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| Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Closed |
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| jaihoon |
| 12/09/03 at 08:13:18 |
| Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Closed Gaafar Idris WASHINGTON, December 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to close Islamic Affairs divisions in all Saudi Embassies around the world, days after the U.S. withdrew the diplomatic visa of a Saudi-related religious figure working in the Islamic Affairs division of the Saudi in Washington. The Washington Post Sunday, December 7, quoted a senior Saudi official, who refused to be named, as saying, “We’ll close all Islamic Affairs divisions in all our Embassies.” The statements of the Saudi official come several days following the withdrawal by the U.S. authorities of the diplomatic visa of Sheikh Gaafar Idris, who carries a Saudi diplomatic passport and works in the Islamic Affairs division in the Saudi in Washington and doubles as a lecturer in the Islamic Institute in Virginia. “Gaafar Idris, a Saudi-born Sudanese, left the U.S. two weeks before withdrawing his visa,” the Post quoted official U.S. sources as saying. Another Saudi official, whose identity was not disclosed by the U.S. newspaper, said that Idris departed the states following a decision by Saudi government to the effect that those teaching abroad would not be granted diplomatic passports. “Diplomatic passports and privileges in all Saudi Embassies will be confined in the future to those holding diplomatic posts. This is part of a broader approach to keep embassies free of any tasks related to religious affairs,” the Saudi official said. Non-Diplomatic Tasks “A great number of Saudis living in the U.S. and holding diplomatic passports do not perform any diplomatic tasks in the U.S.,” a U.S. state department official was quoted by the paper as saying, reiterating that “some of them have recently been deprived from their (diplomatic) passports.” The U.S. official pointed out that Idris’s residence permit “has been withdrawn, as his activities were not in keeping with his diplomatic status,” adding that “Sheikh Idris is supposed to perform tasks related to the Saudi Embassy. It has become evident that he no longer does his duties in the on a regular basis.” Another U.S. official, the identity of whom was not revealed by the paper, said that Idris-related decisions “reflect the growing U.S. and Saudi efforts to limit fanatic Muslim speech,” according to him. The Post has pointed out that the decision of the Saudi government to the effect that those teaching abroad should not hold diplomatic passports may undermine the future of the Islamic Institute in Virginia. “Such a move could complicate the institute's future because its staff, lacking diplomatic status, will be required to obtain visas and work permits to teach in the United States, something that U.S. authorities may be unwilling to provide in some cases,” the Post said. The paper failed to contact the administration of the institute to comment on the new situation. Meanwhile, the Saudi authorities have declared that they will stop any support granted to the Islamic Institute in Virginia, deeming that “it calls for a concept of Islam that is intolerable towards other Islamic doctrines.” “The institute that is specialized in Arab and Islamic studies has trained at least 75 of the religious guides currently working in the U.S. Army,” the U.S. Wall Street Journal recently reported. |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| jannah |
| 12/09/03 at 14:47:21 |
| [wlm] what the ??? sh jafar idris is considered a 'fanatic terrorist' now!!!! unbelievable... i wish the saudis had some backbone |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| Maliha |
| 12/09/03 at 16:59:43 |
| [slm] if you knew just how much work he has done for the the community, and the operations of the awesomest dawah organization, Darul Arqam (CIIE.org) you will know why they just had to get rid of him >:( I went to his goodbye dinner, and was really saddened. Muhammad As Shareef was there among others and he talked about the concept of shuyukh being taken away towards the end of time. He said how we always translate that as shuyukh dying but nowadays we see a new phenomenon of silencing shuyukh who are alive, by changing their visa status, by imprisoning them, by threatening them, by monitoring what they say..etc. It was really depressing :'( May Allah protect our shuyukh and may He give us the courage to raise the next generation of scholars who will uphold the truth and fight for justice. (Amin). It's so depressing to see what's going on in the world, and how Muslims around us are succumbing one by one to the pressures and dictates of the shayateen:( May Allah protect us all. [wlm] |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| timbuktu |
