Posted on 01/23/2005 11:29:17 AM PST by nickcarraway
MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- One of Saudi Arabia's most influential clerics urged Muslims to eschew terrorism, saying attacks on the innocent were not in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
"Islam is a religion of moderation. Extremism has no place in Islam," Sheikh Abdurahman Al-Sudais of the Masjid'l Haram (Grand Mosque) said in a sermon delivered for Friday's Eid'l Adha (feast of sacrifice).
He called on followers of Islam to exert all efforts to protect non-Muslims.
Hundreds of thousands of people, from among some 2.5 million Muslims performing the haj pilgrimage in the kingdom, attended the Eid'l Adha prayers.
Al-Sudais' call came in the wake of stepped up attacks by militant Muslims in troubled areas of the Middle East. Some of the attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia, blamed on militants linked to the al-Qaeda network, which had declared the pro-US Saudi rulers apostates.
In the latest incident in Iraq, a suicide car bomb exploded at a Shi'ite wedding party in a town south of Baghdad late on Friday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 27, doctors said.
There has been a surge in attacks on Shi'ites as Iraq's January elections approach. Earlier on Friday, a suicide car bomber killed 14 Shi'ite worshippers as they left a Baghdad mosque.
Al-Sudais said Muslim scholars should help preach the real Islam to counter what he said was a distorted interpretation of the religion by some people.
"Islam is a religion of peace but some people are using misguided interpretations of Islam to justify (attacks on perceived enemies)," Al-Sudais said.
He said scholars might have to take some of the blame for the "little success" of distorted ideas because they had done little to counter their spread.
"We are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon. This phenomenon has become widespread that Muslim scholars must hold on to the real Islam," Al-Sudais said.
'Repulsive hearsays'
Earlier, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia urged scholars to use all available materials to teach the correct form of Islam.
Sheik Abdul Aziz Al-Asheik told participants at an international inter-culture conference, which was hosted by the World Muslim League (WML), that Muslims would not have difficulty in establishing dialogues with other sectors because materials on Islam were widely available.
"Many non-Muslims know very little or nothing about Islam and depend on hearsays, which are repulsive and distorted," Al-Asheikh said.
He said people who hated Islam were claiming that the religion encouraged terrorism and extremism, and appeared to be winning in some aspects because some people were starting to think that what they were being told about Islam was the truth.
Exposing Islam's enemies
"It is only through constructive dialogue, led by people who understand Islam and its teachings, that the enemies of Islam could be exposed and their lies refuted," Al-Asheik said.
Al-Sudais said the branding of followers of other faiths as infidels and attempts to incite Muslims to rise against their leaders had caused instability not only in the region but in other areas of the globe, as well.
"Theirs is a delinquent and void interpretation of Islam based on ignorance," he said.
Islam does not mean killing non-Muslims, Al-Sudais said.
"It does not mean shedding blood and terrorism, such as killing people (by planting bombs) to send their body parts flying."
Bombings in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia has not been spared from terror attacks.
Bombings have scarred Riyadh, the country's capital, and militants identified with the al-Qaeda network have attacked facilities manned by foreigners.
In the wake of the violence, Saudi security forces have launched a manhunt for Saudi dissident Saad Al-Faqeeh, allegedly a ranking lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden.
Ping - for an intellectually scintillating article, my friends.
wow....that is a generalized statement that really holds no merit.......actually history shows us that consrvatives are usually the ones that go slowly and don't like change as much as others. You can't categorize an entire group with that kind of generalization.....it is an emotional statement and not an intellectual thesis
Fundamentalist Islamic leaders in Saudi Arabia are telling militants intent on fighting "infidels" to join the insurgency in Iraq (news - web sites) instead of taking up Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s call to oust the Saudi royal family at home, say Saudi dissidents who monitor theological edicts coming out of the kingdom.Iraq as a battleground offers the solution to a quandary facing the Saudi clerics who have to both placate the kingdom's rulers and keep their radical base happy.
