Ahmad Al-Sarraf

SOME people believe that I am fond of criticizing specific positions and statements of a specific group of clerics. This is probably true, and I will not deny it. The truth will be known in the last part of the article.In a TV advert, the advertiser raised the issue of observing Umrah in Ramadan and said many people cannot perform Umrah in the holy month because of insufficient funds, ample time or lack of permit for that purpose. To those people, we say you should seek the heavenly reward of Umrah from your home? Would you like to do one, two, three or more Umrah while relaxing at home?Do you know that a charitable organization in Saudi Arabia runs the aforementioned project each Ramadan for SR 290 (about KD 25 only). Somebody else can do Umrah on your behalf! You only need to transfer the aforementioned sum to the bank account of the charitable body. This way, you will receive the reward of Umrah in the comfort of your home. (Staying at home was emphasized three times in the advertisement).Owner of the advertisement is among those whose citizenships were revoked recently. He is the source of many religious opinions (Fatwas) that deceived and sabotaged the future of many young people. Today, the religious political parties are pressing for the restoration of his citizenship to help him repeat his former deeds.I thought it was a joke anytime I received WhatsApp messages regarding the TV advert. I never knew it was serious until I saw the advert exploiting lazy and simple minded individuals to fetch millions of dollars into some bank accounts.In a TV interview on a religious channel, a cleric known for his golden and silver earphones who achieved much— along with his party, responded to the phenomenon of jinn in the world and their number in Kuwait. The cleric said 500 magicians are living among us in Kuwait and I wonder how he knew their number and why he did not report them to the authorities. He added that magic only stops or disappears with the death of the magician, and that sorcerers also died in the tsunami that took the lives of many people in South East Asia years ago, including Indonesia.He said doctors at Jeddah Hospital noticed that many patients left their beds and recovered suddenly because they were influenced by magic, which was only broken upon the death of the sorcerer.Now, in response to the question I raised at the beginning of the article, I will tell those who criticized any of the two options that one of the two clerics could be right. Therefore, their supporters, including the MPs and religious political parties should educate the people about such stories and include them in the educational curricula so as to warn society against dangerous charlatans.email: [email protected]By Ahmed Al-Sarraf