Islamic Resurgence in the Hijaz Region 1975-1980
Mazin
S. Motabagani, PhD
Associate
Professor Orientalistics
e-mail.
Introduction
Though the 1967 defeat of the Arab armies in the war with Israel
was a disastrous event in modern history of the Arab World, it was at the same time a the sparkle that
led to revitalise the Islamic resurgence. The Islamic movements that were
crushed in Egypt, Syria
and other Arab countries found refuge in the so-called the reactionary regimes
or the remaining monarchies. The Arabs had to question why we were defeated in
spite of the loud rhetoric of the Egyptian media that Egypt had the army that cannot be defeated and
that Egypt
was leading the progressive socialist regimes. Many views came out to analyse
that defeat one of which was that the lack of adherence to Islamic teaching was
the main cause of such defeat. Of course Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm and Arab professed
communists and possibly atheists believed that religion was the main cause.
However many thought that this is the point of a new wave of Islamic movement
to flourish around the Arab World. What is said that Sadat gave support to
Islamic movement in Egypt
particularly the Muslim Brotherhood to combat the Nassirist and Socialist maybe
of some support to these movements, but the truth is that these movements were
still alive despite the rigorous fight
they faced during the reign of Adul Nasser.
When
I returned from the United States of America
in 1973, life in Saudi
Arabia and particularly in the Hijaz region
was heading towards increasing westernization, which also meant a more
materialistic way of living. Also in the seventies Saudi Arabia witnessed its first
economic boom which meant flooding the country with hundreds of thousands of
expatriate workers and their families. Some Saudis began to accumulate wealth
allowing them more chances to travel outside Saudi Arabia. No indication could be seen that there is
going to be an Islamic resurgence. However, so much was going on discretely.
Those who fled the revolutionary regimes in Syria,
Iraq and Egypt took teaching positions in
Saudi Arabian institutions. Most of them, if not all, belonged to the Muslim
Brotherhood Organization. Besides teaching, they held private preaching,
teaching and they even indoctrinated young Saudis. In addition, the Saudi Ulema, who felt the need to combat
westernization and the lack of adherence to Islam.
In the year 1972, or a little before, Sheikh
Muhammad Sharawi, the eminent Egyptian scholar (minister of endowments and
Islamic affairs), started his lectures on the exegesis of the Qur’an. These
lectures were attended by people from all walks of life. When he left Saudi Arabia,
Sheikh Muhammad Qutb took his place, and was as popular as Sharawi.
At this
time, the cassette tapes of Sheikh Abdul Hamid Keshk reached Saudi Arabia. The cassette tapes
shops were only selling tapes of singers, but with the popularity of Keshk
these shops entered the competition by copying and selling of Keshk's tapes.
The resurgence had other elements and features, and
this paper intends to examine this topic as follows. Firstly, we will provide a
historical background to the intellectual and religious climate in Saudi Arabia
before the advent of the resurgence. Secondly, we will highlight the main
personalities who had a direct effect on this resurgence. Thirdly, the paper
will discuss the siege of the holy mosque in Makkah by Juhaiman Al-Otaibi. We
will then look at the measures that the
government took to slow down this resurgence and how the Islamic movement
gained stregth and almost reached its peaks just before the second Gulf war.
This paper will mainly rely on my first hand experience as a
student of history at King
Abdul Aziz
University (1974-1986)
and then as a writer on, and observer of, this resurgence till today. I will
also refer to other written sources on Islamic resurgence in Saudi Arabia.
Part I
Historical
background
Saudi Arabia has always announced its adherence
to Islam and was in vigorous fight with nationalism, secularism and communism.
The main fight was the Egyptian and Ba’thi regimes through books, newspapers
and radio stations. Saudi
Arabia distributed pamphlets and books to
Hajjis during the Haj season. Sayyed Qutb, and his brother Muhammad wrote some
of these books. Some authors may have been commissioned to write certain books
such as the book on the real position of the Communist block towards the
Palestinian issue by Omar Helliq showing how this block was a stern supporter
of the creation of Israel
and supporting its existence.
