Wahhabi Cleric Issues Fatwa on Writers

When we last heard from this caveman Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, he was condemning camel beauty pageants (seriously).

Now al-Barrak is whipping out a fatwa on some Saudi writers for alleged heretical articles. Nothing like some good old-fashioned freedom of the press.

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.

A rare fatwa? Don't these maniacs issues fatwas between every meal?

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," said the fatwa, or religious opinion, dated March 14 and published on Barrak's Web site.

"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."

Barrak, who is thought to be around 75, is viewed by Islamists as the leading independent authority of Saudi Arabia's hardline version of Sunni Islam, often termed Wahhabism.

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

"If this is allowed to pass, this country will be transformed into an arena of bloodshed. It will be chaos."

My advice to those two writers is to 1) get out of the country now or 2) make sure your life insurance is paid up.