JEDDAH, 24 April 2004 — Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, one of the imams of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, yesterday condemned the perpetrators of Wednesday’s car bomb attack in Riyadh as “outcasts and terrorists.”

Delivering his Juma sermon to the thousands of faithful who had assembled at the large mosque complex, the imam warned Muslims against following radical preachers promoting violence.

“We strongly warn you against heeding misleading edicts that promote extremism,” Sheikh Sudais said, referring to radical Islamist preachers who give their blessings to militants to carry out terrorist attacks.

He said the attack had shocked every sane and humane person.

“Nobody will approve such a horrendous crime. It’s a prohibited, nefarious, terrorist act.” He said these attacks would only strengthen the unity between the Saudis and their leadership.

The imam urged Saudis to support the government’s campaign to root out terrorism. “We call on you all to rally behind the real Islamic rulers,” he said.

“See how much damage these deviants have done to the image of Islam, the religion of peace.”

He said those “criminal, insane, outcast and terrorists will burn in hell”.

Wednesday’s bombing of a security headquarters in Riyadh was the first major militant attack against a government target. The Al-Haramain Brigades, a group linked to Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network, claimed responsibility and vowed more bombings against government targets.

The Kingdom is locked in a battle to track down terrorists believed to belong to Al-Qaeda. Last year, at least 50 people were killed in suicide bombings by Al-Qaeda operatives on residential compounds in the capital.

Sheikh Sudais, his voice choking with emotion, called on citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia to help the security forces foil terrorist attacks, which he said were particularly painful because they were being waged by Saudis.

“Are their hearts cast of stone? Have their brains been thrown in the sea? How can they walk on the soil of this holy land and eat its bounty and then turn against it with such aggression and tyranny?” he asked.

“God will damn those who kill other Muslims, they will burn in hell,” he said. “We should all become security men, we should inform on these deviants as we are all in the same boat,” the imam said.

Sheikh Sudais also expressed his anguish over the sad plight of Muslims in Iraq, especially in the city of Fallujah, the bastion of resistance and bravery. “They are suffering from injustice, siege, murder and destruction, which have crossed all limits,” he added.

The imam urged the international community to condemn and stop the occupation.