Adult breastfeeding? Are you kidding me?
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\01\story_1-7-2010_pg7_10
Saudi clerics battle over music, adult-breastfeeding fatwas
RIYADH: One cleric’s endorsement of breastfeeding for grown men and another’s statement that music is not un-Islamic have opened up a pitched battle in Saudi Arabia over who can issue fatwas. Hardline and progressive religious scholars, judges and clerics have taken the fight public in what some describe as outright “chaos” in the country. Much of the fight in the past week has focused on a fatwa endorsing music, issued by Adel al-Kalbani, a cleric at Makkah’s Grand Mosque. Kalbani said he found nothing in Islamic scripture that makes music forbidden.
But, aside from some folk music, public music performance is banned in Saudi Arabia, and conservatives say it is haram even in the home. “There is no clear text or ruling in Islam that singing and music are haram,” Kalbani said.
Also, a much more senior cleric, Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obeikan, recently raised hackles with two of his opinions, both of which could be considered fatwas. First, he endorsed the idea that a grown man could be considered the son of a woman if she breastfeeds him.
Obeikan, a top adviser in King Abdullah’s court, who is believed to be supportive of a less-severe Islam in his kingdom, also angered conservatives when he said the Zuhr and Asr prayers could be combined to help worshippers skirt the intense heat of summer. While the choice is allowed for individuals in certain circumstances, conservatives say such a broad ruling for everyone is wrong. The influential Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais lashed out on Friday at what he labelled “fraudulent” fatwas, likening their originators to market vendors selling fake or spoiled goods. Meanwhile, the country’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, warned of a crackdown against such clerics. afp