| 12/09/03 at 17:19:45 |
| [slm] i share your sorrow in losing the shuyukh by silencing them in whatever way. but i don't think the end of times are near. it is yet another test. Muslims went through many other such tests, & found a way to recover. think about it, & Allah (swt) may guide you to solutions. Is it true that the muslim community in the West ahd largely concentrated on getting wealthy, & on showing off. maybe Allah will show thru' your work that the dawah does not depend on Saudi money & imported shuyukh. perhaps your community will redouble its efforts. we are witnessing the same phenomenon all over the world. |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| lucid9 |
| 12/10/03 at 03:45:34 |
| [slm] i don't know who this person is. but the saudi wahabis are dominating things too much....and in my opinion they often do a lot of harm.... |
| 12/10/03 at 04:05:26 |
| lucid9 |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| jaihoon |
| 12/10/03 at 08:26:29 |
| [quote author=timbuktu link=board=ummah;num=1070975598;start=0#3 date=12/09/03 at 17:19:45][slm] i share your sorrow in losing the shuyukh by silencing them in whatever way. but i don't think the end of times are near. it is yet another test. Muslims went through many other such tests, & found a way to recover. think about it, & Allah (swt) may guide you to solutions. Is it true that the muslim community in the West ahd largely concentrated on getting wealthy, & on showing off. maybe Allah will show thru' your work that the dawah does not depend on Saudi money & imported shuyukh. perhaps your community will redouble its efforts. we are witnessing the same phenomenon all over the world.[/quote] It wouldnt be out of place to recall how many shuyukhs in and around haramain (mecca and madina) were silenced during the earlier days of wahabi revolution in hijaz (after which it was named saudi arabia)! ::) |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| Maliha |
| 12/10/03 at 14:58:34 |
| [quote author=hyper link=board=ummah;num=1070975598;start=0#4 date=12/10/03 at 03:45:34] [slm] i don't know who this person is. but the saudi wahabis are dominating things too much....and in my opinion they often do a lot of harm.... [/quote] [slm] hmmm..interesting statement bro hyper...what does wahabi really mean though??? the media is throwing it around like a bomb about to explode, and Muslims are quick to jump to the "i am not wahabbi" cover..but have we stopped to ask for a definition? I have been to many talks in my area by so called prominent salafi/wahabi and they are just normal. i mean seriously, if you are gonna call Siraj Wahaj wahabi then you have issues ::) and its happening all over...it seems even mentioning the Rasul [saw] is enough to warrant that label...don't you dare call people to the sunnah, its all over. The problem is not these so called wahabbi sheikhs but whole nations like saudi arabia not standing up for what's just (internally and externally). our own denigration as a people, and division amongst ourselves, is enough to produce a lot of rotten corpses for other's to feast on. it may not be the sign of end of times bro timbuktu, but these are surely some depressing times for anyone who actually reflects. May Allah help us all... [wlm] |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| bhaloo |
| 12/10/03 at 21:17:17 |
| [slm] I completely agree with Maliha. Its been my experience that the most ignorant and extremist people use those labels when they don't have any proof or knowledge. I was checking out one of these "islamic maillists" and the people on there were bad mouthing the mufti from the ask-islam site (a hanafi fiqh site, because he had a certain viewpoint on some matter) and gave him that label. Then on another one of these lists, they bad mouthed a brother, gave him that label because he gave proof from the Quran and sunnah, and then argued amongst themselves by giving 3 different views from the shafi school without any evidence. Brother Muhammad al-Shareef gave a really nice response that I have saved, its about a page long, let me know if anyone wants it. Its not the end times??? :o It sure seems like it. |
| Re: Saudi Embassies ‘Islamic Affairs Divisions’ Cl |
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| WhatDFish |
| 12/11/03 at 23:17:55 |
| [slm] i have the article "The Islamic Fundamentalism of the Wahhabi Movement" by Jafar Shaikh Idris. its abt 9 pages, anyone whos interested do let me know. bro arshad, i would like to read the response by Muhammad al Shareef. jazaakAllah khayr |
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