Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais - Controversial Statements On Jews

Controversial Statements On Jews

Al-Sudais has been described as an antisemite for publicly praying to God to ‘terminate’ the Jews, and as a result has been barred from conferences in the United States and been refused entry to Canada.

On April 19, 2002, in his sermon Al-Aqsa Is Crying Out For Help! Al-Sudais called the Jews "monkeys and pigs", among other invective.

Al-Sudais has been listed as an example of theological anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League, when he called curses down upon Jews and labeled them “scum of the earth” in his sermons.

The International Broadcasting Bureau also has reported Sudais's antisemitism in a statement dated April 2002.

In a May 2003 interview with NBC's Tim Russert, the foreign policy adviser to the Saudi crown prince, Adel al-Jubeir, confirmed al-Sudais's statements, agreed that they were “clearly not right”, and stated that he was reprimanded, but was still allowed to preach. He also said that "if he had a choice he would retract these words - he would not have said these words."

Al-Sudais not only attacked Jews, but other non-Muslims as well, such as Hindus and Christians. John Ware on the BBC program Panorama entitled "A Question of Leadership" from August 21, 2005, cited Al-Sudais referring disparagingly to Christians as “cross-worshippers” and Hindus as “idol worshippers”. Ware pointed out the discrepancy between Sudais's sermons to Saudis with his speech to Western audiences.

The Muslim Council of Britain questioned the veracity of quotes given in the interview, calling them “deliberately garbled” and the program as a whole “deeply unfair”. The Council urged caution, and while condemning any form of anti-semitic remarks, requested verification that these words were indeed spoken by Al-Sudais.

After a series of exchanges, the BBC's Panorama editor, Mike Robinson, posted a response to each of the Muslim Council's allegations, accusing them of “unwarranted and wildly inaccurate attacks” and “bad faith allegations”.