ON THE LATEST RELEASE BY THE SAUDI SENIOR SCHOLARS ON IKHWANUL MUSLIMEEN

I also read the latest release by the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia whereby they warned against the Ikhwanul Muslimeen and regarded them as a terrorist movement.

I have the below few points to make:

1: Let me re-affirm it that I am not a spokesperson for the Ikhwanul Muslimeen, neither am I a member of the organization. Even the real members of the organization will tell you Ibn Taofeeq is not one of them. Just like I said in my article titled “Albaniyyah and Ikhwaniyyah” published on the 12th April, 2020, that I am not under any obligation to defend the Ikhwanul Muslimeen but we all owe the pristine da’wah truth and explanation. It saddens today how anyone who disregards or has a contrary opinion to that of the Saudi Scholars and Salafiyyah Sect is quickly branded as ikhwani.

2: The first thing you need to know about those who issued that release on Ikhwanul Muslimeen is that, The Council of Senior Scholars (مجلس هيئة كبار العلماء) is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, and advises the king on religious matters. The council is appointed by the king, with salaries paid by the government. The council is not appointed based on knowledge criteria or any sunnatic standard.

3: In 2010, Saudi King Abdullah decreed that only members of the Council and a few other clerics could issue fatwa in Saudi Arabia.

4: Until 2009, the council was restricted to members of the Hanbali Madh-hab. It was on the 14th of February 2009 they issued a release of accommodating other 3 madhaa’ib, but still majorly the Hanbali Madh-hab.

5: In 1992, the then King Fahd pressured seven members of the Council into retirement after they failed to sign a letter condemning conservative attacks on the al-Saud family.

In 2009, another member of the Council – Sheikh Saad bin Nasser al-Shithri – was pressured to resign after he opposed gender mixing at the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the first co-ed university in the Kingdom. The media outlets of Saudi published the news.

6: Which before and since then, no one among the Council members will ever try to air an opinion in contrary to that of the government; and even if they don’t justify the political stances of the government, they rather keep silent, hence the mantra “Silence is golden”.

7: Their recent release is not strange. It is just the same as the previous ones.

The problem is now beyond individuals or Islamic organizations. The Saudi state is censoring every intellection incursion into its territory – it tortures, imprison or blackmail every sincere intellectual effort that is not agreeable to her chosen persuasion, yet they are very aggressive in churning extremist of their idea to other countries to propagate their divisive way.

8: Saudi had spent approximately $100 billion in just about 30 years in exporting the fanatical idea, much more than $7 billion spent by Russia for a period of 70 years (1921-1991) in spreading Communism.

And this is one of the Major plans of the Sudairis Seven which has now been reduced to 3.

The Seven Sudayri is the common used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers within the House of Saud. But it has been reduced to 3 now.

9: Unfortunately, even those with brain may not be able to use it because of the influential role of propaganda in today’s politicking.

They will sincerely be cajoled because they have a strategy of ascribing it to sunnah and Manhaj of the Salaf. You could see in that release, they first quoted Quranic and hadeeth verses.

Even a professor who had been trained on the model of their educational curriculum will still find it difficult to apply his own faculty.

They forget that mostly those who trained them in their universities were neither Doctors nor Professors but by just their Wahabi inclined orientation.

10: The Senior Scholars who could not issue a fatwa condemning the killing of Khashogji, who could not issue a release against France and its blasphemy of the Prophet; then you should understand they are mere political stooges. No wonder! Sh. Rabee’ Madkhali and his students had said the Ikhwanul Muslimeen are worse than the Jews and the Christians!

11: How come a fatwa issued by the Saudi Council becomes binding on Muslims of Nigeria? Did the Nigerian Muslims give oath of allegiance to Muhammad Bn Salman or his father or the Council? Those they consider Kibar Ulamaa are as well baby Sheikhs in the pedigree of global Islamic Scholarship. They disrespect those at home and applaud foreign “Kibar”. It is simply inferiority complex.

12: Countries of the world must began to treat Saudi’s intellectual effort as it treats others; it is either they open to cross pollinations of religious efforts or they are prevented with policies from incursion into other territories.

13: Those who keep defending them will never see their damages to Islamic Scholarship because they are either a product of the Saudi Largesse or/and have been brainwashed to see it as the Manhaj of the Salaf – and the Salaf Manhaj is faultless; so they feel they can never be wrong.

There is nothing called Manhaj Salaf. The only source of evidence is Quran and Hadith. The period of the Salaf was also replicate with errors, oppression, ignorance, extremism, just as it is today.

14: Their recent release is a conspiracy hatched from Saudi religious ministry. It a vision 2030 agenda meant to spread the hatred of Ikhwan Muslimoon. They have started from 2018 when Abdul Azeez bn Rayyis delivered a lecture in Medina titled “أساليب جماعة الإخوان في إفساد الشباب” meaning: “Modes of the Muslim Brotherhood in Deterioration of the Youths”. And “Vision 2030” was clearly written up on the poster. The Salafiyyah guys in Nigeria also copied and pasted the topic and lecture like that and delivered it in Ilorin on the 6th of January, 2019.

15: We have always been saying that they have no True Da’wah mission, they are political arm being instigated from outside.

So, all these noise of ilzaam, tabdee’, press release, is just a propaganda meant to sustain the relevancy of their divisive Dawah. They will no longer be the one setting a cause of action; they have their Vision 2030 for which they are financed in cash and kind. The best form of defense is attack.

16: I have matched about the whole Saudi scholars in the past. I understand their psychology; they look at Riyadh before making pronouncement on political issues. No doubt when it comes to individual act of worship, they are experts but with tamazhub, it is the one sided expertise they are using to hoodwink the gullible Salafees who think every pronouncement of theirs is sacrosanct.

17: So, their issue is a serious Fitna that cannot be easily confronted.

The propaganda is at its peak.

What I do tell their followers is to look at the consequences of the teaching of their Scholars and not just trying to defend their teachings. Is Salafiyah itself not in disarray? This proves that their manhaj is just a product of political expediency.

May Allah safeguard us…