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Saudi king shakes up religious establishment
The Saudi king on Saturday dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, signaling an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment. The shake-up -- King Abdullah's first since coming to power in August 2005 -- included the appointment of a female deputy minister, the highest government position a Saudi woman has attained.The king also changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars, for the first time giving more moderate Sunnis representation to the group whose duties include issuing the religious edicts known as fatwas. The king changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars known as the Grand Ulama Commission. Its 21 members will now represent all branches of Sunni Islam, instead of the single strict Hanbali sect that has always governed it. Abdul-Aziz bin Humain will replace Sheik Ibrahim al-Ghaith as head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which runs the religious police, according to the agency. Bin Humain, who is believed to be more moderate than his predecessor, will head a body whose agents have been criticized by Saudis for their harsh behavior. Abdullah also removed Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan, chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Council of Justice. Al-Lihedan issued an edict in September saying it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show content deemed to be immoral. It was denounced across the Arab world. He was replaced by Saleh bin Humaid, who until Saturday served as the head of the Consultative Council. Abdullah has said that reforming the judiciary, a bastion of hard-line clerics implementing Islamic law, is one of his top priorities. Judges currently have complete discretion in issuing sentences, except in cases where Islamic law outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes. That discretion has led to cases that have drawn widespread condemnation. In one, a woman from the eastern city of Qatif was raped but received more lashes than one of her seven assailants. The judge ordered the punishment because she was in a car with a man who is not a relative when the two were intercepted by their attackers. Another major change targets education. The king appointed Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, his son-in-law, as education minister. Noura al-Fayez has been appointed Faisal's deputy for girls' education -- the first time a woman has been appointed a deputy minister. The former Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Abdul-Aziz al-Khoja, will become information minister, according to SPA. Abdullah al-Rabia, a surgeon who has carried out about a dozen operations separating conjoined twins, has been appointed health minister. Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-02-15 |
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