The Friday sermon delivered by the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, sparked widespread controversy among Twitter users who said it contained hints of normalization, as Al-Sudais refrained for the first time in his sermon from praying against the Zionists, and spoke about the Prophet’s dealings with the Jews.The tweeters noted that Al-Sudais always prayed against the Zionist aggressors in his sermons, but the day before yesterday he did not make this prayer, and only prayed for Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Every single week The Imam delivers a message of hate for Zionists and Jews, calling for Allah to scatter them and defeat them without mercy.
This week his audience noticed that he didn't do it for the first time in memory. Even worse, he told a story about how Mohammed had productive business dealings with Jews and other non-Muslims.
Whether this means that there is a change in Saudi policy coming is unknown. (There was a similar outcry in 2020 when he said some conciliatory sounding things about Jews. ) But one thing this episode proves - antisemitism is so baked into Saudi society that its absence is felt.
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