SAUDI ARABIA: ISLAMIC COUNTRY?

Saudi Arabia to many people is a land of opportunity. Coming from diverse cultures like Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Philippines, and other poor countries , many people go there to work hoping for a better future. Though many failed, many did find their pot of gold. The most important contribution of Saudi Arabia to the world, however, is not only job opportunities, oil, and an excellent military base for the U.S.A., but Islam, the religion embraced by about ¼ of the whole world population.

The birth place of Islam and its prophet, the Prophet Muhammad, is Saudi Arabia. Because of this, most Muslims consider it as the sole authority in the teaching and practices of Islam. In the Philippines when a dispute on Islamic law crops up among the Muslims, the one who could present practices in Saudi Arabia settles it. That is how high the esteem of Saudi Arabia in the minds of Filipino Muslims. Muslims are made to believe that Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country, that its system of government and practices are patterned after Islam, and that its people , the Arabsare model Muslims.

This is of course wild imagination and false; the opposite is true.Arab muslim scholars know this, only that they are afraid to speak out in public, knowing well that anybody proven to speak against the government or Islam, the consequence is imprisonment or expulsion from the kingdom. That is the justice of Saudi Arabia. But that justice in the light of Islam that it purports to follow is injustice.

Islam is theocracy. It is a government of God (Allah), by a representative of God, and for God. Everything that the Muslims do is for the pleasure of God . And the earthly representative of God that runs this government is the Prophet who was also appointed by God, not appointed or elected by the people. The successor of the prophet called the Imam was also appointed by God through the Prophet. The Prophet said there will be twelve Imams after him. The laws of Islam are not man made, but by God and promulgated by the Prophet by the command of God. People have no say in legislation; they are required to follow.

Saudi Arabia, however, is opposite this as it is a monarchy called Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is run and governed by a king from the Saud family. That is why it is called Saudi, meaning, Arabia of the family of Saud. Everything that the subjects do is for the pleasure of the king. One may do something in the name of God and Islam, but if it will cause displeasure of the king, he is in trouble as mentioned earlier. In order to ensure the perpetuation of the Saud family as rulers, the government made a very strong tie with the West especially the United States up to the point of being subservient to it. It put up a strong military machine with the backing of its western master, the United States.

In addition to that, in order to have eyes and ears inside the kingdom itself, a unique intelligence system was established- the motawa or the religious police in plain clothe sin order to hide his presence among the masses. The title, religious police, is of course deceiving as he is not only concerned with religious matters, but of anything else that tends to shake the acceptance of the people of the anti-Islamic monarchy.

How the motawa treats people, especially the foreign workers, is dreadful. This writer had an unforgettable experience with him. After we finished praying the Isha prayer orthe night prayer in a big mosque, while waiting for a drugstore to open, there was a hard knock on our car's window. When I opened, the big, fat man and his companion staring at us shouted at the top of his voice: "Iqamah, iqamah, iqamah." (The iqamah is a sort of residence certificate showing ones entry into the kingdom.)

Then he pulled my hands and pushed me into his car. In their headquarter, they pushed me into a detention cell. There, much to my surprise, I learned they were the ones who did not pray in the mosque during the time of prayer; they were just roaming around looking for their victims. They should be the one who should be arrested – not me. But maybe they are exempted from obeying Islamic laws because they are part of the establishment and because the government authorized them to do so.

Many more instances of Saudi injustices could be told. These injustices are done in the name of Islam; Islam that prohibits injustice in the first place. What an irony! Now Muslims should open their eyes to the true nature of Saudi Arabia. We love Saudi Arabia but hate its anti-Islamic foolishness.