MAKKAH, 21 January 2005 — As millions of faithful marked Eid Al-Adha yesterday, Muslims were warned against heeding militant calls to wage terrorist attacks in the name of Islam.
The warning came, amid a surge in militant attacks in Muslim countries and beyond, from Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, while addressing Haj pilgrims in a customary Eid sermon. The imam also advised Islamic scholars to preach moderation to confront this “rotten” phenomenon.
“Islam is the religion of moderation. There is no room for extremism in Islam,” he said.
He called on Muslims to “protect non-Muslims in the Kingdom and not to attack them in the country or anywhere. Islam is a religion of peace that abhors attack on innocents.” Militants were using misguided interpretations of Islam to justify violence, he added.
“Because Muslims have strayed from moderation, we are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon of branding people infidels and inciting Muslims to rise against their leaders to cause instability,” Al-Sudais said.
“The reason for this is a delinquent and void interpretation of Islam based on ignorance ... faith does not mean killing Muslims or non-Muslims who live among us, it does not mean shedding blood, terrorizing or sending body parts flying.”
Al-Sudais warned that extremism would ruin the Muslim nation, adding: “This phenomenon has expanded so much that scholars must confront it with concrete proof from Islam to protect our youth from its stench and rottenness.”
He added: “One of the main issues that needs to be tackled in principle is reform”. He criticized dissident Saad Al-Faqeeh who is calling to rebel against the government in order to create disunity among the people. He described him as a reckless adventurer who is obsessed with publicity.
As Al-Sudais spoke, Saudi security forces were hunting for three suspected Al-Qaeda militants who tried to blow up a mosque in the Kingdom, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.
The three were spotted before dawn prayers in a mosque on the Riyadh-Taif road but fled before security forces arrived. Al-Riyadh said the men were members of the “deviant group,” the term used by authorities to describe members of Al-Qaeda network.
Saudi Arabia is battling a wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda sympathizers that has claimed more than 100 lives and wounded hundreds since May 2003.
