JEDDAH, 12 April 2003 — The imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday urged the international community to take speedy action to end the human tragedy in Iraq. He also urged Muslims to stand united in the face of challenges.
“We call upon peace-loving people, protectors of legitimacy and advocates of freedom and human rights to take action to end the human tragedy in Iraq before people lose their confidence in the credibility of international organizations,” Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais said.
Delivering his Friday sermon to nearly 500,000 faithful who thronged the large mosque complex, the imam also called for immediate action to stop the bloodshed in both Iraq and Palestine. “The killing of civilians, destruction of property, looting and robberies must stop,” Sudais said.
He called for peaceful solutions to conflicts, based on wisdom and justice as well and international charters that honor the sovereignty of nations.
Sheikh Sudais expressed his fear that the war against Iraq would plunge the region into uncertainty. “Wars only breed wars and aggravate clashes of civilizations,” he warned.
Sudais urged Muslims to stand firm in the face of crises. “The Ummah has witnessed several painful events and crises in recent years and has emerged victorious. Crises are a reminder for the careless and a lesson for the faithful,” the imam said.
The imam called on Muslims to study the causes of the defeat in Iraq and urged them not to lose faith “in the ultimate victory of Islam.”
Sheikh Sudais also appealed for unity in Saudi Arabia, insisting that only authorized Islamic scholars should issue fatwas, or religious edicts. Public sentiment in Saudi Arabia has been strongly against the US-led war against Iraq.
The imam said the massive deaths and destruction in Iraq caused by the US-led campaign had shocked peace-loving people around the world.
Sheikh Sudais advised Muslims to be cautious about rumors, “which are like dangerous and destructive weapons, and weaken the unity of ranks and damage relations between the rulers and the ruled.” The imam also warned Muslims against hasty decisions. “Reason should prevail over emotions,” he said.
Sudais called upon the international community to stop the Zionist Israeli forces which have stepped up their brutal campaign against Palestinian civilians while the world was preoccupied with the Iraq war.
Abdul Bari Al-Thubaithy, the imam of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, also urged Muslims to be confident of the victory offered by God. “Don’t be disappointed and depressed,” he said and cited Qur’anic verses concerning God’s destruction of tyrants and aggressors in the past.
