Saudi Grand Mufti Fears TV Series Will Expose Islam to Criticism

by Raymond Ibrahim  •  Jul 24, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Cross-posted from Jihad Watch

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia—the authority who called for the destruction of all churches in the region—recently condemned a new Saudi Arabian satellite TV series, which was scheduled to air during Ramadan, on the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad’s companion and second caliph, Omar ibn al-Khattab.

Saudi Grand Mufti: No to films that may expose Islam to criticism.

The series is supposed to tell the story of the early days of the Muslim caliphate, including, most likely, the Islamic conquests, since many non-Muslim nations, such as Egypt, were conquered during Omar’s reign.

What is interesting is why the Grand Mufti is condemning this series, calling it a “crime deserving of punishment”: It “depicts the lives of the caliphs and companions [of Muhammad] in a movie, exposing them to discussion by every depraved person, making them vulnerable to slander and criticism.”

In short, it seems he wants the obscurities of early Islam to remain obscure—perhaps like how Omar allegedly used to strip female sex-slaves in public whenever they were overly-dressed—lest they become a renewed source of criticism of Islam and its early followers, otherwise known as al-salaf al-salah, the “righteous forefathers” whom Wahabbis and Salafis, like the Grand Mufti, pattern their lives after—and, hence, come into constant conflict with the modern world.