Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
New York – Saudi Sheikh Mohamed Al-Arifi announced on his Facebook page, that he decided to postpone his upcoming lecture in Morocco, scheduled for October 25 in Rabat.
According to a post on his page on Sunday evening, Sheikh Al-Arifi preferred to cancel his visit to Morocco to avoid any further controversy.
The Muslim scholar also reiterated his “love and appreciation” for Morocco and all Moroccans.
“I see that my visit to Morocco is stirring controversy. To avoid tension and causing embarrassment to the Moroccan system for the organization of my visit, I decided to postpone its date, while I stress my love and my appreciation for all Moroccans,” Al-Arifi said on Facebook.
The Saudi cleric expressed his gratitude to Moroccans, to the people in charge of the conference. He also expressed respect to people who opposed the holding of his lecture.
“In conclusion, I renew my thanks and gratitude and appreciation to all Moroccan and institutions that have participated in the organization of the visit,” he continued.
Al-Arifi also said he had visited Morocco five other times and maintains a “desire” to revisit a Kingdom where he feels “honored.” He concluded his statement with blessings to the Moroccan people.
The 45-year-old scholar, who has nearly 19 million followers on Facebook, has received over 3,000 responses to his statement and close to 17,000 likes.
A social media user said: “I am sorry that you have been subject to the desires of the few,” implying that it was only a minority that opposed Al-Arifi’s lecture.
One of the Sheikh’s opponents commented on his statement by saying, “You are not welcome in Morocco, neither today, nor tomorrow.”
Last week, a number of Moroccan social media users expressed their opposition Mohamed Al-Arifi’s lecture “The Role of the Quran in Shaping the Human Being.”
Opponents of his visit claimed that the theologian “condones terrorism and supports al-Qaeda in Syria.”
Accusations against Al-Arifi flared up after his statement on Al Jazeera TV in February 2013 when he said, “Even al-Qaeda leader Sheikh Oussama Bin Laden, may his soul rest in peace, did not adopt many of the thoughts that are attributed to him today.”
