Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah called upon the Ummah to resist the dangers of those who distort Islam for their own wicked purposes and stressed the need to stand firm against the proponents of deviation and sedition.
In his Eid Al-Fitr message issued jointly with Crown Prince Salman, King Abdullah made it plain that stepping up international efforts to combat terrorism should be combined with a determination to show no leniency toward militants and those who support them physically and financially.
As he so rightly said terrorism threatens global peace and stability and must therefore be confronted resolutely. But the king also wisely counseled caution and patience in this struggle. In his Eid message, he and the crown prince warned that terrorism was not going to be defeated easily. They said that it would not disappear overnight. All decent, peace-loving people had to steel themselves for a long fight against the bigoted men of violence. Moreover the leaders predicted that as the noose was tightened around the neck of the terror menace, it would struggle even more viciously in its death throes. The king added however, that he and the crown prince had strong faith in God that terrorism would be defeated.
King Abdullah’s hard-hitting analysis in his Eid message, serves to underline to prominent role that he and the Kingdom have long played in the challenging campaign, not just against the hidden killers of Al-Qaeda, but also against the distortion of Islam that lure young and impressionable people into the ranks of terror groups. Duped by perverse teaching into a mindless fanaticism, it is generally these credulous fools who are used as suicide bombers. The terror leaders are happy to throw away these lives while they themselves sit safe in their lairs planning the next horror against civilized society.
The king also made it clear that the Kingdom’s role in combating terrorism extends beyond the front-line confrontation with the killers, beyond crucial intelligence gathering and analysis to actually sustaining the rest of the international community in its own fight against this evil. Thus in his holiday message King Abdullah also revealed that, in a further act of solidarity with other countries, Saudi Arabia had given $100 million to the United Nations to support international counter-terrorism.
King Abdullah and Prince Salman also used their message to regret the painful condition of the Muslim world thanks to civil wars and violent confrontations, which are bringing death and destruction to innocent people and terrorizing and paralyzing whole communities.
They warned against the political motives of terrorist ideologies, which distorted the meaning of religious texts to suit their vested interests. Quoting a verse from the Qur’an “They try to cause chaos and confusion in the earth,” the king and crown prince condemned utterly the way in which this exploitation was tarnishing the image of Islam and its values and principles.
They warned that the danger posed by such distorted ideologies should not be underestimated. The best way to confront and defeat it was for Muslims to return to the Qur’an and Sunnah to change their present situation and strengthen their unity.
“We should stand firm against the proponents of sedition, deviation and distortion,” they declared.
The king, speaking from the vicinity of the Grand Mosque in Makkah at the start of Eid Al-Fitr praised the Prophet (peace be upon him) for spreading the message of Islam to lead humanity from the darkness of oppression and ignorance to the light of truth, equality and justice.
He added: “ The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also raised the flag of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, wisdom and sensible conduct”, goals which he clearly believed that all Muslims should be pursuing.
Editorial: Let’s unite to defeat terror
