العريفي Superstar

Mohammad al-Arifi, a popular televangelist who has more than two million followers on Twitter, posted comments Friday criticizing Saudi minister of social affairs Yousef al-Uthaymeen who was quoted by al-Yaum daily in 2009 as saying there are only 600 families under the poverty line in the country.

“Either the newspaper is lying to the minister or the minister is lying to us,” al-Arifi said. “The country is full of poor people.”

The tweet by al-Arifi was re-tweeted more than 5,000 times, causing a wave of strong criticism of the minister. al arabiya


One of the reasons I left Catholicism, which is also the same factor pushing Italians towards atheism, is the excessive role held by the Church in politics .
In a country where religion and state are split, the religious authority should limit its presence to the spiritual guidance of the citizens .
But the Vatican barely does that, as we can clearly acknowledge Italy's current moral decay .

In a Muslim country, where the religion is source of law, or at least its main reference, things do change .
Politics and religion are naturally interconnected : just, in my opinion the political leadership should be in a prominent position .
Religious authorities must not be submitted to political power, but they must exercise their role quietly .
They must give their advises and be a source of inspiration for the government .

Dr. Muhammad is very dear to my heart, but like all human beings, he is limited .
When he has these outbursts, that makes problems to himself and to the believers .
Often his lectures and statements are cut and pasted by anti-Islamic groups and used to prove Islam is a bad religion .
This is particularly detrimental for Muslims in the West .
It takes much effort, when colleagues or friends confront us with videos in which he says apparently odd things, to explain them what he meant .
We have to go back to Islamic history, to consider the context, to lay out the general principle first .
Yet people are not convinced .

In this particular case, given that many of his followers consider him as a demi-god (and that is wrong in Islam), he did a great damage to the cause .
Even if the statement had been true or just recent, all he obtained was sparking rage among his fans  .
That is not to raise awareness . That is simply to make a show .
I am sure he is in good faith when stumbling upon this sort of accidents, but since he is such a popular scholar, he should pay more attention to what he says and how .
Otherwise he will be remembered as a "televangelist", and he is much more than that .

May Allah forgive us our sins and guide us to and through His path .

Wodjan and the others

Clerics and scholars, in the Arab Muslim world, are held in high esteem .
Despite Islam being the only religion, among the monotheists, relying solely on God and giving no divine power whatsoever, to human beings, the people of knowledge are often followed like demi-gods .
This is the reason why, rulers and governments, are highly dependent on them : they can be a strong gathering force and determine the destiny of countries .

One of the most influential in Saudi Arabia, and controversial abroad, is dr. Mohamed al Arefe .
He is known as a pillar of Wahabi Islam, assuming such movement really exists .
He is a very well educated man and a citizen of the world .
He often travels to Europe, confronting himself with people of different cultures and religions .
He holds tv shows and those who follow him, help him in orgasing his agenda and mediatic presence on the internet .
Last year, when I had understood that I can hardly re-adjust to the life out of the M.E., I contacted him, asking for help to find a way to go back .
And dr. al Arefe was so kind in reading and answering to my emails, but in the end, I had to surrender to the fact, that it is quite difficult nowadays to find a job in Arab lands .

I was reading his comments on the issue of the Saudi female athletes, which are Islamically very correct .
Muslim ladies must be covered to protect themselves and their bodies' shapes can't be revealed .
Moreover there can't be any type of contact with non-maharam males (from within their more direct family circle) .
And all this, is difficult to achieve in an Olympic competition .

But it is a fact, that many in this world are convinced that Muslim women, specially in the M.E., are oppressed by the veil first .
Those who are not familiar with the Arab world, would hardly believe that a girl is happy to wear her hijab to please God , and that this practice is not incompatible with the modern world .
This is what Wodjan and other girls participation to the games showed to the globe : that they are happy with their religion and culture .

Now I am not asking to dr. al Arefe to change a ruling .
In Islam it is not permissible and not necessary as well .
But I would like him to find a way for those girls to show their happiness .
That is why reforms in this religion are needed, whereas I am not calling for changes .
Reform means to adapt, to practice the universality in time and space of Islam .
It is the same concept we need outside of Muslim lands : we need an interpretation which help us to live a perfect life, a fully Islamic life .
This is where Arab scholars have failed, up to now .
But I am positive that enlightened minds like Sheikh al Arefe, will soon find a path .