(Washington) …September 19, 2003 … Saudi Grand Mufti Shaikh AbdulAziz Al-Alshaikh banned another liberal writer Tuesday, SIA News has learned.
Mansour Al-Nogaidan, a reformist writer in Al-Riyadh newspaper, was informed of the ban early this week by his editor, Turki Al-Sudairy. Although he was banned form writing, he was not fired from the newspaper, sources told SIA news.
The ban came apparently after his last article published by Al-Riyadh newspaper September 11, 2003, the 2nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the US.
In the article “September 11, Our True Image” Al-Nogaidan attacked the Ben Laden ideology and local support for it in the Wahhabi religious establishment. He also praised Saudi Shia for their patriotism, and patience despite prolonged oppression by other Saudis.
Al-Nogaidan criticized the late official acknowledgment that 15 of the September 11 hijackers were Saudis, and called on the government to curtail intellectual terrorism by the Wahhabi religious establishment against liberals, Shia, and Sufis.
He called for a reexamination of Wahhabi religious teachings, and the “culture of death” taught in Saudi schools and mosques.
Al-Nogaidan, a former Wahhabi Imam and religious extremist, is best known for his criticism of the Wahhabi religious ideology. He was the target of a death edict by Wahhabi cleric Shaikh Naser Al-Fahd, who is now held by the government for his alleged involvement in terror cells following Riyadh bombings against American targets.
Al-Fahd said Al-Nogaidan has renounced Islam by his criticism of what Wahhabi clerics taught in mosques. He called Al-Nogaidan a sick infidel who must be killed. The fatwa was published on Shaik Ali Al-Khoder website, a mentor of Al-Fahd
Prior to the fatwa, Al-Nogaidan was fired from his previous writing job at Al-Watan newspaper for his writings. He remains under a travel ban by the ministry of interior for over two years now.
The Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the country, has banned other writers, such as Mr. Abdul Aziz Alqassim, Abdullah Ben Bejad Al-Otaibi, and Khaled Al-Ghanaam in the past few months.
Al-Nogaidan’s last article:
http://writers.alriyadh.com.sa/kpage.php?ka=231&art=14721 |
