Within a week, countless gripping Saudi fatwas were issued, thus triggering the tensions on the Saudi arena once again. These fatwas addressed the "hijab", women's driving, "adult breastfeeding," the banning of sports for young women, the permission of singing, the banning of graduation clothes and questioning the fact that scientists and researchers landed on the moon. Indeed, in response to the statements of officials in the Education Ministry, member of the Council of Senior Scholars Abdul Karim al-Khudheir banned the teaching of sports to young women in schools due to what he described as being "decadence" and following the steps of the devil. Asked about prayer on the surface of the moon, this same Al-Khudheir who was appointed two weeks ago in the Permanent Committee for Ifta' by a royal decree stated: "That is all we needed! Some of those who tricked people and told them they reached it are now denying that." Prayer must be performed beneath the Kaaba in terms of direction. "They did not reach it. It is all empty talk aiming at making Muslims doubt their religion. We reached it… We did not reach it, and whoever believes the first statement, believes the second." Nearly 24 hours before that, Sheikh Adel al-Kalbani allowed singing which was prohibited by Saudi scholars and sheikhs. He said to Al-Watan in this regard that the total banning of acting or singing was not right, just like total permissiveness is not right either. He thus allowed the Ardha sword dance of Najd, the Khbety, the Samiri and the flute of the Hijaz, quoting Imam Al-Nawawi and Ibn Kathir as saying this was permitted on occasions. Al-Kalbani added: "I allow singing and Sheikh Youssef al-Qardawi and Sheikh Abdullah al- Judai' also allow it." Regarding the issue of women's driving, which has been keeping the Saudi street busy for many years and is almost periodically stirred again, member of the Council of Senior Scholars Dr. Qais al-Mubarak said that the issue should be discussed by the scholars in a "purely legal" context. He stated: "Saying that women are not allowed to drive cars means that Allah would sanction them for doing that. However, this conclusion can only be reached through an explicit text in the Koran or the Sunnah or through syllogism in one of them. In the absence of something of the sort, the ban is null." Speaking about the "adult breastfeeding" fatwa, Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obeikan reiterated the fatwa of a scholar from Al-Azhar in regard to the activation of the "adult breastfeeding" issue mentioned by one of the female Companions of the Prophet. Nonetheless, the difference between the fatwa of Obeikan and the fatwa of the Egyptian scholar who was ousted from his post because of it, is the fact that the first did not use specific cases when he issued it and stressed that the suckling should be made via proper means, i.e. not directly from the "breast," and only when extremely necessary as stated in the Hadith of Al-Bukhari. As for the Egyptian scholar, he issued the fatwa as a solution to avoid mixing in the work place! Also last week, phone messages were sent around featuring a fatwa related to the hijab as issued by member of the Council of Senior Scholars Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, who - answering a question by a man living in France in regard to his wife's ability to remove the Niqab to avoid the payment of a fine - considered that the solution resided in patience or in having the wife stay at home. On the other hand, many conflicts and criticisms were exchanged between certain sheikhs, knowing that some of them were hidden while others were public! For example, about three months ago, Mohsen al-Awaji criticized Muhammad al-Arifi after the latter accused Shiite reference Al-Sistani of heresy. Moreover, Muhammad al-Nujeimi criticized Youssef al-Ahmad following his fatwa to tear down the pavement of Al-Mataf and rebuild it to prevent mixing between men and women. Also, Al-Kalbani criticized Sheikh Ayedh al-Garni whom he said was going through a stage of "heedlessness of the good" by banning singing then cooperating with a singer, criticizing Al-Nujeimi as well over his prevention of mixing and then his appearance with Kuwaiti women which he justified by saying it was "temporary mixing." In that same context, there were insults and slander campaigns which affected the director of the Committee for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue in Holy Mecca, Sheikh Ahmad al-Ghamidi, to the point where his family and his honor were attacked by his "ill-intentioned" oppositionists, while Sheikh Issa al-Ghayth was also attacked by people who were incapable of confronting him with logic and arguments. This series of "announced" criticisms was then concluded with the statements of Sheikh Muhammad al-Doureihi, a faculty member in Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, who called during a televised Islamic show for cutting the tongues of Al-Obeikan and Al-Kalbani following their fatwas about adult breastfeeding and the permission to sing, saying: "Had the fatwas they issued been pronounced during the days of Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim or Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, they would have been put in prison and had their tongues cut out." He added: "They would better find jobs in the vegetables market instead of addressing religious issues and misleading the people." What is certain is that although it may look "harmful," the action currently seen on the Saudi arena is "healthy" since society does not become accustomed to the jurisprudence of divergence until after many discrepancies and agreements. Nonetheless, I fear that we will turn into the country of "one million muftis" and that the flow of "fresh" fatwas over which we disagree more than we agree will never stop.
