RIYADH: The Ministry of Islamic Affairs recently organized a forum on the role of imams in highlighting the importance of citizenship from an Islamic perspective.

Speaking at the forum, Dr. Abdullah Al-Jarbou, a prominent professor at Madinah Islamic University, said that people of this country enjoy the blessings of God and live peacefully in a blessed land.

He said the country has been endowed with many bounties and advantages that should make its nationals proud.

Al-Jarbou referred to the cardinal principles of Islam embodied in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah.

According to him, the blessing that the people of Saudi Arabia enjoy has never before existed and history supports this with certainty. “Thanks to Islamic values which guide the leadership, we are enjoying peace and security,” he said.

Outlining how to enhance the concept of citizenship through Friday sermons, he sought to highlight the country’s best services and to promote virtues and the importance of the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice.

He called on imams to watch and follow current events and remind people to develop the spirit of belonging to the nation and to establish and promote the virtue of good citizenship.

According to Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh, scholars have a great responsibility to check deviant thoughts and extremists who target the country’s youth.

He noted the efforts made by the ministry and other relevant government agencies and programs which counter terrorism and the mastermind behind the bombings.

He stressed the need to develop the means of confronting deviant ideology by scientific and intellectual means as well as through the media.