Take, for instance, what the son of Hassan Irloo, Iran’s Ambassador to the Houthis and commander of the Sanaa militias, said of his father: “My father’s service in Sanaa was a prelude to the appearance of the Mahdi.” This reminds us of the appearance of the “Mahdi” Juhayman al-Otaybi in 1979, who seized the Grand Mosque on the first day of the year 1400 AH.Īt the heart of all this ignorance surrounding us lies the root problem: the mixing of religion and politics. What is even more spiteful and deceitful, is when a cleric is involved in politics. In the meantime, a picture was making the rounds on social media that showed crowds amassed in front of a fence, with the following comment: “It is not acceptable to send greetings to the infidels on their holidays, but it is acceptable to seek refuge in their countries!” I found this ironic picture to be the best illustration of the blatant contradiction that plagues our societies. The battle raged on until the Sheikh of al-Azhar, who is normally way too busy to be dragged into such trivial debates, had to give a statement saying it is acceptable to send Christmas greetings to Christians. I would not be surprised if he also added: “or on underwear.”Ī Muslim pilgrim wearing a protective mask, reads the Quran inside Namira Mosque in Arafat to mark Haj's most important day, Day of Arafat, during his Hajj pilgrimage amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, outside the holy city of Mecca.
His take: not permissible at all, unless the cross is insulted, as in, placed on the shoes. Then, another so-called cleric chimed in on another topic: wearing clothing bearing the cross sign. So, too, are those who put up a Christmas tree. Examples abound, and the latest is one that returns every year: should a Muslim send greetings to Christians, or is that haram? As usual, a heated debate was sparked, and a so-called shaykh volunteered his final judgment: those who send greetings to Christians are sinners. Surely, this discussion did not come out of thin air. Hence, it is not only bizarre, but also unjustified, that those who call themselves religious scholars continue to be involved in politics, society, astronomy, and even medical matters. This justification is no longer valid now that Arab societies have seen such a huge quantity (notice I did not say quality) of education, engagement with different cultures, and huge technological advances.
This is what the school of Arab Tawfiqiyyin did at the turn of the 20th century, to avoid shocking the masses that had been sinking in the sea of ignorance and guide them step by step toward enlightenment.
When some western intellectuals called sociology “the new religion,” al-Afghani wrote his famous book, Refutation of the Materialists, which discarded sociology’s importance in understanding the development of societies based on absurd, traditional sayings, perhaps to flatter the masses.Īt the time, and in the times that followed it, those demanding partial reform could be seen as avoiding pure rational thinking to accommodate the ignorant majority. Al-Afghani emerged during the age of sociology in Western terms. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Īmong others, we can list the well-known Egyptian religious scholar Muhammad Abduh, as well as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, whose teachings were retained selectively by some people.
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