While the question of whether the Saudi Grand Mufti has issued a fatwa forbidding external jihad has been issued or not is still unclear, it is clear that there is pressure to keep politics out of prayer. This Asharq Alawsat piece quotes several senior Saudi clerics as saying that some ministry-affiliated imams are not doing their jobs correctly when they stress international affairs and emotions in their prayers. Interesting.
Saudi Arabia: Calls Against Imams Politicizing Prayer
Turki Al-SaheilRiyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Clerics in Saudi Arabia have warned against the exploitation of Dua al Qunut (Prayer recited during Tarawih prayers in Ramadan) for political ends. Some sheikhs and imams in mosques are manipulating the platform provided by these prayers to launch political rants. The calls come as a reaction against the tremendous amount of attention afforded to political issues in the region by Saudi imams and preachers.
Sheikh Saleh al Luhaidan, the imam and preacher of Abu Bakr al Siddiq mosque in Riyadh publicly warned against the transformation of prayer into political speeches.
During last Friday’s sermon, al Luhaidan said, “There are imams who digress from prayer to the point where it becomes a news bulletin. Qunut prayer is not an occasion to mention friends and enemies.â€
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October:02:2007 - 08:21
I understand the idea, but it isnt realistic. Religious leaders talking about politics during prayers is a part of almost every religious tradition. I grew up Christian going to church on Sundays and Bible school on Wednesdays and politics was always a part of everything, from lessons to the preacher’s sermons.
October:02:2007 - 09:03
That’s not my experience, but obviously different churches have different practices.
October:02:2007 - 11:31
If you look at the major religious organisations in the US right now it will be clear that politics and religion walk hand in hand in this country. I guess to what extent this is may vary from one denomination to another, or maybe in how overt the political talk is.
I grew up in a non denominational Protestant household, but attended Catholic services off and on in the US and Europe. The Protestant sermons were often overtly political, talking about certain political figures (not using names) and very political issues. Catholic sermons often touched on the same subjects, but much less overtly.
Politics and religion in the US are joined at the hip. No atheist could ever be elected President and all political candidates, to one extent or another, pander to religious groups.
A few religious groups came out a few days ago and said they would field a third presidential candidate if Guliani won the Republican nomination.
I dont think politics needs to be taken out of the sermons in Saudi, Muslims like many conservative Christians dont see anything positive in seperation of politics and religion, it is extremist ideology that needs to be removed.
Asking politics to be removed completely will fail.
October:02:2007 - 12:56
Yes, most Americans view themselves as ‘religious’. How seriously that should be taken, though, is a different matter.
There is a very fervent ‘religious right’ in the US. Just how big a number they represent is another matter also. I think the numbers are highly inflated by both the left and the right: one to scare its members; one to reassure its members. I live in the deep South, where there’re more religious radio stations and CW stations. The audiences for these stations is loyal, but tiny. Same with attendance at all but the few mega-churches.
The religious right varies in its composition depending on the issue at hand. Its fervor also varies. Some issues, like abortion, are hot-button. Foreign affairs, though, rarely gets people motivated to write letters to their congressmen, forget about taking to the streets.
I think there needs to be a line between the church and the state. It doesn’t have to be either/or, but it does have to make distinctions between religious mandates and public, human rights.
October:03:2007 - 08:00
I would argue the foreign affairs point you make. When it comes to Israel there are numerous far right Christian groups set up with the sole purpose of supporting Israel and guiding US and international opinion in that direction. They have hundreds of thousands of members, donate millions of dollars and most certainly get into letter writing campaigns, calling law maker campaigns and other similar activities.
I dont like it when any politician gets overtly religious, whether it is Bush talking about God telling him what to do or leaders in Muslims countries with their “Insha’Allah” speak as they head off to gamble in Las Vegas or drink in Paris.
October:03:2007 - 08:17
I think you overrate the influence of the ‘Christian right’. Sure, they have some, but most politicians seem them as a source of money and a group for whom they don’t actually have to do much beyond making the right noises at campaign time.
There are certainly blocs in Congress that give unexamined support to Israel, but I don’t think the Christian right is among the more powerful of them.
October:03:2007 - 10:57
All blocs in Congress five unexamined support to Israel. If you can show me any group of Congressmen that have ever been critical of Israel is any major or sustained fashion I would love to see it. If you do not back Israel you will find it VERY hard to get elected or to stay in office in this country.
As to the religious right, if they run an opposition candidate to Guliani if he wins the nomination, you’ll find just how much clout they have. The Republican Party cannot win without their support. Either way, if they do not show up to vote or cast their votes for a protest candidate, the Republicans loose.
What worries me more is the acceptance Americans give to ideas that are almost on the lunatic fringe. The fact that Bush has said that he communicates with God and does God’s work should have relegated him to the dustbin of history. The fact that it didn’t is very worrisome.
October:03:2007 - 12:47
Blocs of congressmen? No, I can’t point to any anti-Israel group in Congress.
Whether one can or cannot be elected if one doesn’t support Israel is another question. Some congressman have done so; others have lost.
I completely disagree that the religious right controls the Republican Party. They have influence, but they’ve become a boogieman to some who endow them with powers they only wish they had.
I think, too, that you’re taking the most extreme reading possible of Bush’s comment. He says he prays for guidance. Something wrong with that?
After his prayers, he believes that he’s doing the right thing? Nothing wrong with that, either, as long as prayer isn’t his only source that informs his decisions. Some would like to read it that way; I don’t think most people (well, most non-Democrats) read it that way.
October:03:2007 - 13:23
It seems mighty odd to me that this discussion has re-centered around American support for Israel in Congress. Can’t the question of removing prayers from Saudi politics be evaluated on its own merits without such a comparison?
October:07:2007 - 12:03
Apparently not.
October:07:2007 - 12:32
The question you’re asking is probably unanswerable! So many things would have to change before one approached that issues, that it’s simply impossible to give a good answer.