Ministry denies links with illegal dawa activities

An official Saudi source said that the dawa camp, mentioned in a statement of the Ministry of Interior for its involvement in recruiting youth for the IS terror group, is not affiliated with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.
According to Hamid Al-Shammari, director of call and guidance office in Nazeem, the camp is not under the supervision of the Janadriyah and Nazeem office, east of the capital Riyadh. "The camp is not official," he added, dismissing news circulated on social networking sites that participants in the dawa camp "Change your life" are affiliated with the office or are authorized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
"The arrest of the terrorist cell affiliated with the Daesh group was carried out at one of the irregular camps outside the administrative borders of the office. The camp is not under the supervision of the ministry," he affirmed.
He said the board of directors of the office will launch legal action to hold accountable those who circulate rumors on the involvement of the office in the camp, which was mentioned in the Ministry of Interior's statement.
An account on Twitter alleged that security authorities arrested participants in and visitors to the dawa camp "Change your life." The account on the site also published the names of the arrested people whose ages range between 20 to 50 years, but the director of Nazeem office said the names are not familiar to his office.
The statement by the Ministry of Interior said that 65 people of Saudi nationality, a Palestinian and a Yemeni affiliated with the IS group were arrested. The group was planning to attack a residential complex, spread sectarian sedition, and attack security officers and prisons.
The statement said the group was recruiting young men and spreading the deviant thoughts of IS. Its efforts were focused on Dawa meetings and forums to affect the minds of the youth.
According to official sources, the Dawa camp mentioned in the press statement of Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, is located in the desert 40 km north of Riyadh.