OutSyed The Box
Sunday, August 28, 2022
10 Years Jail Sentence For The Imam Masjid Haram In Mecca
Sheikh Saleh al Talib was arrested after he delivered a sermon critical of the government’s entertainment industry regulator
Former Imam of Masjid al-Haram Sheikh Saleh al Talib 10 years imprisonment by a Saudi court, Rights groups said.
It was reported that Sheikh Saleh al Talib was arrested without explanation in August 2018.
48-year-old Al-Talib was an imam in Makkah when he was arrested.
According to the social media advocacy group, Prisoners of Conscience, he was arrested immediately after he delivered a public sermon on “evil doing” in which he allegedly criticized the General Entertainment Authority, a government body that regulates the entertainment industry including concerts and entertainment events.
In his public sermon, the imam allegedly said concerts and events violate the country’s religious and cultural norms should be condemned.
Talib’s sermons and Quran recitations on YouTube have thousands of followers from all over the world.
According to the US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), the Specialized Criminal Appeals Court in Riyadh sentenced Sheikh Saleh al Talib to prison after overturning his previous acquittal.
He was arrested when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was announcing reforms of Saudi society and diversifing the economy of the Gulf kingdom.
Rights groups said that authorities have arrested numerous prominent clerics and imams who opposed MBS’s reform agenda.
My Comments : In Saudi Arabia if you are a party pooper they throw you in jail. Everyone likes to party.
Criticising MBS from inside Saudi Arabia is dangerous.
ReplyDeleteIt can even be dangerous if you do it from outside Saudi.
Not that I support that Imam's stand, which was opposed to reforms allowing any form of public entertainment, just like PAS.
While I think MBS is trying hard to burnish his image with his efforts at liberalism and modernity, what he did to this imam shows there can be moderation in the muslim world (although I think 10 years jail for the imam is a bit too long).
ReplyDeleteHowever, MBS has to really, really guard against trying to turn the conservative country too much and too fast.
He really has to take his personal safety more seriously. These threats can be from outside his circle or from within ala Park Chung Hee of South Korea.