However, at the same time it was going through a long but certain
process of westernization and modernisation. Such Westernization is called by
some writers nowadays ‘enlightenment’ and one of these writers named few
examples of this by the establishing of a department at King Saud University
for Archeology, the showing of films at some university facilities and holding
some parties with music and singing. He describe the introduction of courses in
Islamic culture as part of the university requirement to be anti enlightenment.([1])
During the reign of King Abdul Aziz many
prominent Saudi families sent their children to study at Victoria
College and the American
College in Beirut and other foreign schools.([2]) Then scholarships to Europe and the USA
started in the early sixties of last century with great encouragement from
Aramco in particular. The strict and rigidity of the social life was lessening.
The Saudi radio station began to allow singing. And at certain point singing
talents were encouraged by schools. When the small tape recorders were
introduced in the Saudi market almost every household obtained one or more.
Then the record players were introduced and you could find these in the taxies
and countless number of singers appeared.
Soon after 1950, with the advent of
the Egyptian overthrow of King Farouk and the establishment of the first
republic in Egypt,
Arab countries became divided into two main categories: the so-called
'progressive' revolutionaries and 'regressive' reactionaries. The former were
characterized by being open minded, more civilized and honest, while the
reactionaries were closed minded, backward, corrupt and decadent. For so many years, Arabs expected the first
declaration of a new cope de tat announcing the establishment of a new regime
that will fight bribery and tyranny and dictatorship. In most cases the new
regimes did not differ much from the previous ones. These regimes began a
strong campaign against Islamic movements, specifically the Muslim Brothers in Egypt, Syria
and Iraq. Muslim activists were either jailed, executed
or were able to flee to Europe or a
neighboring royal regime.
Hostility developed between Saudi Arabia and the so called 'progressive'
regimes such as the
ones in Egypt
in particular. Jamal Abdul Nasser had very strong media, which he used to
launch a war of words against Saudi Arabia,
Jordan, Iraq and Yemen (before both became
republics). Saudi Arabia gave asylum to a number of leading intellectuals from
the so-called 'progressive' countries, such as Syria,
Egypt and Iraq; to name but a few: Mahmoud
Assawwaf, Ali Tantawi Muhammad Qutb, Said Hawwa, Nasser Addin Al Albani and
many others with less fame and capabilities. These intellectuals, alongside
very few Saudies, launched a campaign against nationalism, Secularism, and
Communism. And at the same time, the campaign tried to refute the accusations
that Saudi Arabia
and other countries adhering to Islam were pro-American. Bashmil wrote in one
of his books questioning the allegation that Saudi
Arabia was an American ally by saying: "Is it true
that America and Britain
care so much to revive and strengthen the Islamic movements, and also support
and finance of those who call for Islamic unity with the Dollar and the Pound
Sterling?"([3])
Then, he answers by saying that those who put out these allegation are the
first to know that they are void of any truth and that the Islamic movements
are the furthest on the minds of the Americans or the British. If Bashmail was
to write that book after the death of Abdul Nasser he would have probably
mentioned that the western powers, especially America, supported the
revolutionary movements because they were so bold in introducing modernization
or westernization ([4]).
Few years before 1967 and little after, there was
only one university in Saudi Arabia and one or two colleges to train students
to become teachers. When King
Abdul Aziz
University was
established in 1969, it was only a private institute with limited sources.
Therefore, there was a great surge to send Saudi young men overseas to European
countries and the USA.
These missions were sent by different ministries such as the ministry of
Education, the ministry of defense and other government agencies. Aramco (Arab
American Oil Company) had an outstanding record in the number of students sent
to continue their higher education in the USA
or Europe.
These efforts to send this large number of student
(some with families, but most were bachelors) was obviously to have an effect
on the Saudi society in the coming years.
Part II
Some Eminent Scholars of the Resurgence
Sheikh Abdul
Hamid Kishk ([5]):
Many are the scholars
who deserve to be mentioned with respect to the Islamic resurgence in Saudi Arabia.
However, due to the limited space and time, I shall mention the most prominent
in my view, who had a real impact on the youth in the Hijaz region. In the
early seventies, the cassette tapes of Sheikh Kishk were introduced to the
Saudi public. Shops selling songs started to sell these tapes. A Yemeni businessman found out how popular
these tapes; he rented an apartment in the trade center of Jeddah and began
selling these tapes. Since the copies were not readily available, he took the
names of the customers and the orders in order to deliver these tapes in a few
days([6]).
