“The right to litigation is granted equally to all citizens and residents in the Kingdom,” he said at the opening, adding that Saudi judges issue their rulings on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah. “Terror-related and state security cases are handled by ordinary judges in Saudi courts,” he said.

He said the counseling program for militants and terror suspects in the Kingdom is supervised by Shariah scholars. “This is a reply to those who question our curriculum and say it should be revised,” he added.

Al-Eissa said the curriculum in Saudi schools and universities has been instrumental in promoting moderation and clear vision. “The curriculum is based on the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah,” he said.

He cited some Qur’anic verses and Sayings of the Last Prophet (peace be upon him) that call for dealing with people nicely and inviting people to the path of God with wisdom and good advice.

“We have learned that our role model, who is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was never arrogant or rough in his behavior or one who would make noise in the market. He never reciprocated to evil with evil but forgave those who wronged,” the minister explained.

He hoped that militants enticed by the terrorist ideology of Al-Qaeda would return to their senses. “If these militants had studied the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah as a whole and understood its total message, they would not have subscribed to the terrorist ideology,” he said.

The program was aimed at studying terrorist crimes and state security according to a Shariah perspective. During the program a number of papers on various topics were presented by experts including Kamal Nasser Barham, Kamil Hamid Al-Saeed, Nasser Al-Muhaimid and Abdul Rahman Al-Hadlak.