Grand Mufti declares traffic-law violation a “major sin”

RIYADH-

Grand Mufti of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has issued a religious decree against drivers crossing red signals, terming such act of violation of traffic rules a “major sin,” Arab TV reported.

Mufti Abdulaziz al-Shaikh is considered the most senior religious authority in Saudi Arabia. He also referred to the Quranic verse “if you kill one person unjustly it is as if you killed the whole humanity, and if you saved once person it is as if you saved the whole humanity”, adding that the traffic violations leading someone being killed are a major sin.

Al-Shaikh had announced a similar decree back in 2010. He said that a person responsible for the death of another due to his own traffic-law violation is guilty of involuntary murder.

The Grand Mufti’s edict comes at a time when, according to Gulf News, KSA records one of the highest rates of traffic accidents, with a daily fatality rate of 17.