Sheikh Kishk used to make his Jumaa (Friday)
sermons in a series. He would begin like this: "This is Muhammad’s (pbuh)
school in which is said ….. This is the lesson 123, or more or less.” Then he
would start his topic. Sheikh Kishk's sermons were different from most sermons
at that time. Though he spoke on ordinary topics that every imam would talk
about, he severely criticized the political system during the days of Jamal
Abdul Nasser. He criticized the different rulers of the Arab and Muslim World.
One example of this criticism is the call of
Bourgaiba of Tunis on all workers not to fast in Ramadan. He asked the
mufti to support him in this. Bourgaiba started his speech by explaining the
logic behind his call not to fast in Ramadan to the workers, namely that fasting
in his opinion lowers the production level. He then said: “Here is the Mufti to
support my views.” The Mufti said: "Allah has said in the Quran ‘O
believers it is mandatory that you fast as it was mandatory for previous
nations’. Allah is truthful and Bourgaiba has lied." Then Sheikh Kishk
commented that the Mufti was still alive and not harmed.
Since sheikh Kishk came after the days of Abdul
Nasser he criticized his reign severely, in part because he was jailed for so
many years himself along with tens of thousands who were also jailed just
because they were Islamists. Kishk also made a point to criticize the media and
the men and women of literature. He criticized the cinema and other forms of
entertainment such as songs and plays. One of the main themes of Sheikh Kishk
was to defend Islam and refute the allegations against the suitability of Islam
for the present day. In one of his sermons, he focused on the allegations that
Islam is not suitable for today. He mentioned those who cited the French revolution
and the killing of all religious clerics. In this sermon, he cited the French
scholar Denie who changed his name to Suleiman Nasser Al-Din and wrote Islamic
Rays, who said in this book that he read all the verses of the Quraan and
could not find one verse that contradicts the modern science.
In other sermons, Kishk was able to quote many
European scholars and scientists who admitted that the scientific facts
mentioned in the Quraan are never in contradiction with modern scientific
findings, such as the verses that dealt with the embryo and the creation of
human beings.
The sales of Kishk tapes moved from shops to side
walks and mosque courtyards, especially after Friday prayers. I once visited a
shop selling regular cassette tapes (including songs) and found the place very
crowded. And after some years the committee for Islamic awareness at King Abdul
Aziz University
launched a small kiosk to sell lectures and Qur’anic recitation and also found
the place very crowded.
I think that the mood of enthusiasm and passion
that surrounded Sheikh Kishk was so influential that other scholars and orators
such as Sheikh Ahmad Al-Qattan from Kuwait
became so enthusiastic and whose tapes became so popular in Saudi Arabia.
Some of them were almost a carbon copy of Sheikh Kishk. Moreover, the themes he
discussed were educating children, building a Muslim family, and severe
criticism of the different types of media, including television, cinema and
journalism. In a review of a book about
Islamic cassette tapes I once wrote: "The Faculty of Sciences lecture hall
at King Abdul Aziz University has a special place in the
heart of many people who attended the lectures of Sharawi, Qutb, Said Hawwa,
Naji Al-Tantawi, Abd Allah Rishwan and
many others. When a famous lecturer comes, the occasion would turn into a
festival. ([7])
Muhammad Qutb
This influential
scholar was well known in Saudi
Arabia long before he relocated to Makkah.
Some of his books and his brother were printed by the government and
distributed freely during the Haj season. Their books were also a required
reading for students at the university level Muhammad Qutb’s book “Al insane
bain al Maddiah wal Islam’ was a required reading for first year students
at King Saud Univesity as a
Immediately after
Sharawi returned to Egypt
to become minister of Islamic Affairs, his lectures had to stop, and On Sunday January 16th 1977
Sheikh Muhammad Qutb started his series of lectures titled "The
Methodology of Islamic Education". These lectures went on for so many
years. Though Qutb's lectures were supposed to be on education, he covered
almost all topics relating to Islamic resurgence. He gave examples from his
life and the life of his brother Sayyed Qutb when they were together in prison.
The history of Islamic Brotherhood was always present in his mind and also
those who came to lecture in the same lecture hall.
In his opening lecture, he spoke on the difference
between Islam and the pre-Islamic era (Jahilyah) and how Islam converted
the Arabs from a nation with no real weight and value to a nation that built a
civilization and a nation considered the most righteous nation. So this lecture
was focused on the responsibilities of the Islamic Umma towards humanities. ([8])
Moreover Qutb ideas
were not strange to the Saudi intellectuals since some of his books were
required reading in some university course. Of these books was his book “Humans
between Materialism and Islam” . Of course his famous book The Twentieth
Century Jahiliah” was well known also.
