Monday, February 23, 2009

Saudi Muslim cleric warns that biofuels [ethanol] could be sinful

From the CSM's Bright Green blog:

A prominent Muslim scholar in Saudi Arabia has warned that those using alcohol-based biofuels in their cars could be committing a sin.

The warning was issued by Sheikh Mohamed Al-Najimi, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, an institute that studies Islamic jurisprudence for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, an international group with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. According to the Al Arabiya News Channel, an international news outlet is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Mr. Najim directed his warning to Saudi youths studying abroad.

Al Arabiya notes that Najimi stressed that this warning was not an official fatwa, or religious edict, just his personal opinion. Najimi added that the issue “needs to be studied by the relevant religious bodies.”>>>MORE