The Importance of Religious Freedom in Saudi Arabia

By Fahad Nazer

WASHINGTON - Aug. 14, 2007 (Arabisto.com)

The daily atrocities that are committed in the name of Islam in Iraq and elsewhere and the increase in violence in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban attempts to re-impose its draconian rule on the country, are a constant reminder to Muslims worldwide that the Muslim community might face an existential threat from within.

The potential of a spillover of sectarian violence from Iraq to its neighbors, along with the ability of Al Qaeda and its affiliates to survive despite the international community’s best effort to eradicate it, has led some to assert that the Muslim community is in dire need of effective leadership. Saudi Arabia is best positioned to assume this mantle. However, to do so, it must begin by changing its own policies on religious freedom.

As the birthplace of Islam and the location of two of Islam’s holiest sites, Saudi Arabia holds special standing in the Muslim world. Religious edicts from its scholars hold sway with many of the 1.3 billion Muslims around the globe, especially the majority Sunnis. Its eminence puts it in a unique position to influence how many Muslims think and act. The terrorist acts committed by militant Islamist groups as well as the violence and hysteria that followed the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006, highlight the pervasiveness of militancy, radicalism and intolerance among many Muslims.

The critics should give the Saudis credit for cracking down on radical religious clerics and imams who propagate a venomous ideology of hatred and violence. Officials do a better job of hunting down and confronting Islamist militants, imprisoning or killing most of their le... [Read More]