RIYADH – Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti has condemned the tendency by some people to post defamatory comments about religious figures on social networking sites such as Twitter. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Asheikh said anyone who spreads perceived mistakes by Dawah workers on the Internet is a “contemptible person who wants nothing other than defaming religious activists.” He said only “lowly and despicable individuals” would expose mistakes of others in public. “This is a major sin,” the Grand Mufti warned during at lecture at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh Thursday. “No one is flawless. We all make mistakes because we are human,” Al-Hayat newspaper quoted Aal Asheikh as saying. “But to spread mistakes of Dawah activists on Twitter to defame them is something not permissible in religion,” he added. Muslims with good intentions should advise each other and not expose mistakes in public forums, the Grand Mufti pointed out. He called upon Dawah activists to use dialogue to show people the right path. He advised the general public against listening to Dawah workers who resort to violence to impose their views on others. “If a Dawah worker is able to fix a small part of a big problem, then it is an achievement,” Aal Asheikh said. The Grand Mufti advised people against wasting their precious time listening to music and songs, some of which are “ugly and evil.” He also warned against listening to religious chants because their performers “are not different from the singers.” “It's better not to listen to such chants because they distract people from worshipping the Almighty Allah,” said Aal Asheikh.