Qutb’s influence went
further than the lectures mentioned above. He taught at Om Al-Qura and supervised scores of students whom some
of which became very famous like Safar Al-Hawali. At the same time Qutb was
also publishing new books.([9])
He also had a close circuit of friends and acquaintances of whom held important
positions such as Sheikh Ahmad Salah Jamjoum who was the CEO of Al-Madinah
Newspaper for so many years.
These days witnessed the rise of many scholars who
became well known in the field of lecturing and Friday sermons. Among those is
Sheikh Abdul Majid Zindani from Yemen,
who was almost residing in Saudi
Arabia in the last years of the nineties
Hijrah (seventies A.D). When he was in Jeddah, he would tour the main mosques
of the city giving lectures about different topics, especially on becoming a
righteous Muslim and solving the social problems which came about from the
economic boom which Saudi
Arabia went through during the reign of King
Khaled. We can name others such as Dr. Kamal Eisa professor of Islamic thought
at king Abdul Aziz University,
Dr. Muhammad Al- Hosary, Sheikh Hassan Ayyob who was giving the Friday sermon
at the Mosque of King Abdul Aziz University. Amongst those who became well
known Sheikh Ibrahim Sarseeq who was also the editor of the Islamic page of Al-Madinah
Newspaper. He wrote a daily column discussing different issues including local
ones such as social problems to the Islamic issues involving the Muslim
countries.
Sheikh Said Hawwa
Sheikh Hawwa is a well know Syrian scholar who was one of the leaders of
the Muslim brotherhood.([10])
He worked as a teacher in a number of
Saudi secondary schools in the Madina area. Besides his official
teaching, he held lessons in different places including homes or mosques. He also gave public lectures such as a
lecture at King Abdul Aziz University in the late seventies of the
last century. His lectures normally attracted a large audience. Though my
knowledge of his activities is limited, I am aware that some of his books were
part of the education of a large portion of the resurgence in the Hijaz
region. These books are:
·
Jund Allah thagafatan wa
Akhlagan (Allah's Soldiers: Education and Manners). In this book,
Hawwa made a plan for the youth of Islamic movement to educate them in the
fields of Quraan, Fiqh, hadith and so on. He focused on the basic education any
young Muslim should possess. He also dealt with Islamic ethics.
·
Al-Rasool (The
Prophet). This book illustrates the life of the Prophet (pbuh) in addition
to discussing some of the miracles that the Prophet brought such as the hadith
about the two wings of the fly.
·
Al-Islam. This is a
general reading in Islam which was also widely read among young Hijazis of the
Islamic resurgence.
Ahmad Muhammad Jamal
One cannot ignore the role of Ahmad Jamal when dealing with the Islamic
Resurgence in the Hijaz. He was a Scholar and university professor and
Journalist. He wrote extensively on different topics, ranging from Quraanic
exegesis to figh, Hadith, Women issues, and economy. He used to edit and wholly
write a page in a Madina newspaper titled "From Friday to Friday",
then he wrote a weekly article every Monday and had radio programs and wrote
for many magazines and newspapers.
Sheikh Jamal also lectured at King Abdul Aziz University
in the field of Islamic culture. He was the author of the text book taught in
this course for so many years. Many of the leaders of the Islamic resurgence
were his students or had some kind of relation with him.
Nasser al-Din
al-Albani and Muhammad Abdul Wahab Al-Banna.
Though al-Albani is
Syrian while Al-Banna is Egyptian, they were both from the same school which is
the school of Hadith. They taught their students to
study Hadith and become well versed in this field to the degree that they can
criticize the chain of narrators of Hadith. They also taught them to be able to
extract the Islamic ruling regarding different situations. They called for the
abolition of the famous four figh schools, which obliged Muhammad Al-Bouti to
write his book The non alliance to figh schools is the most dangerous
innovation. The truth is that the followers of Al-Albani were too bold in
criticizing the most eminent ulema. They claimed to have found weakness in Al-Bokhari
and Muslim books. They thought that they are the real authority in all fields
of Islam because they knew hadith. I remember that I once saw a teenager
holding a book under his armpits. When he was asked what that book was about,
he replied "it is in the field of Hadith men". They claimed to have
found certain correct hadith about prayers and claimed that only their prayer
is the most perfect. Their Sheikh wrote a book titled The Prophet's prayer
as you see it. There were many
mosques in the Jeddah and Makkah areas where students of Al-Albani were
teaching students these principals and ideology. Al-Albani had a charismatic
personality since I had personal contacts with some of the keen followers of
this school.
