Saudi Arabia has joined the chorus of Islamic states condemning “cartoons offending the Prophet Mohammed.” Conspicuously absent from its statement was any condemnation of the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty for showing a Muhammad cartoon. To mock or insult or offend Muhammad is a grave offense, worthy of death under the Sharia. This makes normative Islam completely incompatible with the principles of free societies, most importantly the freedom of speech.
Some points to keep in mind:
i) “When it comes to beheadings, ISIS has nothing over Saudi Arabia.” The Saudis set a new record for beheadings last year, beheading over 180 people. There is nothing wrong with this barbaric practice as far as Saudi authorities are concerned; it is in accordance with Sharia (cf. Qur’an 8:12; 47:4).
ii) The legal system of Saudi Arabia is founded upon Sharia. Wahhabi Islam is the official ideology of the country. This strict form of Sharia is exported to other Muslim countries, and funded there as well, by Saudi Arabia. The Saudis spread this ideology also in Western mosques and madrassas. Norway’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Carl Schiøtz Wibye stated that the Saudis continue to have “‘a tremendous influence on the spread of the ‘Islamist’ ideology’, referring to the kingdom’s Wahhabi ideology, but fears that the West is turning a blind eye.”
iii) Sharia is regarded in Islamic theology as the infallible law of Allah, and it includes violent jihad as a religious duty.
iv) U.S. intelligence and intelligence agencies from other Western countries and the Middle East region have agreed that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia clandestinely funds and logistically supports ISIS,” even though partnerships of mutual interest exist, as well as a common enemy Iran.
It should come as no surprise that the “Sharia execution” of Samuel Paty would be presented by Sharia-supporting countries as having nothing to do with Islam, as these countries insist that any and all violence has nothing to do with Islam: “Saudi Arabia’s cabinet renewed on Tuesday its refusal of any attempt to link Islam and terrorism.”
In recent years, there have been several attempts to shut down the freedom of speech worldwide under the pretense of banning material that is offensive to all religions. Yet only jihadi Muslims react violently to such offense.
“Saudi Arabia’s cabinet condemns cartoons offending Prophet Mohammed: Statement,” Reuters, October 28, 2020:
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet renewed on Tuesday its refusal of any attempt to link Islam and terrorism, it said in a statement.
The cabinet also condemned cartoons offending the Prophet Mohammed….
The statement added that the cabinet also renewed “its condemnation and rejection of every terrorist act or practices and actions that generate hatred, violence, and extremism,” while affirming that intellectual freedom is a means of respect, tolerance, and peace….