Sheikh Saleh Al-Luhaidan,

Story

The head of the Saudi Judaical System issued a fatwa on a radio show declaring that the owners of TV station who broadcast material deemed inappropriate may be punished by death.

“If the evil of those who promote corruption in belief and actions cannot be held back through lesser punishments, then they can be put to death through the judicial process,” Lohaidan, head of the Supreme Judicial Council said.

The reaction to this fatwa has gained national and international reaction.

“The extremist elements will take advantage of the fatwa and start recruiting our young people to bomb the locations of such TV stations,” al-Obeikhan, who is also an adviser at the Saudi ministry of justice, was quoted as saying to the Saudi Al Jazeera newspaper.

Commentary

So this is basically old news by now but its important. Of course I followed this fatwa as it happened but decided to hold back posting it and commenting on it due to my unbalanced negative reaction to it and I didn’t want to say something that I would regret.

Plain and simple this is the most idiotic fatwa I have ever heard and a very dangerous one. I quoted part of the fatwa in the story however it might not sound as bad translated and only showing a part of it. When the fatwa in its whole and in Arabic is repeated it sounds even worse. Even though the fatwa does say that the death of the owners must be through the courts it is so open to translation that fundamentalist and terrorist organizations could use it as a support to killing and blowing up TV stations and their owners.

The truth of the matter is that the courts would never be able to prosecute any of the TV station owners let alone pass the death penalty against them as the government would never allow this. Luhidan knows this just as everybody else in Saudi Arabia knows this, so why a fatwa declaring death to TV station owners when he knows it will never happen? Clearly its a message for fundamentalist and terrorist organizations to take matters into their own hands.

Luhidan did come on TV the next day to clarify his fatwa however his explanation was complete bull s*** as it was most about how great he was and how knowledgeable and sticking to his fatwa just clarifying that it is for the Judaical system to follow it and not individuals.

Its time for Luhidan to resign and have someone with more sense take over the Judaical system.

Story

A man in the western province of Saudi Arabia on death row has been taken off death row thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous man of 1 million Saudi riyals in exchange for the victims family pardon. When news reached the killers mother she feel to her knees crying and thanking god and the anonymous donor for saving her sons life.

Commentary

That was the news story and for those of you that don’t understand it let me explain. Saudi Arabia follows Islamic law and part of that law is the concept of “eye for an eye, arm for an arm, and life for a life” however the victim if alive may pardon the offender as well as the victims family if hes dead may pardon the killer from death and usually the victims family makes demands for the pardon. The demands can range to as simple as an apology, memorizing the Koran, up to demanding millions of riyals. So when money if required for the pardon there is usually donations provided from different parties to help the killers family as such an act of saving a persons life is encouraged in Islam.

Personally I oppose the death penalty but I also believe I have no right to deniy the victims family the right for revange with in the law. So I believe the Islamic system is the right system in this situation however they needs to be a law to control the amount of money for a persons life as a few families have abused the system and turned into an investment rather than a revange.