| NEWS\
Friday
22 August 2003 |
"Don’t
Abuse the Concept of Jihaad"
RIYADH, 22 August 2003 — Saudi Arabia’s highest
religious authority urged Muslims yesterday to shun extremism
and avoid waging unjustified jihaad
as the Kingdom cracks down on militants.
In
a lengthy statement, Grand
Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh told Saudis to listen
to their religious authorities and ignore fanatical interpretations
of Islaam.
“One
of the fallouts from extremism in understanding Islaam is that
some people call for jihaad
for the sake of God without justification,” Sheikh Abdul
Aziz said.
“These
people raise the banner of jihaad to draw the young into their
ranks and not to fight for God,” he added.
Militants
like Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden have often called for
jihaad
against countries they consider “infidel” such
as the United States, urging his followers to target Western
interests in Saudi Arabia and abroad.
Other
militants have also used Islaam as a rallying cry, justifying
attacks by saying they are doing God’s will.
“Young
Muslims must try and better themselves and their country but
not through violence, because Islaam is not a violent religion,
it is a merciful religion,” he said.
“A
Muslim must understand his religion. It is the duty of the
young and the whole Muslim world to know that violence is
not a way to achieve reform,” Al-Sheikh said.
The
grand mufti emphasized that the struggle against a perceived
evil should not lead to a greater evil.
“The
Prophet (peace be upon him) told us to combat evil. But there
is a general rule to look at both advantages and disadvantages.
And if fighting an evil leads to a greater one, then that
fight is forbidden,” he said.
The
grand mufti said one of the reasons some people attacked and
frightened others was ignorance.
“Ignorance
is a killer disease because a person thinks that he is right
when he is wrong,” he said and stressed the importance
of right guidance. “One of the reasons also is mistrust
of our scholars. It is people’s duty to trust their
scholars and leaders,” he said.
Last
week, the Kingdom’s highest Islaamic authority denounced
terror attacks in the Kingdom, describing them as “serious
criminal acts,” and pledged its full support for the
government.
“Acts
of sabotage such as bombings, murder and destruction of property
are serious criminal acts and an aggression against innocent
people... which warrant severe and deterrent punishment,”
the Council of Senior Islaamic Scholars said in a statement.
The 17-member council, headed by the grand mufti, declared
its support for the actions being taken by the state to track
down terrorists in an effort to shield the country from their
actions.
The Islaamic body had called on the Saudi people to “stand
behind the country’s leadership and their scholars,”
at these difficult times in the fight against “evildoers.”
The statement dubbed “misguided and ignorant”
those who claim that terrorism was part of jihaad,
or holy war. It said people who provide shelter to suspected
militants were committing a “grave sin.”
..........
Arab News
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