They’re going to chop Hady Mutief’s head off

From my friend and colleague Ali Alyami, Executive Director, The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. Ali is himself a member of the Ismaeli minority.

Hady Muteif was accused of having offended Islam 15 years ago when he was a teenager. He was born and raised in Najran, southern Saudi Arabia. He belongs to the Ismaeli religious minority (offshoot of Shia-Shiites). Under Islamic traditions and teachings, offenders of the faith are forgiven after they repent. Sunni Saudis have slurred religion in the past, but have been pardoned and released from prisons. Religious minorities are considered apostates by the dominant Saudi-Wahhabi state religion.

Washington DC

Feb. 24, 08

To: His Majesty, King Abdullah,

Subject: Pending Chopping of Hady Mutief’s head

Chopping people’s heads for religious slurs is a crime against humanity.
Non-Muslims talk and make fun of their religions and religious leaders every where in the world and no one cares.

Are non-Muslims less human and less believers than Muslims?

On the contrary, non-Muslims have proven, time and again, to be more humane, creative, generous, magnanimous and caring than most Muslims have ever been.

They criticize and make fun of their religions, prophets and holy books without fear of losing their heads to their government’s swords.

Let’s face it your majesty, your family and its ferocious religious extremists use religion to terrorize their subdued and voiceless people for reasons other than love of God.

You use religion as a tool of oppression, torture, killing, squandering of people’s revenues, discrimination against women and minorities, severe gender segregation, incitements against non-Muslims and utter deprivation of all activities that bring joy and happiness to peoples’ hearts.

Using religion as a tool to kill, oppress and terrorize people is a religious barbarity, not religious tolerance, purity and forgiveness.

Chopping Hady Mutief’s head in a public square will only increase people’s fear of their faith not love for it.

Killing Hady has less to do with what he said about Wahhabi Islam and more to do with his religious orientation. Hady belongs to the unlucky Ismaeli religious minority of Najran who has been the target of your family and its Wahhabi vindictive religious fanatic’s wrath for centuries.

Finally your majesty, the medieval kings of Europe and other places killed and oppressed people in the name of God and at the end, they were beheaded, dragged on rough grounds and hanged on sticks until they shrunk to nothingness. It’s only a matter of time before the Saudi religious policies and practices at home and abroad bring colossal retribution to Muslims and their holy shrines.

Chopping Hady’s head in front of his mother and children will only make Islam that more hated by its adherents and the international community. It’s time to embrace civility, maturity, tolerance and respect for the sanctity of human lives.

http://www.freedomhadi.com/news.php?action=view&id=4

Ali H. Alyami, Ph. D.

Executive Director, The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia

1050 17 St. NW Suite 1000

Washington, DC 20036

Tel: (202) 558-5552; (202) 413-0084; Fax: (202) 536-5210

ali@cdhr.info; www.cdhr.info