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A religious decree by a Saudi preacher prohibiting to travel abroad has led to a controversy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Sheikh Abdullah al-Suwailem, part of Saudi Arabian Munasaha program which aims at the rehabilitation of imprisoned al-Qaeda expressed the fear that “whoever dies in the land of infidelity could go to hell”, al-Hayat, a London-based newspaper quoted him as saying.

“Sharia forbids travelling abroad except in a case of necessity and with conditions,” he said.

The first of these conditions is that a person has to be “a strong believer” and has to have religious “immunity” so as not to fall for “desires,” added al-Suwaleim.

“Whoever fears that he might fall for the forbidden acts, such as consuming alcohol, should not travel abroad except when necessary,” he said.

The preacher was also quoted saying that the act of Muslims living among “infidels” is “not loved by God” while it is “less undesirable” by God for Muslims to travel to other Muslim countries.

The Saudi cleric went on adding that it is also forbidden to go to the “land of infidelity” even for business or education, unless it is extremely necessary.

Rebuking the edict by al-Suwaleim, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi; former chief of Makkah’s religious police told al-Hayat that travel has many benefits and advantages for all, including for the imams and the religious scholars.

“Travel broadens one’s mind,” he said, quoting a verse in the Quran that encourages people to travel and discover the earth.

A Saudi columnist Badria al-Bishr has strongly condemned al-Suwaleim’s statements, calling them “extremist bacteria.”

In a column published by al-Hayat, Bishr says that the cleric’s statements are part of a “systematic attack on the King Abdullah’s scholarship program” that sends thousands of students abroad for higher education.

The scholarship program has upset some hardliners in the country who would rather see Saudis educated under their control, she remarks.