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01-19-2004, 11:29 PM
Jan. 19, 2004
(excerpt) "Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia, former President Bill Clinton told a Muslim audience Islam's founder Muhammad would have let women drive if cars had been around 1,400 years ago.
Clinton urged the Muslim kingdom, which follows the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, to not resist the "tide of change" in the world and seek ways of broadening political participation "without compromising your faith and culture," Reuters reported.
Saudi Arabia bars women from driving and being seen in public with men other than family members.
A fatwa, or edict, issued by the head of the country's Department of Religious Research, Missionary Activities and Guidance in 1990 declared women should not be allowed to drive because Islam supports women's dignity...
...In 1990, 47 Saudi women defied the fatwa and staged a "drive-in" in Riyadh, cruising around the capital for about 15 minutes. The women apparently were inspired by American female soldiers among the troops in the country during the 1991 Gulf War. As punishment, the Saudis lost their jobs and passports for two years, and religious groups distributed flyers denouncing them as "fallen women."...
...Clinton said Saudi policy "cannot be based in the long run on fighting change because you cannot fight the tide of change," Reuters reported.
Acknowledging a "tug-of-war" between "an old order and a new world" in Saudi Arabia, he called for education "which does not exclude religion but includes science, technology and political science."...
...Clinton suggested Saudi Arabia could redirect aid channeled through religious charities tied to terrorism and use it for humanitarian projects such as providing drinking water in poor Islamic nations." (end excerpt)
Full Text: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36670
Glad to hear Clinton saying what needs to be said. The world needs more people to tell it like it is to those who would thwart progress and harm human dignity through misguided traditions. Say it loud, brother Bill!!!
(excerpt) "Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia, former President Bill Clinton told a Muslim audience Islam's founder Muhammad would have let women drive if cars had been around 1,400 years ago.
Clinton urged the Muslim kingdom, which follows the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, to not resist the "tide of change" in the world and seek ways of broadening political participation "without compromising your faith and culture," Reuters reported.
Saudi Arabia bars women from driving and being seen in public with men other than family members.
A fatwa, or edict, issued by the head of the country's Department of Religious Research, Missionary Activities and Guidance in 1990 declared women should not be allowed to drive because Islam supports women's dignity...
...In 1990, 47 Saudi women defied the fatwa and staged a "drive-in" in Riyadh, cruising around the capital for about 15 minutes. The women apparently were inspired by American female soldiers among the troops in the country during the 1991 Gulf War. As punishment, the Saudis lost their jobs and passports for two years, and religious groups distributed flyers denouncing them as "fallen women."...
...Clinton said Saudi policy "cannot be based in the long run on fighting change because you cannot fight the tide of change," Reuters reported.
Acknowledging a "tug-of-war" between "an old order and a new world" in Saudi Arabia, he called for education "which does not exclude religion but includes science, technology and political science."...
...Clinton suggested Saudi Arabia could redirect aid channeled through religious charities tied to terrorism and use it for humanitarian projects such as providing drinking water in poor Islamic nations." (end excerpt)
Full Text: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36670
Glad to hear Clinton saying what needs to be said. The world needs more people to tell it like it is to those who would thwart progress and harm human dignity through misguided traditions. Say it loud, brother Bill!!!