Top Saudi Cleric Misunderstands Islam

A top Saudi cleric called for the death of a two Sheikh's who questioned the Sunni Muslim view in Saudi Arabia that adherents of other faiths should be considered unbelievers. I thought islam was a tolerant religion. Maybe it is, but the top cleric in Saudi Arabia just doesn't understand islam. Reuters

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's most revered cleric said in a rare fatwa this week that two writers should be tried for apostasy for their "heretical articles" and put to death if they do not repent.

Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak was responding to recent articles in al-Riyadh newspaper that questioned the Sunni Muslim view in Saudi Arabia that adherents of other faiths should be considered unbelievers.

"Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried in order to take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam," {emp added} said the fatwa, or religious opinion, dated March 14 and published on Barrak's Web site.

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"It is disgraceful that articles containing this kind of apostasy should be published in some papers of Saudi Arabia, the land of the two holy shrines," he said, referring to Muslim holy places in Mecca and Medina.

"The rulers should hold these papers to account ... and all those who took part in the publication should know they were involved in the sin of heretical articles."

He said the articles suggested Muslims were free to follow other religions. Rights groups have accused Wahhabism of a xenophobic attitude which demonizes other religions.

Abdullah bin Bejad al-Otaibi, one of the two writers, said he feared for his life and called on the government to intervene. The second writer was Yousef Aba al-Khail.

"My articles have been met with fatwas before but it never got to this level of directly inciting murder or directly accusing someone of no longer being a Muslim," he told Reuters.