Takfīr Saʿūdīs Mocking the Kaʿbah?

The Arabian Peninsula – that land upon whose soil Allah’s Messenger  (ﷺ) set his noble feet and from where the Companions had set out to raise the banner of monotheism over the world. Now idols, nudity, music and wine prevail, especially in the so-called Riyadh Season. Footage circulating on 16^th November 2024 show a new level of open depravity in which the followers of Satan mock a depiction of the Kaʿbah. While Muslims are rightfully shocked, long-term readers would know that I have been warning against the regime for years. This is not unexpected. (You are welcome to search my posts on Twitter https://x.com/sulayman_Kindi and my blog: this blog). In the wake of public outrage, a respected Muftī messaged me, stating that scholars are discussing takfīr (excommunication from Islām) for mocking the Kaʿbah. I feel that my response contains a message for the entire ummah, hence I share it below:  

Wa ʿalaykum as-Salām

Respected Muftī Ṣāḥib

Jazākallah khayran, for including me in your discussion. As a seeker of knowledge, the academic points you raise are appreciated and treasures in themselves. However, my perspective is not based on only recent specific events.

While I appreciate that the faith of scholars moves them to outrage at this violation of the reverence of Allah’s House, this basis of the current manifestation of outrage is also a matter of concern from my perspective, qualitatively (what is it that outrages us) and quantitatively (how long has it taken us to be outraged or express it).

For too long we scholars in the Anglosphere have limited our focus on deeds and virtues and rarely venture into addressing pressing matters of ʿaqīdah. The average Friday talk I hear is about the virtues of wuḍūʿ and duʿāʾ. From my perspective, discussing takfīr for defiling the Kaʿbah is a temporary phenomena-based discussion which can change tomorrow based on a minor detail altering, be it an event or a personality. This is ghayrah of faith that is meritorious and found in Muslim laymen and children of correct upbringing. Anglosphere scholars however are not fulfilling their duty of leading the discussion to matters of core belief, specifically walāʾ and barāʾ. The Saudi regime has long and openly manifested its loyalty to the enemies of Allah and waged war against His slaves. That this has never been a matter of widespread concern is more of an indictment against us than against them. Do we follow a different religion from those scholars in the sacred lands who have been jailed, tortured and worse for speaking up for the pleasure of Allah? Do we have different Companions and Predecessors who spoke the word of truth to tyrants?

The Saudi regime’s alliance with America and Israel and waging war against Islam surely deserves equal mention as virtues of wuḍūʾ. The plundering and using the resources of the ummah to bomb the Muslims in Yemen and killing little Yemeni children by depriving them of food and medicine, YEARS before such atrocities were committed in Ghazzah, is an utter shame. Worse is the shame of our silence. The Saudi engineering in overthrowing a righteous albeit flawed Muslim ruler in Egypt, who would have stood up against Israel and lifted the siege at Rafaḥ, is but one out of countless manifestations of their walāʾ to disbelievers and barāʾ against Muslims. No protest from Anglosphere scholars who hypocritically condemn Israel and pretend there is no Saudi-Egyptian siege at Rafaḥ. The honour of the Muslims massacred in Egypt, particularly IN THE MASJID is no less than the honour of Allah’s House.

Throughout the Muslim world, there are manifestations of Saudi corruption and serving the interests of Satan not Islām. From my perspective, using the Kaʿbah as a platform for creatures like Sudais to preach in favour of Allah’s enemies is a far greater violation of the Kaʿbah’s sanctity than a holographic projection at a concert. From my perspective, placing the filthiest of heretics on the minbar of Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam at ʿArafāt, Al Isa, who openly participates in mushrik rituals, is far worse than any cartoon insulting his sacred personality. Yet while the Arab world was filled with Muslim laymen protesting at such an outrage, the ‘scholars’ of the Anglosphere remained mute. In fact an ‘Islamic’ radio station from my country found that Ḥajj an opportunity to broadcast videos presenting a jolly carnival-like atmosphere of their ‘pilgrimage’ when our hearts should have been bleeding. [/israels-triumph-at-%ca%bfarafah-1443-islams-blackest-day/]

The list of Saudi crimes against Allah goes back decades, if not a century and cannot be listed. The nature of their crimes has long been worse than mere holograms, including being the first regime EVER in the history of Islām to invite the boots of Christian and Jewish [troops] to tramp the sacred soil of Arabia, thus spitting on the final instruction which Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam  issued before leaving this world.

In short, I regard a fatwā based on a specific concert and hologram to be limited and does not address problems in the Ḥarmayn and problems of perspective within the fraternity of western Muslim scholars.

As these are issues of public concern, I hope Muftī Ṣāḥib does not mind me publishing my response (omitting your name of course).

I thank you once again for including me in your discussion. May Allah accept us and use us.

Was salām

Sulaymān al-Kindī

Twitter: @Sulayman_Kindī