Saudi Arabian Monarchy violates two principles by executing Sheikh Nimr, a Shia leader

Sheikh Nimr | www.WorldMuslimCongress.com 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016, Dallas, Texas. -- The Monarchs of Saudi Arabia have executed Sheikh Nimr, a Shia Muslim religious leader for speaking up.  As Muslims, and as American Muslims in particular, we condemn this reprehensible and irresponsible Saudi Action. We believe it is to the detriment of long term stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

There are two issues here: violation of free speech and wrecking the delicate relationships between Shia and Sunni at this time.  This is not acceptable, we demand an apology as well as reparations to fix the relationships. 

As Americans counting on stable relationship with the people of different nations, we have to consider long term sustainability of the form of governance and if it serves justice to all her citizens, anything short is a powder keg waiting to explode. We have to advise the Monarchs to ease themselves into a monarchy in the likes of United Kingdom or risk the fate of Shah, Saddam, Qaddafi, Mubarak and others.

On January 02, a prominent Shiia cleric named Nimr al-Nimr was executed by Saudi Arabia.  Nimr had led anti-government protests in 2011, along with 46 others (mostly Sunnis) labeled as �terrorists� within the kingdom. The move appears to be designed to stoke Sunni-Shiia tensions and shows that Sunni Saudi Arabia is taking a more provocative stance toward Shiia Iran than it has in the past.

Daily Muslims reports, "Al-Nimr was a fervent dissident against the Sunni Muslim Saudi royal family who called for their deposal during the Arab spring uprisings in 2011. Al-Nimr was a central figure in Arab Spring-inspired protests by Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012. He was convicted of terrorism charges but he denied advocating violence. Meanwhile, al-Nimr's family prepared for three days of mourning at a mosque in al-Awamiya in the kingdom's al-Qatif region in predominantly Shiite eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials informed his family that the cleric had been buried in an undisclosed cemetery, a development that could lead to further protests.

Al-Nimr's execution spurred sectarian protests and violence in the Middle East. Now, it has sparked a serious diplomatic rift. The two countries have long been at odds, but Saudi Arabia's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr kicked off a new round of sparring between them that analysts say could mark a dangerous shift in an already volatile region."

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and bulk of his writings are at TheGhousediary.com