AFP – Oct. 03 2014 – Leaders must strike the enemies of Islam with “an iron hand”, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric said during Friday prayers, in apparent condemnation of the Islamic State group.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh’s comments came after Saudi Arabia and four other Arab nations joined the United States in aerial bombardment of the IS militants in Syria.
Speaking to Muslims from around the world in an address during the annual hajj pilgrimage, the mufti called on fellow Islamic leaders to “hit with an iron hand the enemies of Islam.”
“Your religion is threatened. Your security is threatened,” he thundered, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
“These criminals carry out rapes, bloodshed and looting,” he said, adding that “these vile crimes can be considered terrorism” and their perpetrators have nothing to do with Islam.
The mufti spoke from Nimrah Mosque at Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites.
Close to two million Muslims from around the world were gathered at Mount Arafat for a day of prayer at the peak of the annual hajj.