Religious freedom in the Middle East must
given time to bed down but interference from non-believers in the west
is unhelpful, according to the leader of a controversial Saudi
Arabia-funded inter-faith organisation.
Faisal Bin Abdulrahman Bin Muaammar, the
secretary-general of the Vatican-backed King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
International Centre for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue
(KAICIID), said that Islam teaches respect for other religions, but the
question was how to apply this principle to countries in an unstable
region where religion was a major force.
“All Muslims should recognise Christians
and Jews,” he told The Tablet. “Any Muslim who does not believe in Moses
or Jesus, he is not a Muslim. This is not only holy teaching, it is
part of the religion itself. How to practise it and how to make it a law
in each country, this needs development. It is coming … through knowing
each other.”
Speaking in Rome last week where he was
attending a conference organised by KAICIID and the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue and where organisers met with Pope Francis,
he said: “The question is always ‘do we have one fixed system all over
the world that we can apply to the others?’ We have to learn from one
another. I am a strong advocate of learning from each experience.”
Bin Muaammar, a well-connected Saudi
politician, said that western agencies lecturing the Middle East on
religious freedom was counter-productive, particularly when many of
these representatives were non-believers.
“They are coming to talk about religious
freedom which really shocks some people because the one who’s speaking
to them is not a believer himself,” he said. “Its a matter of how we
respect the beliefs of others. If you are coming to me without listening
to me about what I believe and what I understand is good for my society
then you are insulting me.”
Sharp contrasts have been drawn with the
centre’s aims for religious dialogue and Saudi Arabia’s human rights
record and lack of religious freedom: conversions from Islam to another
religion can be punishable by death while Raef Badawi, an atheist and
civil rights blogger, has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting
the Muslim faith.
When asked about the case of Mr Badawi -
who recent reports say is facing another round of flogging - Bin
Muaammar said he could not speak on behalf of the Saudi Government.
Instead he stressed that applying religious freedom to Middle Eastern
countries’ constitutions would eventually be implemented. “It is a
matter of time and trust and it will develop,” he stressed.