| NEWS\
Saturday
15 November 2003 |
Makkah
Imam Equates Riyadh Bombing With Israeli Terror
JEDDAH, 15 November 2003 — Saudi Arabia’s Islamic
affairs minister and imams of the two holy mosques have condemned
Saturday’s terrorist bombing at Al-Muhaya compound in
Riyadh as a gruesome crime and likened it to Israeli terror
against the Palestinians.
The bombing of a residential compound in the capital last
Saturday, which killed at least 18 people and injured 120
others, violates the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan,
Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh said.
“It is in itself a big crime and would have been tantamount
to declaring war on God and the Prophet if it had taken place
in any other month. But it becomes the worst of crimes when
it is committed in the holy month,” the minister said.
Dr. Saleh Bin Humaid, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah
and chairman of the Shoura Council, compared the actions of
the suspected Al-Qaeda bombers who carried out the attack
last week to Israeli terror in Palestinian territories.
In his Friday sermon to over one million faithful who thronged
the large mosque complex, the imam said the terrorists who
bombed the Riyadh compound were seeking to sow strife among
Muslims.
“Are the terrorism of Israel and the terrorism of those
(militants) coordinated?” Dr. Humaid asked. “Is
the purpose to kill more Arabs and Muslims and create more
violence and instability?”
“It is inevitable that we should draw comparisons between
the women and children who are being killed in Palestine and
the homes that are being razed and the women and children
who were killed in Riyadh while they were in their homes,”
the imam said.
Many of the casualties in Riyadh were women and children and
the attack shocked Muslims worldwide.
Dr. Humaid urged everyone in the Kingdom including security
forces and the media to combat terror and extremism.
In his sermon at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Sheikh
Hussein Al-Asheikh said Muslims all over the world were shocked
by the Riyadh terrorist bombing. “Pen and tongue will
be unable to give an exact picture of that tragedy and the
impact of that gruesome crime,” he said. The Muslim
world as a whole was unanimous in condemning the Riyadh bombing,
he added.
In his statement, Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh
said killing an innocent person, especially a believer, without
any reason was one of the biggest crimes in Islam. “Protection
of a person, his property and dignity are among the main objectives
of Shariah,” the minister said.
Al-Alsheikh urged all Muslims to stand united in the fight
against terrorists. “It is the duty of every scholar
and preacher, student, khateeb and imam of mosques and all
other Muslims to work together against this common enemy.
“This is a flagrant act of hostility and a war against
Islam and its followers in the home of Islam in the month
of the Holy Qur’an,” he said.
“Muslims must weep when they see this assault on sanctity,
these people who do not heed the holy month, and when they
see the fundamentals of Shariah violated,” the minister
said.
“God has given the utmost importance to security. It
is a great blessing. God has promised that He will give believers
peace and security after they lived in fear,” he said
quoting a verse from the Qur’an.
“Worship of God, the spreading of the truth, the implementation
of Shariah, the establishment of justice... can only flourish
in safety and security. It is therefore the duty of every
Muslim to protect them,” the minister added.
..........
Arab News
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