The most senior cleric in the kingdom delivered a sermon in which he preached tolerance and emphasized the connection with the Jews • The network did not remain indifferent: "He speaks like a rabbi, not an imam"
Abdul Rahman al-Sudis // Photo: Wikipedia
The Arab world was shocked over the weekend when senior clerics in Saudi Arabia, the imam of the Great Mosque in Mecca and president of the country's Dedicated Sites Council, Abdul Rahman al-Sudis, sent a sermon that was interpreted throughout the Muslim world as a call for normalization with Israel.
According to media reports in the Arab world, the sermon dealt with Muhammad's right wing in Mecca and the relationship he formed with members of various religions, mostly Jews.
The bottom line of the sermon was that Muslims must practice religious tolerance, especially in the Jewish context.
"We must cleanse and purify Islam of the superstitious and dubious beliefs that have clung to it," the religious preacher said in relation to the hatred of other religions among some of the extremist currents in Islam.
Sodis' remarks are not unprecedented and in the past he has spoken in foreign media in favor of tolerance and acceptance of the other, but the timing and clear reference to Jews have led many media outlets to treat the sermon as a call for normalization with Israel.
Although Saudi Arabia has maintained its position that it will establish relations with Israel only after an agreement between the Palestinians and the Jewish state, Riyadh welcomed the establishment of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and even helped strengthen it when they opened Saudi airspace to Israeli aircraft en route to the United Arab Emirates.
On social media, the sermon received special attention.
The Moroccan news site "Morocco World News" published a series of statements on social media in the country in which they condemned the remarks of Sodis.
"He speaks like a rabbi, not like an imam," wrote one surfer, and another surfer wrote: "The scores tweet praise for the imam in Mecca."
Although Sodis' remarks apparently reflect Riyadh's approach and the idea of normalization with Israel, the cleric himself has been known in the past for serious antisemitic remarks.
In 2002, Sodis called for beatings against Jews and even called them "scum of the world ... rats ... monkeys and pigs."
Due to these things he was banned from entering the United States and Canada.