There’s nothing much new in praying for rain. Nor is there anything startling in hearing that preachers blame natural disasters on the immoral behavior of their congregation. So there’s a long history of support for the Grand Mufti’s claim that the people are to blame for drought….

Saudi preachers blame sinners for lack of rain

RIYADH -AFP – Saudi preachers on Saturday conducted prayers for rain in their desert kingdom and blamed the empty skies on sinfulness, the official Spa news agency reported.

“Misfortune does not befall (a country) unless sins have been committed there,” said the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abderrahman bin Abdel Aziz al-Sudeis.

The sheikh, a critic of what he calls the “goodly number of people who chase after forbidden pleasures,” singled out as particularly responsible for the lack of rain “corruption, bribery and the search for ill-gotten gain.”

In the capital, Riyadh, prayers were conducted by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdelaziz al-Sheikh, who heads the highest religious authority in the kingdom.
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