Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority issued a "fatwa" or religious edict Thursday banning Muslims from watching Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV. The edict issued by Sheik Saleh al-Fawzan, a member of the kingdom's committee of ulemas, described the Arab satellite channel as "Zionist television," which hosts "so-called reformists who have a podium for airing their poisonous ideas."
| al-Jazeera, the mouthpiece of al-Qeada, is "Zionist TV". Who knew? |
| I'm not really a lover of al-Jizzplatter, but where in the Koran does it say you can't watch it? Or is it in one of the hadiths? |
"There is no need to set up satellite dishes to watch the news on al-Jazeera ... Saudis can have access to all the news and information through Saudi newspapers, radio and television," the edict said.
| Saudi News Network - "We Report, You Believe, Or Else". |
It cautioned Muslims against "introducing evil to their homes and destroying them by watching al-Jazeera, which is a provocative and evil channel hosting people who interpret religion as they please. "Watching al-Jazeera is an evil in itself," it added.
The popular satellite TV channel hosts Saudi opposition figures and activists calling for political and social reforms in the Muslim conservative kingdom.
| I think I'd call this a dumb reaction to a tiresome problem. If it wasn't Soddy Arabia we were talking about, I'd point out that the solution to al-Jizzles isn't to ban watching it, but to give alternatives to it, be it I Love Lucy reruns, All Bollywood All the Time, or wrestling. |
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