Al-Hassan was one of the academics who presented their papers on the second day of the symposium on Salafism, Shariah and national demand at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.
Vice president of the university Ahmed bin Youssef Al-Darwish, in his paper on the doctrine of the righteous ancestor of rulers, argued that the ideal example for ruling is for all Muslims to be under one ruler. Yet, given the complexity of the environment, the diversity of rulers or imams is accepted. He stressed that people need rulers and defying them is banned according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
The Salafist approach and its attributes was the theme tackled in another paper presented by Ibrahim bin Nasir Al-Humoud. The most distinctive feature of this approach is that it is divine. He stressed that this divine approach is so obvious that it does not need interpretation. Other important features are thoroughness, moderation and comprehensive approach.
Mahmud Abdelhadi Dasouqi presented a paper on the attributes of the pioneers of the Salafi approach.
Interestingly, the paper presented by Muneerah of Princess Noura University argued that the Salafi doctrine is not specialized in a given Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Instead it encompasses all jurisprudence schools. Salafists belong to one faith even if they rely on different jurisprudence doctrines.
She recommended that students should take this into account and publicize this fact. She stressed that the doctrine of the “salaf” came into being in the early days of Islam. Also, Salafism as a concept originated in the second century with the emergence of different groups. She pointed to the stages of the approach and she argued that it went through ups and downs.
The adviser to the university rector, Bandar bin Fahd Al-Sweilm, chaired the sixth session that included four papers.
Rida Abu Shameh from Algeria presented a paper in which he stood up for those who accused Salafism as if it was a takfiri call. He also emphasized that moderation and balance does not mean religion must be left aside. He added moderation and being balanced means the implementation of God's religion in all domains and fields.
Ahmed Bu Ood, a philosopher from Morocco, presented a paper on Salafism, arguing that the insistence of some that Salafism is static is not correct. For him, the source of this impression is twofold. Belittling Salafism is tantamount to belittling Islam itself. The impression that Islam cannot cope with needs of modern human being is one reason. Another reason is the narrow and close understanding of some of those who call themselves Salafists. They demonstrate commitment to the text without being able to reinterpret things.
On Salafi position on extremism, Haya Al-Sheikh presented a paper on dealing with non-Muslims. She demonstrated that Islam was a religion of moderation and tolerance. While she clarified the tolerance of Islam toward non-Muslims, she distinguished between treating non-Muslims in a decent way and allying with them against other Muslims.
Lamya Al-Tawil presented a paper on how the Salafi approach deals with issue relevant to extremism. She clarified that Islam warned against extremism in all its forms.
In the seventh session, Saleh bin Abdullah bin Hamid, head of the supreme council for judiciary, touched on the link between the Salafist approach and the modern religious discourse.
Sheikh Abdurrahman bin Ali talked about the reality of the modern religious discourse in Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Badr Al-Hassan Al-Qasmi presented a paper in which he said the concept “religious discourse” appeared in a non-Islamic environment. He focused on Imam Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab and his focus on fighting dissent. He talked about the call to return to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Hidaya Ahmed Al-Shash presented a paper on Salafism, its principles and its position toward renewing religion. She recommended that there was a need to spread the proper concept of Salafism and renewal by introducing them in curricula in schools and universities.
