|
Saudi Arabia's top religious leader denounced the slayings of Jews and Christians living in Muslim nations, saying the killings are forbidden under Islam. "He who kills those who signed the accords and those who received our guarantees of safety will not smell the fragrance of paradise,'' Sheik Abdulaziz al-Sheik said in an interview published Wednesday by the daily al-Riyadh newspaper and monitored by the Associated Press.
The mufti was referring to peace agreements the Prophet Mohammed signed with Jews and Christians living in Muslim territories, in the early days of Islam. Al-Sheik said such killings would have "grave consequences, including incitement, sedition and undermining security," and that they are "forbidden" under Islam.
The mufti's comments appear to be a response to those of a spokesman for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, who earlier in October threatened the lives of Americans and Britons living in the Persian Gulf. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith said al-Qaida had ordered Americans and Britons to leave the Arabian Peninsula because the "land will burn with fire under their feet, God willing."
Al-Sheik, who is appointed by the king, angered many Muslims by standing virtually alone, among prominent regional clerics, in issuing a religious order, or fatwa, in April -- following several suicide bombings in Israel -- which said that such attacks are contrary to Islamic teachings.
Reprinted with permission from Zenit.org (ZE01102624, October 26, 2001)
|
Previous Page
Back to 2001 News & Events
Next Page