NU's international agenda to make two Holy Cities open for all madzhab

Jakarta, NU Online
Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization (Nahdlatul ULama (NU) has greatly appreciated the decision of King Abdullah from Saudi Arabia to reform its new Shuro Council for involving figures from four schools of thought (madzhab) last month.

Nevertheless, the decision of the custodian of the two Holy Mosques has not yet meet the Nahdliyin-based organization's international agenda to make both Mekkah and Madinah open for all madzhab.<>

"...the change conducted has still been too little if compared with the parameter it had ever required before.Whereas NU has expected Mekkah and Madinah to be open for entire madzhab," chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul ULama (PBNU)KH Masdar F. Mas'udi told NU Online here Monday (2/3).

Masdar said such effort to make the two holy cities as the region free for all religious groups could only be conducted if the king of Saudi Arabia was able to be servant of the ummah rather than ruler.
 
King Abdullah swore in the new Shura Council chairman and members yesterday and urged them to work sincerely in the service of their country and religion.

“I wish you every success in your new position and request you not to be miserly in advising me,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the king as telling the officials during a ceremony at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

King Abdullah later received the new Shura Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh and the new members including academics, economists and businessmen.

The ceremony was also attended by Prince Muqrin, chief of intelligence; Saleh Bin-Humaid, former Shura chairman and current head of the Supreme Judiciary Council; Saud Al-Muthami, state minister for Shura affairs; and other top officials.

King Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet and the Shura Council last month in a bid to speed up political, social and economic reforms in the Kingdom. He changed the ministers of education, information, health and justice, and for the first time appointed a woman deputy minister.

King Abdullah is expected to open the fifth Shura Council shortly. It has a four-year term. Al-Asheikh recently inspected arrangements at the consultative council to welcome the king.

In his keynote address, King Abdullah will elucidate the Kingdom’s domestic and foreign policies and speak about his economic, social and political reform plans, sources said.

Shura members and other government officials emphasized the significance of the king’s annual address to the Shura, saying it would serve as a guideline for the Kingdom’s decision-makers.

Most of the new Shura members hold doctorate degrees from American and British universities in different subjects, including management, engineering, education, political science and law.

Abdullah Alderais, former undersecretary at the Health Ministry for laboratories and blood banks; Mansour Abalkhail, former head of government accounts department at Riyad Bank; and Abdullah Al-Fayez, a former undersecretary at the governorates of Makkah and Madinah, are among the new members.

Other prominent members are Saleh Al-Shoaibi, who holds a doctorate degree from Pittsburg University; Saeed Al-Malees, who obtained a doctorate in curriculum from the University of Indiana; Abdul Wahab Al-Mujthel, a prominent businessman; Khalifa Al-Dossari, chairman of the Saudi-Bahraini Business Council; Ali Al-Takhees, who holds a doctorate in hydrology and water resource management from University of Colorado; Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abusak, who obtained a doctorate from the US Army War College; and Ahmed Al-Zailae, who holds a doctorate in Islamic antiquities from the University of Durham. (mkf)