RIYADH, 17 April 2004 — The imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah told Muslims yesterday it was their duty to foil terror attacks as the Kingdom battles Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Describing the terrorists as “deviants” and “outcasts”, the imam, Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid, told thousands of worshipers who thronged the Grand Mosque to inform authorities about “this misguided lot whose ignorance of their faith made them kill fellow Muslims in the name of Islam”.
The Kingdom has launched a crackdown on terrorists after suicide bombings killed at least 50 people in 2003.
“What is happening these days in this holy land is a rash act of aggression,” Bin-Humaid said in the sermon aired live on television.
“Their aim is to sow chaos and instability in our nation,” he said. “They have branded Muslims and their leaders as infidels and God will curse them and send them straight to hell because they kill fellow Muslims and terrorize them.
“Terror will not change politics, it will only bring destruction and could open the way for foreigners to intervene. It is not lawful to protect these deviants and all of us should denounce them,” Bin-Humaid added.
Last week, one of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists, in a video carried on an Islamist website, called on Muslims to kill Americans everywhere and vowed attacks against Arab leaders allied to Washington.
