Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak
| Abdul-Rahman bin Nasir al-Barrak | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1933 (age 82–83) Al Bukayriah, Al-Qassim Province |
| Era | Modern era |
| Region | Saudi Arabia |
| Religion | Islam |
| Movement | Salafi |
Shaikh ‘Abdul-Rahman bin Nasir al-Barrak (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن ناصر البراك, born 1933 or 1934[1]) is a senior Saudi cleric. Born in the town of Al Bukayriah in the Al-Qassim Province, al-Barrak lost his father at an early age and was stricken with blindness at the age of 9. After two years of religious studies under Sheikh Ibn Baz, he joined the faculty at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University around the time of its founding in the early 1950s, working in the Theology Department and in the College of Sharia Law.
In 1994, al-Barrak and other Saudi clerics were mentioned by name and praised by Osama bin Laden for opposing then-Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz in his Open Letter to Shaykh Bin Baz on the Invalidity of his Fatwa on Peace with the Jews.
His website was banned in Saudi Arabia because it was “promoting bold ideas and theses.”[2]
Fatwas
Al-Barrak has drawn attention for issuing controversial fatwas, or religious edicts. One such fatwa called for strict gender segregation.[3] The fatwa states, "Whoever allows this mixing ... allows forbidden things, and whoever allows them is a kafir and this means defection from Islam ... Either he retracts or he must be killed ... because he disavows and does not observe the Sharia."
In March 2008, al-Barrak issued a fatwa that two writers for the newspaper Al-Riyadh, Abdullah bin Bejad al-Otaibi and Yousef Aba al-Khail, should be tried for apostasy for their "heretical articles" regarding the categorization of "unbelievers" and put to death if they did not repent.[4]
References
- ↑ "About Sheikh", Hijri calendar birthdate 1352 albarrak.islamlight.net
- ↑ Christian Science Monitor: "Saudi Arabia presses 'YouTube imams' to toe the line on Yemen - Popular Muslim clerics are using social media to stir dissent beyond the purview of government-controlled mosques and satellite TV stations. Saudi Arabia is sensitive to criticism of its war in Yemen" By Taylor Luck June 2, 2015 |Now Saudi authorities are cracking down on online dissent, blocking several popular sites – such as those of clerics such as Mohammed Munajjid and Abdulrahman Barrak – for “promoting bold ideas and theses.”
- ↑ Saudi cleric backs gender segregation with fatwa, Reuters, 2010-02-23
- ↑ Top Saudi cleric calls for writers' deaths Reuters, 2008-03-15
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