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Scholars Frustrate Extremists on Women Driving Issue
 A number of extremists have expressed their frustration at the reaction of some scholars to the matter of women driving which was ruled out at the Shoura Council Session last week. The reaction of the scholars, which frustrated their followers, was of two kinds. Some of the scholars, such as Naser Al-Omar and Safar Al-Hawali, kept quiet and did not comment on the issue. Others, such as Salman Al-Oudah and Abdul Mohsin Al-Obaikan, said there were no religious objections to women driving but that the community was not yet ready for it. The scholars agreed that if women were allowed to drive at present, it might lead to situations which would result in behavior which violated religious laws.In addition, some of the extremists referred to statements by the late Saudi scholars, Sheikh Bin Baz and Sheikh Ibn Othaimeen. They were among the most learned scholars in the Islamic world and their opinions and ideas are still respected in matters of religion. The extremists accused the present-day scholars of being less strict and less honest than the two sheikhs. Some of them said that Ibn Othaimeen said in the late 90s that women driving was religiously prohibited. Arab News, however, listened to a recording of the sheikh's speech and he never used the word "haram" (forbidden) when speaking of women driving. What he said was that for women to drive was a "mistake because it could lead to corruption." His idea was that the community was not ready to accept women driving. Posted by: Fred 2005-05-31 |
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