RIYADH, 18 November — Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Sheikh yesterday rejected Western claims that the Kingdom espouses a hard-line Islamic doctrine that breeds extremism.
In remarks carried by the daily Okaz, Al-Sheikh also said that the spread of the moderate principles of Islam would eventually weaken extremist groups.
"What is important here is for a centrist approach. If this trend grows rationally and with an eye to the future, other trends will become weak," Al-Sheikh was quoted as saying.
"But this requires some time, because people’s convictions can’t be changed overnight ... I accept responsibility, but remedy needs time," the minister said.
He said Saudi Arabia did not adhere to Wahhabism but "to the Salafi school which calls for returning to the purest roots of Islam."
Wahhabism was not a sect nor a new invention but a movement that sought to revive the original teachings of Islam and thus it must be called Salafi, he said. "But they are using the term Wahhabism to say that the Kingdom is a hard-line (religious) state. The Western media then expands the term so praying in mosques becomes a hard-line practice.
"They then equate between hard-liners and terrorists, and we all become terrorists. This is the danger of using such terms," the minister said.
The Salafi school is not a hard-line movement, but some of its followers may have hard-line views, he said.
"The problem of extremism comes when some people surrender to emotions, and don’t use their brain," said the minister.
Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, on Wednesday urged religious scholars to display maximum caution, and "to weigh each word before saying it."
"We are currently in a situation which requires wisdom and awareness, because you are the example for your Muslim brothers. I hope you appreciate (your) responsibility before God, your people and officials, so we do not land in an embarrassing situation... We are a moderate nation and there should be no exaggeration in religion," the prince said.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, the Western media has launched a malicious smear campaign against Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
Several Western writers have accused Saudi Arabia of being partly responsible for "breeding the terrorists" who carried out the kamikaze jetliner attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Fifteen of the 19 suspected hijackers in the attacks received in Saudi Arabia their visas to enter the United States, and are believed to be Saudis.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Kingdom’s grand mufti, as well as other top Saudi scholars have strongly condemned the terror attacks in New York and Washington, describing them as a "terrible crime."
