The government welcomes diverse opinions but will act against anyone who seeks to create chaos and political upheaval in the country, said Dr. Muhammad Al-Issa, Minister of Justice. Al-Issa said no one has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for expressing views that fall within the broad ambit of the four accepted schools of thought in Islamic law. However, if people express negative views that undermine national unity and create chaos and political upheaval, then they will be dealt with according to Islamic laws which forbid sedition. He cited a number of examples where these principles are applied worldwide. “A soldier was jailed in a major Western country which I will not mention because you all know it. The soldier was sent to jail because he expressed an opinion against the president. Also, a large Western country barred preachers from entering the country because of their controversial opinions. This means that they did not want these preachers to affect public opinion under the banner of so-called freedom of opinion or expression.” “Thus dear brothers we should differentiate between freedom and anarchy. We have raised this matter in public debates in these countries. No one in these countries has argued about any verdict issued in the Kingdom. Our judgments and verdicts are publicly known and accessible.” Al-Issa said that certain court cases are purely about criminal matters and not about people holding diverse views. He said it was regrettable that some people were trying to create this false impression. He said there are certain “judicial principles that totally contravene the Hanbali Doctrine”. He was well aware of this because of his extensive knowledge, over many years, of the country's judicial system. Rulings are based on all four schools of thought, he added. He said women were able to defend themselves for over 40 years by proxy in the country's courts. Now they are able to sit in the front benches of the courts facing the judges. The new judicial system has seen the creation of family courts, or Civil Status Courts, with special sections for women. Al-Issa said different general courts often issue contradictory verdicts for the same offenses, but all these rulings can be contested and revised by the country's higher courts. He said a panel of religious scholars codified Islamic laws in 2010. Although there are no published judicial precedents or codified articles, “we take pride” in the wealth of legal information inherited over hundreds of years. The Kingdom's judges refer to this information in all their judgments. “This is conclusive evidence that our judges take the best from all the schools of thought in Islam.”
