Reuters news agency, in addition to providing wire services globally, also has a ‘blog world’, where various topics are addressed (insofar as blogs can address issues). Among them is ‘Faith World’, where issues of religion form the core of discussion.

Here, Aziz El-Kaissouni explains why Saudi Arabia won’t be building any Christian churches in the near future. His analysis matches mine, so of course I think he’s right!

Saudi Arabian churches: Vatican pipe dream?
Aziz El-Kaissouni

Much has been made of reports that the Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building churches in the Gulf monarchy, the birthplace of Islam and stronghold of the conservative Wahhabi school of thought.

But it’s hard to imagine imminent breakthroughs, given broad-based scholarly opposition anchored in prophetic traditions and centuries of jurisprudence and commentary.

The IslamOnline (IOL) Web site posted an Arabic article polling prominent clerics on the issue, and offers some insight into the magnitude of clerical opposition such a prospect would generate.

The sheikhs rejected the idea as violating a basic Islamic commandment.

Crucially, IOL’s correspondent said a source close to a Saudi government-appointed religious body said that the issue would be raised with a view to issuing a fatwa, or religious edict, reiterating the existing prohibition.

An earlier fatwa by the same body several years ago and signed by Saudi Arabia’s mufti Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, among others, had upheld the ban on all non-Muslim houses of worship.

At the heart of the issue are spoken traditions of the Prophet Mohammed ordering the expulsion of the Arab peninsula’s non-Muslims and saying that no two religions are to co-exist there.
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