Gulf | Saudi Arabia
'There's no room for fundamentalism in Islam'
Highlighting Islam's moderation and tolerance, Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Shaikh, reiterated that there is no room for fundamentalism and extremism in the divine religion.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:44 April 4, 2008
Riyadh: Highlighting Islam's moderation and tolerance, Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Shaikh, reiterated that there is no room for fundamentalism and extremism in the divine religion.
He also underlined the need to combat all deviant groups and their ideologies that inflict severe damage on the image of Islam as a tolerant religion.
Speaking to reporters after attending a seminar on Moderation and Tolerance and the inauguration of the Prince Sultan Chair for Contemporary Islamic Studies at King Saud University on Wednesday evening, the Grand Mufti also called for the use of modern technology to promote Islam and urged Muslims to strive for technological advancement of their own.
Shaikh Alu Al Shaikh, who is also chairman of the Senior Scholars' Commission and Ifta, said that Islam advocates tolerance, moderation, compassion and flexibility.
Immortal message
Therefore, he said, "there is no room in this universal religion for fundamentalism and extremism, since this contradicts religion and its immortal message."
He called upon youths to strictly abide by these principles, especially the moderation advocated by the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in all his deeds and sayings.
Referring to the Prince Sultan Chair for Contemporary Islamic Studies, the Mufti said: "We hope this chair will encourage scholarly research based on moderation, without excess or carelessness, in order to glorify Allah and safeguard His law as well as to encourage specialists and researchers to go deep into this field. This should present strong arguments to confront the tides of extremism prevailing in the contemporary Islamic world," he said.
The Mufti stated that they should be confronted by verified Islamic knowledge based on the Quran and the Sunnah (traditions) because these two contain guidance and enlightenment for all of humanity.
Shaikh Alu Al Shaikh said the people in charge of this Chair are trustworthy and able to correctly judge the priority of studies.
The Mufti thanked Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz for his generous support for this chair, saying Prince Sultan always supports charity work.
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