http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=67136&d=18&m=7&y=2005
Monday, 18, July, 2005 (11, Jumada al-Thani, 1426)
Imams, Academics Against Allowing Women to Drive
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 18 July 2005 - A statement that has warned against the dangers of
allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia was released on the Internet on Friday.
More than 100 sheikhs, imams, judges, Islamic scholars, Islamic university
teachers, several heads of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice centers
in the Kingdom, as well as some teachers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the
Prophet's Mosque in Madinah signed the statement.
The statement said that the enemies of Islam are seeking to destroy the
great role women have been given in Islam by corrupting them and hence
corrupting the Islamic world.
It said the enemies of Islam have portrayed the image of Muslim women
being without rights and having "a broken wing," saying that their homes are
prisons, their husbands mistreat them, and their hijabs are a sign of
backwardness.
It said that they have come up with the terminology of "injustice for
women" in our country and have used it in the media lately introducing the fact
that they are not allowed to drive as a sign of injustice.
They also said in the statement that the ruling in Islam that "closing
all doors leads to corruption" was clear and was for the protection of people
and society. "Women driving cars is not permissible because the ruling of
'closing doors that leads to corruption' applies to it directly."
The statement also said that those who say allowing women to drive would
be beneficial in some ways forget the ruling in Islam that if the act derives
more misdeeds, then it is ruled as not permissible.
The statement added that though it acknowledged that foreign drivers are
an economic burden on the country, their presence does less damage than the
economic burdens of allowing women to drive which are: The multi-ownership of
cars in one family instead of just one being used by the driver; the
replacement of a car by another one since women are known to like everything
new and the burden of the government having to open special female sections in
all Traffic Departments.
It concluded by saying that no Islamic scholar or good figure in society
has called for women to drive and that all those who have been calling for them
to drive are people who tend to damage the image of Islamic women.
One of the signatories, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, head of the Commission
of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Al-Mikhwah in Al-Baha
region, said a group of righteous people approached him and other sheikhs in
the region to include their signature to the statement.
"They showed us the statement and we read it and agreed with its
contents. That is why we signed it," he said. "I was told that the statement
would be delivered to the leaders of our country. But I had no idea that it was
posted on the Internet," he added.
Another signatory, Dr. Khaled Al-Shamrani, head of the Justice Department
in Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, confirmed to Arab News that the statement
released on the Internet was true.
He said he found himself obliged to sign it after, what he called, a
media campaign supporting the idea of women driving got attention that it
deserved.
The Interior Ministry did not comment on the statement.
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