Saudi Plan to Retrain Religious Leaders

On the surface this may sound like a good idea but the concept of State (any State) "trained" religion sends a cold chill down my spine.

excerpt from:

Saudis to retrain 40,000 clerics

By Magdi Abdlehadi
BBC Arab Affairs analyst

Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as imams - in an effort to counter militant Islam.

Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.

The ministry of religious affairs and new centre for national dialogue will carry out the training, the paper said.

The centre was created five years ago to disseminate a moderate interpretation of Islamic tradition.

There is growing awareness in Saudi society that security measures alone are not enough to counter the threat of Islamic militancy.

But critics are sceptical about whether such initiatives would work as long as the powerful, and ultraconservative, religious establishment in Saudi Arabia continues to exert enormous influence over society.

Only last week, a prominent cleric called for the beheading of two liberal writers who had questioned the orthodox view that Muslims can not change their religion.