Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has fired a hardline Muslim cleric from the influential council that sets religious policy in the kingdom, after he railed against the mixing of male and female students at the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Agence France-Presse reported. King Abdullah opened the $7-billion institution last month. It is the first coeducational college in Saudi Arabia. No reason was given for the dismissal of the cleric, Sheikh Sa’ad al-Shethry, but it came a week after his televised comments that such mixing was “evil” and a “great sin,” which ignited a firestorm among progressive Saudi commentators.
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4 Responses to Cleric Who Criticized New Coeducational University in Saudi Arabia Is Fired
jschantz - October 5, 2009 at 3:18 pm
No, it just means god is both benevolent and malevolent, and this guy got his heapin’ helpin’ of malevolence!
22228715 - October 5, 2009 at 5:18 pm
You’ve both missed the mark. It means that while it is encouraging that the leaders in power are supporting a university that is trying to advance women’s education, the method of firing people for speech without explanation is troubling too. I reminds us that democracy is a nuanced thing.
22232203 - October 5, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for removing mart7624 comments. Such comment(s) should not come from an educator.
mart7624 - October 6, 2009 at 9:06 am
The First Amendment apparently doesn’t apply to educators.