Saudi Sheikh Warns that Using Ethanol is a Sin

In a post on Food and Fuel America, the author says:

A prominent Saudi scholar has issued a warning to youths studying abroad against using ethanol in their cars since they could be committing a sin.

According to this report in Al Arabiya, using ethanol is a sin because it contains alcohol:

Sheikh Mohamed Al-Najimi, member of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy, based his statement on a saying by the prophet that prohibited all kinds of dealings with alcohol including buying, selling, carrying, serving, drinking, and manufacturing, the Saudi newspaper Shams reported Thursday.

The article notes that this is not an official fatwa and just a personal opinion that should be studied more.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that Saudi Arabia is the world's major oil producing country and holds a vast reserve of oil.

So we'll just offer our own positions regarding biofuels.

It's a sin that American consumers are sending their money to repressive regimes around the world because we're held hostage by foreign oil.

It's a sin that Americans die in foreign conflicts to protect these foreign oil reserves.

It's a sin that Americans continue to be forced to use dirty fossil fuels rather than cleaner burning renewable fuels like ethanol.

It's a sin that Americans aren't fully employed working on building a vibrant renewable fuel industry for a stronger America.