Dubai, Sep 24 (AP) Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia who served as the kingdom's top religious authority for over 25 years, has passed away. Sheikh Abdulaziz, who was in his 80s, died on Tuesday. As grand mufti, he was one of the most significant Islamic clerics in the Sunni Muslim world. Saudi Arabia, home to the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, hosts the annual Hajj pilgrimage, making his pronouncements highly influential.
Aligned with the Al Saud ruling family, Sheikh Abdulaziz witnessed Saudi Arabia's recent social liberalization, which included allowing women to drive and opening movie theaters. Despite these developments, he consistently denounced extremists such as those in the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Throughout his tenure, Sheikh Abdulaziz made statements that reflected Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi doctrine, a strictly austere form of Islam. This form of Islam promoted gender segregation, restrictions on music, and other conservative practices.
The Saudi state media announced his death without revealing the cause. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who manages the kingdom's daily affairs under his 89-year-old father, King Salman, attended the funeral prayers in Riyadh on Tuesday night. “With his passing, the kingdom and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims,” declared the Saudi Royal Court.
Sheikh Abdulaziz, who lost his sight at a young age, was appointed grand mufti in 1999 by King Fahd. At the time, Saudi society remained segregated, and behavior was closely monitored by the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. His earlier comments reflected these strict views, such as his 2004 condemnation of mobile phone cameras for potentially being used to spread vice in the community.
His pronouncements extended beyond Saudi Arabia. He criticized a 2006 speech by then-Pope Benedict XVI that quoted a Byzantine emperor's negative views on Islam. Additionally, in 2012, he made controversial remarks about Christian churches in Kuwait, suggesting that it was necessary to destroy all churches in the region, although these comments were later downplayed by his associates after causing an uproar.
Sheikh Abdulaziz also criticized Shiite Muslims, especially after Iran's supreme leader condemned Saudi Arabia following the 2015 Hajj stampede that resulted in over 2,400 deaths. He reportedly said Shiites were not true Muslims and described them as descendants of Majuws, a term referring to Zoroastrians.
Throughout his career, he consistently supported the Al Saud ruling family, particularly in the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which established a Shiite theocracy. In 2007, he condemned the actions of Islamic extremists, labeling their so-called jihad as a distraction for Muslims. After 9/11, Saudi Arabia faced a militant insurgency, and he called the Islamic State group "enemy No. 1 of Islam." He criticized self-proclaimed mujahedeen, warning that they were misleading Muslims.
With the rise of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed, Sheikh Abdulaziz gradually softened or changed his social views, particularly concerning the mixing of genders, previously described by him as “evil and catastrophe.” He had also once criticized women driving, saying it exposed them to evil, but later supported it when the ban was lifted in 2018. Similarly, his views on issues like chess, which he likened to gambling, evolved as the country liberalized.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he urged compliance with social distancing measures, warning that failure to do so would be a grave sin with potentially fatal consequences. As Crown Prince Mohammed's social reforms progressed, Sheikh Abdulaziz's influence waned. The crown prince's anti-corruption campaign widened into a larger crackdown on dissent or any rival power base challenging his rule.
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