Women driving in the land of the Two Holy Mosques - Six alerts on how to address the issue

In the name of Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Regarding the topic of women driving in the Two Holy Lands, I did not intend to discuss this topic, but I noticed some issues in the way it was handled, so I wanted to comment with six points.

Six Reminders on the Approach to the Topic

First: The Duty of Scholars and Preachers

First, my brothers, the scholars and preachers of the nation have a great responsibility: to liberate humanity from the shackles of the international system and its tentacles, to restore the dignity of man that has been taken away, and to establish the religion of Allah the Almighty, which spreads justice and mercy in all aspects of life.

I see that the media hype around issues like women driving is diverting the role of preachers from these great tasks and undermining their image, making them appear as if they are old-fashioned, rigid, and conservative enemies of women who want to deprive them of their rights, while in reality, they are cowards who do not defend the nation's critical issues.

On the other hand, preachers should take on their great mission, which may make some of these supposed enemies partners in uprooting the falsehood that distracts everyone with side battles.

Second: The Mistake of Praising Official Authorities

Second, my brothers, it is a fatal mistake for a preacher to praise the firmness of the Ministry of Interior and the bravery of the security forces in confronting the instigators of sedition who demand the right to drive. This makes the scholars and the system appear to be on the same side in the eyes of the people, confronting whom? Confronting women!

We must not forget that the official authorities are the same ones who are constantly working to Westernize and secularize the Two Holy Lands, and to persecute, imprison, and torture those who stand in their way. What praise is there for their prevention of women driving while opening universities that are filled with mixing and immorality? What praise is there when the perpetrators themselves are the owners of channels of debauchery, disbelief, and vice that corrupt the entire Arab world, not just the Two Holy Lands?

What praise is there when dance and singing festivals are held under the state's patronage, while the authorities for promoting virtue and preventing vice are suppressed, arrested, and oppressed? If the officials want to prove their zeal for religion and genuinely fight the instigators of sedition and corruption, then go after those women who spare no effort in fighting the religion of Allah the Almighty under the watchful eye of the official authorities.

Third: Not Limiting Sharia to the Issue of Women Driving

Third, my brothers, it is never appropriate to portray the issue of women driving as a battle for Sharia and Islamic identity, so that if the official authorities prevent it, they are protecting the essence of the religion and safeguarding the Muslim lands from corruption and corrupters. This is a smokescreen to distract from the abandonment of Sharia in its fundamental aspects by aligning with the international system and following its orbit, and supporting projects that combat Islam both internally and externally, while allowing the ignorant secularists to spew their hatred for Sharia in the media and various means of ignorance, as well as infiltrating the Sham jihad and diverting its course, among other things.

As for women driving, it is fundamentally a jurisprudential issue that should be addressed calmly, while the criticism should be directed at the comprehensive system of corruption that some want this issue to be a part of its links.

Fourth: Women Driving as Part of a Comprehensive System of Corruption

Fourth, my brothers, it is not possible to discuss women driving in isolation from this comprehensive system mentioned earlier. This corrupt system includes the corruption of young men and women through immoral series broadcasted on channels owned by the influential figures in the official authorities, then silencing the voices that denounce this corruption and erasing the righteous role models.

Then, it is desired that the girl drives her car in this society where the immune system has been weakened and lusts have spread like wildfire, so that she and the young men apply what they see on the screens of the influential figures. Regardless of the ruling on women driving if it were in an Islamic state, the problem is in utilizing this issue within the system of corruption.

This is what provokes some of the virtuous preachers and pushes them to focus on the topic. It is necessary to distinguish between these virtuous preachers on the one hand, and on the other hand, the scholars and rulers who prohibit women driving and issue fatwas to justify America's control over their rulers.

But we remind the virtuous preachers of what we mentioned above about not diverting effort into this relatively secondary issue and saving the effort for the roots of the system of corruption. For as long as this system remains, the woman's exit with the driver, for example, will not be any less harmful than her driving the car.

Fifth: The Real Rights of Women

Fifth, my brothers, we say to those who cry over the rights of women: it is more appropriate for you to cry over Hala al-Qasir, the breaking of Maha al-Dhahiri's hand, and the tragedy of the elderly Latifa al-Khudairi, who lost five of her imprisoned sons, then two of her daughters for the crime of demanding their husbands.

It is more appropriate for you to cry over our daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives, the thousand political prisoners who are missing in prisons, and who live in a continuous nightmare knowing that their loved ones are being tortured and humiliated. Regardless of the ruling on driving, but if the goal is truly the rights of women, are these mentioned rights not more deserving of demand?

Sixth: Exploiting a Category of Women to Promote Westernization

Sixth, my brothers, it is intended to highlight a category of women as if they are rebels against the laws of the state and the restrictions of Sharia together, passing the second under the cover of the first, so that they do not appear as renegades from religion, hypocritical corrupt women, filled with the filth of the West, dazzled by moral chaos, but rather as revolutionary, liberated, and brave women.

Otherwise, who sent them to study abroad in the first place so that they would come back with a call for Westernization? And can it be imagined that they cannot be stopped while they practice their calls freely, while preachers are arrested for a comment or an article on the internet opposing the state's policies?

I would like to remind my brothers and sisters of an incident that took place in Ismailiya Square in Egypt in 1919 during the cunning British occupation, when a group of women led by Safiya Zaghoul and Huda Sha'arawi participated in a demonstration titled resistance to the occupation. Amidst the chants against the occupation, these women removed and stepped on the hijab without any occasion, so this square was later named Liberation Square.

These women are the ones who later led the campaign of Westernization in Egypt and spared Britain the trouble of occupation. So what is the obstacle for Britain if they chant against it as long as they implement its policies in the guise of heroines and role models?

May Allah guide the youth and women of the nation to what He loves and is pleased with. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.