"If they preach that there ought to be absolutely no jihad, they would lose credibility and support among their followers. So what they do is preach jihad not in Saudi Arabia, but in Iraq," said Abdul-Aziz Khamis, a Saudi human rights activist in London.
"To them, Iraq is the answer to their dilemma."
LoL... true.. just an emotional response to bull sperm comments..
I have an adversion to RINOs trying to inject bill sperm up my bung hole.. It urinates me off.. and causes me to buck like a radical.. Thats why I like anything written by Ann Coulter whom is the meanest, leanst, RINO exposer of all time..
RINOs do suck you know, and swallow too.. Can't go into this subject to deeply.. its a family forum here..
thanks for your intellectual synopsis of RINO's and their character traits.......no doubt you have studied this subject extensively
Force is what the jihad filth understands. I guess they learned a few things.
Don't most of us know something about the lives, the motives and character of the people who began 'great' movements throughout history?
Even those who have read little, understand Stalin was paranoid. Hitler was a rabid Jew-hater and has been described by various biographers as a necrophiliac. Marx, the 'philospher' was unable to support his family, his children suffered from starvation and neglect. Freud, who contributed much to the understanding of the psyche, has been exposed as a cocaine addict.
The list is long, even Alexander the Great, it has been written, suffered from epilepsy. The ancient Greeks described mental illness as being 'touched by the gods.'
We investigate, we look back upon the lives of men who have influenced our history and culture. Nothing known is hidden from us. Albert Schweitzer spent some 25 years studying the life of Jesus before he established his hospital in the Congo, he wrote 'In Search of the Historical Jesus'.
What am I getting at?
It bothers me no end, that people will argue islam is this or that...we waste so much energy and time discussing what is in fact, superficial. Neither the koran nor the thousands of hadith, even if we read them all over and over again, provide us with an understanding of the man who gave birth to this 'religion' nor the culture from which it sprang.
Ask yourselves, why does islam deter its followers from reading biographies of the 'prophet'?
The answer to that question is within the pages of a book, written by Edward, Canon Sell, published in 1913, complete with the ancient arabic & greek sources.
IMO No one can understand islam, neither defend nor defeat it, without knowledge of the motives, the character of mohammad. Please, please read THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD. Link on my Page. Free pdf download.
"Of course. Nothing like that American-style freedom of religion"
Religion doesn't endorse, and further, demand, the deaths of of people who don't subscribe to their particular take on God...
By this definition, islam is not a religion, but a contagion...
To address your second misunderstanding of my congenial post, nowhere did I mention killing anyone...that seems to be the natural urge of muslims.
Yawn
Look, I know you are just now back after being suspended or banned.
You have a history of causing problems.
I'm not buying this sweetness routine from you.
You can't BS a Texas girl.
Thanks... not really I don't get close to RINOS.. RINOs are democrats with a horn rubber banded to their nose that act like RINOs.. but prefer hanging with elephants.. Disgusting really..
I am not your enemy. You can act like my enemy if you wish, but I am not your enemy and bear you no ill will.
I got suspended because a liberal jerk hunted me down, stalking me from thread to thread and goading me into his ongoing flamewar... AGAIN. I was stupid enough to take his bait when his pet mod was on.
But I am back, and am still not your enemy and have done nothing to earn your venom.
I bear you no "ill will" either. But I certainly didn't like the way you used such a condesending attitude with me.
It wasn't deserved. You spoke to me as someone would a child and you are not going to find very many women from Texas that are going to like that.
I have no long lasting problems with you, but I certainly was not happy with these posts.
For the most part, I judge people on a thread by thread basis.
If you aren't a condesending jerk to me next time, we will get along just fine.
You are right. We aren't enemies here. We have differing opinions in certain areas, but basically we are on the same side.
The side of the good guys.
I hope that our further (and long lasting) freeper relationship goes better and I am sorry for being a bit touchy.
Have a good night.
Tammy
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