The Islamic University of
Al-Madinah
Though not many people
would agree that this institute had much effect on the Hijazi Society, the
truth is that this university witnessed different types of administration and
intellectual trends. It is true that originally the leadership was entrusted to
some Scholars from the Central province
of Saudi Arabia (Najd),
many Hijazi studied at this university and had a chance to continue their
graduate studies to become teachers at the University. Also, at a certain
period when professor Abdullah al-Zaidi became vice rector of the university,
many Hijazis had chances to become deans of different departments of the
university. The University opened up not only to the Madinah society, but also
to the whole Muslim World. However, one can say with great certainty that this
university in most of its history was extremely conservative and really
engulfed in issues that do not really relate to the present day living in Saudi Arabia
or even in most Arab or Islamic countries. They were really discussing long
dead issues. Some teachers were teaching narrow-mindedness and prejudice. One
of the teachers would draw the World map and then point to the different
Islamic countries and their deviation from the true faith and then he would
point to the Arabian Peninsula and say very
loudly: this is where the true faith can be found.
Al-Madinah Newspaper versus Okaz
It was obvious that Al-Madinah Newspaper was supporting the Islamic resurgence by
attracting a number of columnists who were advocating resurgent ideas. Some of
those writers were academics while others were writers and publishers. I would
like to give a special account of Muhammad Salahuddin who wrote a daily column
under the title “ al-falak yadour”. Though this column has beep appearing for
forty years, it was banned from appearing for different periods of times.
Salahuddin wrote on all topics relating to resurgence and in different fields
such as: politics, economics, and sociology. If a columnist deserves to be a
syndicated writer in Saudi
Arabia or even all over the Arab world I
would believe that this writer should be one of the first, but Saudi newspapers
would not allow any writer to write in more than one paper. The influence of
Muhammad Salahuddin can be asserted by the wide popularity he had and still has
till today. His influence and brevity caused him to be banned from writing many
times.
One must mention ‘Asem Hamdan who started writing
while attending Manchester
University pursing his post graduate studies in Arabic
literature with Professor Bosworth. His weekly column was also an important
voice of the Islamic resurgence in Saudi Arabia. One of his strongest
points was his deep knowledge of the British foreign policy and knowledge of
the key figures in the British government in the twentieth century probably
from the days of Belfour declaration in 1917. He joined the debate over the
identity in literature which was one of the main issues for the Islamic
resurgence.
Al-Madinah had three supplements: a literary
supplement called “Al- Arabi’aa”, “Alwan mina Al-Turath’ and others. I would
like to say few words about al-Turath (legacy) which was supervised by Dr.
Muhammad Ya’agob Al-Turkistani a professor of Linguistics at the Islamic
University of Al-Madinah. This was a subtle supplement calling for preserving
Muslim legacy in all fields of knowledge. It used to come out every Thursday
the day the newspaper circulation would rise. Many people would only buy the
newspaper on that day. And at times would buy the newspaper for this supplement
and the column of Muhammad Salahuddin. This
supplement was also very effective in training young writers who had their
first writing appear here.
We must mention the Islamic page that was edited by
Ibrahim Sersiq who worked for some time as a teacher at the Islamic University
of Al-Madinah. In addition to the strong support for the resurgence, Sersiq
himself wrote a daily column discussing wide variety of issues even the most
controversial topics of the hour. His writing was very eloquent and strong. He
carried on many debates with issues raised pertaining to women, education and society.
.
As for Okaz it took a different line
allowing all voices calling for westernization and so-called women liberation.
I took the side of so-called “modernity” in literature, which was a way of
attacking the Arabic language and the Islamic identity. This trend called for
what they termed exploding the language and destroying the inherited and the
popular (تحطيم السائد
والموروث). They utilized the ambiguity in what they
claimed to be poetry to advance many of their ideas which were not acceptable
by majority of the people. Okaz in short was echoing many of the themes that
were popular in other so-called progressive countries such as Egypt, Syria,
Lebanon,
and other countries.
