Suraya Al-Shehry, Arab News

I have been described in the ugliest terms; they have claimed that I promote immorality. Why? Is it for saying that the noblest revelation of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is different from our understanding of it? That our understanding of Shariah or religious knowledge has a human basis that developed gradually, and therefore we cannot claim to have learned everything we can about the Qur’an? Or perhaps it is that I said that truth is constant but not the understanding of truth. That while what is perfect is constant, not everything that is constant is perfect. Or that I said that we should stop abusing those scholars and jurists who enriched our minds with greater understanding of the religion through the ages. Just as they endeavored, so must we, because the best of times are the most fertile.

Perhaps it is for saying that Islam does not promote intellectual paralysis but respect for the use of the mind. That our understanding of the Shariah must be compatible with and affected by the knowledge of our time, and that it is there that we will find healing answers to our problems. Shariah of course does not benefit from the knowledge of the age, but what we take from that knowledge helps us in studying the Shariah. When our share of human knowledge is greater, we will better understand the Divine Revelation.

These are things that I have said, and I will continue to promote these ideas until my dying breath. I am aware that my words may carry some threat for those who have injected poison into their followers in the name of religion, who determined that the stagnation of their thought is evidence of its perfection. It would give me great pleasure if in some way the harm they are doing can be turned back on them.

The attacks have gone beyond my articles and now cast doubt on my religion and my loyalty to my country — the latter because my mother has non-Saudi roots. It grieves me that there are those who try to limit Islam to a certain group and with their ignorant obstinacy harm both country and religion. When I chose to publish my e-mail address along with my articles it was for the purpose of communicating with my readers, to listen to their criticism before their praise. I have made every effort to respond to each of those letters individually, not with prepared answer; this has usually been at the expense of family commitments. What has been the result? Letters that dishonor and threaten, accusations that only a morally bankrupt person would think of, intrusion into my privacy — all signed “No one can catch us.”

To give an example of the level of argument these people work on: Saudi blood banks are sending what they can to Iraq, and these people claim on their websites that the blood is infected with AIDS. Their aim is to silence others, not to argue with them.

“And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in Our name something quite different (in that case), behold! They would certainly have made thee (their) friend! And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little. In that case We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life and an equal portion in death: and moreover thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us.” (Surah 17, Verses 73-75)

When these people hacked into my e-mail account and said its contents would make my parents’ hair turn gray, logic would have dictated that they publish them. But nearly a month has gone by, and they have published nothing.

This experience has opened my eyes to the language and methods of these people. This is something both ruler and ruled here share: The anguish of dealing with intolerance, spite and reckless extremism, with hatred and lack of mercy. What kind of society do these people live in? What are their parents and children like? How can the Ummah ever hope to develop if it relies on such schizophrenics? They hate the West but rely entirely on Western technology. They fight under the banner of religion but do the work of the devil.

The question is of course much greater than a hacked e-mail account or even trespassing on another’s privacy. It is a question of the fate of future generations. There are children fed on extremism, and invisible hands whose money supports the extremism that feeds them. Instead of being concerned with the progress of their country, increasing their knowledge and understanding, these young men are only bent on destruction.

The danger cannot be warded off simply by relying on the security apparatus. It requires determination from all of us. We must be unyielding, and undeterred by threats, and united by love of this country. Whoever wishes us ill must yield to our resolve and become an outcast in the eyes of the people as well as the state.

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(Suraya Al-Shehry is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.)