10 Facts About Safar al-Hawali

Safar al-Hawali came to prominence in 1991, as a leader of the Sahwah movement which opposed the presence of US troops on the Arabian peninsula.

Safar al-Hawali Alghamdi received his doctorate in Islamic theology from Umm al-Qura University, Mecca in 1986.

Safar al-Hawali was one of the leaders of The Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights that was a Saudi dissident group created in 1993 and was the first ever opposition organization in the Kingdom openly challenging the monarchy, accusing the government and senior ulama of not doing enough to protect the legitimate Islamic rights of the Muslims.

In September 1994, two leaders of the Committee, Salman al-Ouda and Safar al-Hawali were arrested together with a large number of their followers in the city of Burayda, Qasim region.

Safar al-Hawali wrote a book on secularism as part of his master thesis at Umm Al-Qura.

Safar al-Hawali argued that the Biblical prophecies used by Christian fundamentalists to support the state of Israel actually predict its destruction.

When 60 American intellectuals issued an article justifying America's war in Iraq, Safar al-Hawali wrote a counter-article, rebutting their claims and pointing to the history of US foreign policy.

Safar al-Hawali traced the history of those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and believe in One Supreme God.

Safar al-Hawali claimed that monotheists had been subject to great persecution, by both Catholics and Protestants; and that five among the US presidents had been Unitarians.

Safar al-Hawali has written a book on the history and meaning of Secularism, in his Arabic book "Al Ilmaniya" meaning Secularism.