Part III
The Siege of Al-Haram and its Consequences.
Juhaiman's significance
lies not only in the ideas that he promulgated, but also the way the government
dealt with these ideas after executing him and those who were with him at the
Haram. Some writers nowadays after the May 2003 explosions in Riyadh went back
to the days of Juhaiman and blamed the government because thought it had fought
him, immediately after killing him and his followers it relinquished to his
ideas and criticism.([11])
Juhaiman came when Saudi Arabia was witnessing an
economic boom and the society was going through very deep changes because of
the influx of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers. With this also there was the spread of
corruption. The number of flights to certain cities around the world increased tremendously
or to a record unnatural by any standards. ([12])
These Islamists may have seen a deviation from Islamic values as Esposito put
it: "for many, rapid modernization undermined Saudi Arabia's Islamic way of life.
In particular, questions of public morality became increasingly
sensitive".([13]) some of these accusations were focused on the
ruling class.([14])
With this heavy shaking to the foundation of the Saudi society there
was an ample freedom for Islamic Daawa as well as the steady march of the
country towards more liberalization at
the social level and in the field of status of women and the media.
As for the loose security in the field of Islamic
Daawa, one can say with great certainty that no period in the Saudi regime
witnessed more freedom of speech in terms of the mosques and freedom of
gathering than this period. I remember when in Jeddah alone, there were ten or
so very outspoken orators who used to give the Friday sermon. Not only that no
permission was necessary from the Ministry of Endowment and Hajj or any
government agency. Even in the Madinah Mosque there were some speakers who
would stand up after Friday prayer and speak criticizing the social conduct and
even the government in a subtle way.
Dekmejian- who wrote his research for the U.S
department of Defense- mentioned that Juhaiman's followers were arrested for
their views or for organizing and were released "upon the intercession of
the respected Shaykh Abdul Aziz ben Baz" ([15])
What did Juhaiman Strive for?
It is believed that Juhaiman was not much different form the movement of
Al-Ikhwan who objected to King Abdul Aziz’s modernization of Saudi Arabia. Though Abdul Aziz was
tough with the first movement, the new rule of King Khaled and the first years
of King Fahad proved to be lenient with a lot of freedom that it really gained
wide support among the Saudi young people. Juhaiman was not the only learned
leader of this movement. There were many Ulema who helped shape this movement.
First of all, Juhaiman himself was a student of the Islamic movement of
Madinah, and then there are those who were specialized in Hadith (Traditions of
The Prophet). They called themselves the school of Hadith,
and often they insisted that they are the one saved sect (referring to
Prophet's Hadith that Muslims will be divided into seventy three sects).
Though it is rather
difficult to obtain the literature of Juhaiman,([16])
it was not such a secret that people would not know. Juhaiman has issued seven
messages (small booklets) in which he discussed certain topics of the Islamic
political theory. One of these concerns the criteria by which Muslims should
choose their leader. They also denounced
corruptions in all its moods and types. There were few trivial things that were
passed on about them such as objections to inscribing monarchs' pictures on the
different monetary bills. They objected to women appearing in the Saudi TV and
so on. They also named specific
officials as corrupt. They also showed objections to the westernization of the
country. ([17])
Saudis lived dreadful days for many months to come
after the government regained power. Strict control was imposed on the mosques
and universities. Arrests of suspects and check points were everywhere. Scenes
of detained persons moved by planes from one city to another were very normal.
Anybody who had close relations with Juhaiman was under suspicion.
New laws were devised such as the
separation of Islamic cassette tapes shops and those selling songs. Severe
supervision over bookshops and printing became the rule. Only Saudis were
allowed to give Friday sermon. Many non-Saudis who previously gave Friday
sermons, and some of them were really bold in dealing with the internal affairs
of Saudi Arabia,
were stopped. ([18]) Stricter laws were derived to limit the
activities of the Saudi Ulema. A circular dated August, 10th, 1985 was issued by Minister of
Endowments and Hajj to all officials responsible to monitor the mosques
containing the following points:
1-
it is prohibited to distribute
any advices or written instructions or
stick any such things on the walls of the mosques.
2-
No permission is to be given to
anyone to give speeches only to the well known Shaykhs or Ulema and those who
have written permission from the authorized government agency. ([19])
Conclusion
Resurgence in
the Hijaz region started with the advent of the insurgence of Muslim Brothers
who fled Egypt or Syria or Iraq. It Also gained momentum with
the invitation of King Faisal to some prominent Scholars to come and work in Saudi Arabia.
