Saudi activist calls for final fatwa on music

The head of the Saudi Arab Culture and Arts Association urged Muslim religious clerics to issue a definitive ruling on whether singing and playing music are permissible in Islam or not.

Dr. Abd al-Rahim al-Mirabi told Al Arabiya TV's "Idaat" talk-show that the absence of a clear and definitive ruling on this matter created confusion among ordinary people and within the ministry of information and culture in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Mirabi explained that the ministry has adopted a middle ground position, thereby not encouraging the organization of concerts nor disapproving of it, adding that sometimes inconsistent decisions about music were met by protests.

“If religious clerics agree on a particular opinion, the ministry can make use of such resolution to create a balanced situation,” he said.

Al-Mirabi added that there are many people that ask for religious rulings (fatwas) and many of the clerics giving them answers are not qualified enough to do so and sometimes their answers, he added, have no basis in the Quran nor in the Sunna (the teachings of Prophet Muhammed).

He also blamed ordinary people for causing "trouble" among religious circles by demanding rulings (fatwas) on what he called "trivial matters", such as gender mixing. “Gender mixing is not absolutely prohibited nor absolutely allowed,” he said.

Al-Mirabi works as a writer and a psychological specialist and calls government institutions to open doors for more women to enter the work force and not leave women’s employment limited to particular job fields.