Gentlemen,
I've gone to Algeria last week-end to see if the market for our products is a possibility, and thus attended a medical convention in Alger. These things leave time to talk, there are lulls when all doctors are studying at conferences. Thus I was able to discuss a little with my potential distributor, among other things about religion.
He is a learned man who told me that the Coran's first surate is made of one word : "Read". That does feel remarkably Abiding Book-style. But the funniest thing was his reaction about walis. Some sects of islams revere these great men and pilgrims flock to their tombs. But my contact was plainly disgusted by such behavior.
He said God wrote that all worship and revence is owed to Him and not to anybody else. He said the people worshipping the walis are guilty of "associanism" (I didn't make that one up) and had lost their way to Islam. It seems that this is a mainstream view and that "saint worship" (i.e. reverring walis) is a backward practise, for uncultured people and a few weirdo sects.
Also of great interest were his opinions on shi'a (he is a good sunni) and other muslim countries. All of this did feel much more malkioni than christiandom does !
This is the kind of discussion that make such travels so rewarding.
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