Just before the days of King Faisal the Hijaz region was going into fast steps
towards easy living with concentration on entertainment and consumerism. This
may have come about after the death of King Abdul Aziz and the ascendance of King Saud since the reign
of Abdul Aziz was characterized by strict adherence to Islam and tough measures
against and disobedience or impurity.
Then the resurgence started with the big clash with nationalism and
secularism. Just after the death of King Faisal and the coming of King Khaled,
which coincided with the rule of Sadat, the Islamic resurgence became active.
Then, by the end of the seventies and the beginning of the fifteenth hijra
century came Juhaiman and the Mahdi prophecy. Saudi Arabian government acted
according to each situation with so much interest in keeping the security of
the regime rather than giving the resurgence the due attention and study. There
must have been outside pressures which affected the government actions.
[1] - Hamza Al-Muzaini, “inhasara Altaanweer methlama ikhtafat
albasma min Asir” in Al-Watan (24 June 2004)
[2] - Victoria
College graduates are
still in touch with each other on regular basis in Jeddah and maybe in other
Saudi cities.
death books came out to show how the Egyptian revolution was supported by the
CIA and an example of these books is The game of Nations by Miles
Copland. See also Bernard Lewis. Islam and The West.(Oxford: Oxford
university Press,1993 )p31
[5]- He was born in
Egypt
in 1933. After he memorized the whole Quraan at an early age, continued his
education at Al- Azhar and graduated with B.A in religious studies. He then
became an Imam and orator at a mosque in Cairo.
After the seventies of last century he became famous and his taped sermons reached
more than two thousand in number. His sermons are now on CDs and in the
internet. I just received an e-mail in May 2007 with links to some of his
sermons which shows clearly that he is still popular. Muhammad Qutb once
commented on Kishk methodology that he would not follow it but at the same time
would not criticize it.
[6] - My brother
and I visited this apartment-shop- and ordered some tapes but were reluctant to
give out true names when asked by the shop keeper.
[7]-
Mazin S. Motabagani." Review of the
book The Islamic Cassettes public and libraries. By Ismael Al-Nizari in Al-Madinah
Newspaper, no.8915. On 5 Rabie II 1412h (October 13, 1991).
[8]-
Muhammad Qutb" Introductory lecture
on Islamic Education" King Abdul Aziz university. First is a series of
lectures, on January 16th, 1977. I recorded this lecture. I also
attended most of these lectures or listened to them on tapes.
[9] - When a
group of Salafiya became very influential the books of Qutb brothers were
banned from Saudi Arabia.
However, book shops were allowed to sell the stock they had but were not
allowed to import the new books or the old ones. The Salafis went further and
particularly at the Islamic University of Muhammad Ben Saud they put all the
books which have the slight attachment to Ikwan or other Islamic movement in
limited reading rooms.
the battle of Hamah in Syria with the Baath Regime of
Hafidh Al Asad
1- Suleiman
Al-Hatlan." Radicalism in Saudi
Arabia." In The Washington Post. May 8th , 2002.
[12] - R. Hrair
Dekmejian. Islam in Revolution; Fundamentalism in the Arab World. (Syracuse. N.Y.: Syracuse University Press 1985)p 140-141.
[13] - John Esposito. Islam and Politics. (Syracuse,
N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1984.) p 112. See also John L. Esposito, Islam
The Straight Path. ( Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1991)
p190
[14]- Peter W. Wilson and Douglas F. Graham. Saudi Arabia:
The Coming Storm. (New York.
M.E. Sharpe , p.56
[15] - Ibid p 143
quoting Abu Dharr , Al-Ikhwan, pp 250-52,
412) من الإنترنت
The author the says:"
The Saudi Government and the semi- official press tried to distort the image of
Juhaiman and his group, and they also tried to cover the news of this group and
their views".
[17] - Wilson and Graham, op, cit., P.
59
[18] - I remember
an Egyptian University professor (Dr. Kamal Eissa)
giving Friday Oration criticized the Government annual budget. The mosque where
this man was giving his speech was expanded twice to accommodate the crowds.
[19] - Muhammad
Fouad. "Religion and State in Saudi Arabia" in the site Gulf
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