Saudi
mufti
Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority calls group labels
group apostates and says terrorism has no place in Islam.
19 Aug 2014
Politics, Middle East,
Saudi Arabia, Armed groups, Islam
Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority has condemned the armed groups Islamic State and alQaeda
as apostates and labelled them the "number one enemy of Islam".
Live Box 2012108933861442
The country's grand mufti, Abdulaziz alSheikh, said on Tuesday that terrorism, which he accuses
the groups of committing on a systematic scale, had no place in Islam's ideology.
"Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on Earth, destroying human
civilisation, are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are
their first victims," he said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The Saudi government has been a main supporter of rebels battling Syrian president Bashar alAssad,
but has funnelled arms and money away from Islamic State and alQaeda, and towards
other opposition groups in the country.
The Islamic State, which according to recent reports has tens of thousands of fighters, has seized
control over large parts of Syria and Iraq, where they have been accused of committing mass
atrocities against civilians.
AlSheikh's statements came a almost a year after he urged Saudi citizens to not travel to Syria to
take part in the more than threeyearlong conflict.
The grand mufti, appointed by the Saudi king, also warned preachers against encouraging young
men to fight in Syria during their sermons, after delivering what the paper said was a lecture on
"deviation among the youth" at a mosque.
Source: Agencies
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق