran. I have read many Pakistani writers who have with logic and facts proven in their work that how we have been fed very twisted views under guise of being Islamic and more holier than Quran. And when I looked around I realised why we are so much divided and why we are living in hell like conditions. Nothing is going to change unless we accept Quran and follow it.

by creating “a solid scientific reference to vet and verify the authenticity of hadiths”, which are second in importance only to the Koran in Islam.

Important is Quran only, all else is work written and gathered by very ordinary people, centuries after departure of Messenger peace be upon him, those people were at times biased, influenced and had political affiliations. There is nothing holy about their work, its mostly Persian and Zoroastrian beliefs or overt and covert insults thrown at Messenger, his companions and his wives.

 

[Clutch]

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is to monitor interpretations of the Prophet Mohammad’s teachings to prevent them being used to justify violence or terrorism, the Culture and Information Ministry has said.

In a decree, King Salman ordered the establishment of an authority to scrutinize uses of the “hadith” - accounts of the sayings, actions or habits of the Prophet that are used by preachers and jurists to support teachings and edicts on all aspects of life.

The ministry said late on Tuesday that the body’s aim would be to “eliminate fake and extremist texts and any texts that contradict the teachings of Islam and justify the committing of crimes, murders and terrorist acts”.

The body will be based in Medina and overseen by a council of senior Islamic scholars from around the world, according to the decree. The ministry offered no specific details of how it would work in practice.

Islamist groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda have used interpretations of hadiths - numbered in the thousands and pored over by scholars for centuries - to justify violence and to urge supporters to carry out attacks.

Saudi Arabia’s approach to religious doctrine is important because of its symbolic position as the birthplace of Islam, while its oil exports allow it to fund mosques abroad.

Its ultra-conservative Wahhabi clergy have been close to the Al Saud dynasty since the mid-18th century, offering it Islamic legitimacy in return for control over mosques and universities.

The traditional Wahhabi doctrine favors a strict version of Islamic law and a return to early Muslim practices, and views Shi‘ites as heretics.

But senior clergy have denounced militant Islamist doctrines such as those of al Qaeda or Islamic State, while the government, which vets clerics in Saudi Arabia’s 70,000 mosques, has sacked many for encouraging violence or sedition.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said last month that thousands of extremist clerics had been dismissed, although he gave no timeframe.

The government has begun to promote an alternative narrative of Saudi identity that keeps Wahhabism as a central focus, but still allows secular themes such as nationalism and cultural heritage that predates Islam to shine through.

The ministry said the body would serve Islam by creating “a solid scientific reference to vet and verify the authenticity of hadiths”, which are second in importance only to the Koran in Islam. It did not say what form the reference would take.

The decree issued by the king, whose official title is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - Islam’s most revered places in Mecca and Medina - said the body would be chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hassan al-Sheikh, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, which serves as Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ts-sayings-to-counter-extremism-idUSKBN1CN1SZ

A good step by the Saudi establishment however 30 decades too late. We have multiple generations of wahabbi extremists running around including in Pakistani madrassa system.

Difficult to turn the clock of the Zombie apocalypse of the terrorist murdering khawarji fithna!

 

[MultaniGuy]

A good step by the Saudi establishment however 30 decades too late. We have multiple generations of wahabbi extremists running around including in Pakistani madrassa system.

Difficult to turn the clock of the Zombie apocalypse of the terrorist murdering khawarji fithna!

There is no such thing as Wahabbism.

It is just Salafism.

Salafism is just another name for Sunni Islam.

 

[Clutch]

There is no such thing as Wahabbism.

It is just Salafism.

Salafism is just another name for Sunni Islam.

True...

 

[The SC]

It's a good step if you support revising history and adopting mental gymnastics approach to religious doctrine. There are some things that happened back then that in the modern day people are not comfortable with. Just accept that society and norms were different. Teach people that in the modern day some of those past norms can be abolished because those norms only came about in context of a situation back then. We need to agree on this as a Muslim people as a whole. For example I am in support of abolishing concubines in war, because the only solution then to deal with captive women is to either marry them or put them in a market. Whatever the reasons, we could discuss that forever, but I can make my case as to why I believe that should be abolished.

Muslim people should be the decision makers, not a government with an political agenda. I don't want Saudi Arabia or Iran to dictate to me what Islam is. For them Islam has to be synonymous with their political agenda and social views, it is not based on the doctrine as a religion or faith. I also don't want a group of scholars that Saudi Arabia or any other governments arranged that have ties with governments. We need scholars that democratically elected by the people and these subjects should be for the general masses to discuss.

I will tell you that I object to altering text or disregarding portions of it, that all must be kept and remain in original state. We can work on our values as humans which is the problem here. Extremism is not the only injustice occurring in the world. We can't pick and choose which injustices we prefer and which we don't. Either go all in or it will not succeed.

"We need scholars that democratically elected by the people and these subjects should be for the general masses to discuss."

That will be politicizing religion!
Religious scholars are a closed society of its own, the recognition comes from the most senior and experienced scholars.. How can a public even if it is educated vote on religious scholars who are specialized in a very particular field of study that most people are not well versed in..
Think about how scientists are selected for Noble prize or other prizes.. it is not done by the public, but always by peers who evaluate the work of the scholars or scientists..

This decree has another important aim too, namely to thwart off any Western interpretation of Islamic teachings, something that was going on for centuries..And if anyone can remember, a lot of modern misinterpretations came from some Muslim scholars living in the West, mainly in the UK.. The US also wants to see a new Islam that fits its own Western views, culture and perceptions..

 

[MultaniGuy]

What Saudi Arabia is doing is a good step.

 

[Falcon29]

"We need scholars that democratically elected by the people and these subjects should be for the general masses to discuss."

That will be politicizing religion!
Religious scholars are a closed society of its own, the recognition comes from the most senior and experienced scholars.. How can a public even if it is educated vote on religious scholars who are specialized in a very particular field of study that most people are not well versed in..
Think about how scientists are selected for Noble prize or other prizes.. it is not done by the public, but always by peers who evaluate the work of the scholars or scientists..

This decree has another important aim too, namely to thwart off any Western interpretation of Islamic teachings, something that was going on for centuries..And if anyone can remember, a lot of modern misinterpretations came from some Muslim scholars living in the West, mainly in the UK.. The US also wants to see a new Islam that fits its own Western views, culture and perceptions..

You make a good point about a private scholarly body. But, I disagree about separating politics from it. Scholars need to speak fairly and justly on political and social matters. I don't see what this has to do with the West, if you're implying that Islam needs to remain an Eastern culture, ideology and innovation. I don't prefer Islam be either. If it is just an efficient model to get by and influence society, that is. That to me just tells me that Islam is like any other ideology in the world, with same goals Capitalism or Communism trying to achieve just through different means. I don't want that kind of Islam and that disingenuous acknowledgement of God. Sadly it's been like that for a while and will only be amplified to play those roles in the near future.

So really you don't need to drag the West into this as if Eastern approach to their respective philosophies is any different....

 

[raptor22]

There is no such thing as Wahabbism.

It is just Salafism.

Salafism is just another name for Sunni Islam.

As far as I know Ibn Taymiyyah who Wahabism was built base on his beliefs next to the Shia considered Sunnis as apostates in his books. how do you take it as another name of Sunni Islam?