Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, CDHR
Invites You to a Timely Conference
“Echoing Muslim Scholars’ Warning against Wahhabism: Should the US Listen?”
July 20, 2010 on Capitol Hill, 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Food and Drinks will be served according to House Rules
Rayburn House Office Building Room B-369
(Metro Orange Line or Blue Line to Capitol South)
On April 25, prominent Muslim scholars and experts at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, held a conference entitled, “Wahhabism: Mortal Enemy of and a Threat to Muslims and the World,”. The participants consisted of highly respected Muslim scholars and experts in Muslim movements, many of whom hailed from Islam’s oldest intellectual institution, Al-Azhar University. The Al-Azhar scholars are not the first to call on the international community to counter and defeat Wahhabism. A former Saudi Salafi cleric identified Wahhabism as a threat; the extremism of the ideology convinced him that Islam must be reformed. Even though prominent Muslim individuals, such as former President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, the nation with the largest Muslim population, have called on the international community to “unite and defeat Wahhabism,” the Cairo conference is the first of its kind and caliber.
The Al-Azhar conference participants delivered the most forceful denunciation of the Saudi state’s doctrine. They accused it of being at the epicenter of turning Islam and many Muslims into a lethal threat to Islam, Muslims and the international community. In addition, they blamed Wahhabism for terrorism, rejection of the “Other,” oppression of women and religious minorities, as well as destabilization of Muslims States and their regimes.
Given the Al-Azhar University scholars’ dire warning and its implication for Muslims and non-Muslims, CDHR deems it necessary to hold this conference in which a diverse and qualified panel will address the impact of the Wahhabi ideology on the Saudi people, their attitude toward each other, and their perceptions of the world.
The intent of this conference is to discuss the root causes of deeply entrenched Wahhabi doctrine and to explore possible alternatives and recommend steps to prevent East-West cultural clashes: Religious totalitarianism versus the rule of law and freedom of choice.
Featured Speakers include:
Dr. Ali Alyami, Founder and Executive Director of CDHR
Congressman Dan Burton (Indiana)
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Jack Pearce, CDHR board member, Anti Trust Lawyer and Businessman
Read More on Abdurrahman Wahid
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