A top Saudi Muslim cleric used Friday’s open prayers in Makkah to launch a virulent attack on plans by a US pastor to burn the Holy Quran, branding the move as terrorism, Saudi newspapers reported on Saturday.
Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, Imam (head preacher) of the grand Al Haram Mosque in Makkah, Islam’s holiest shrine, also implicitly criticised the US administration for failing to take action to stop such an act.
“This call (by Pastor Terry Jones) to burn copies of our holy Book is a sort of terrorism… it will encourage and create the environment for terrorism,” he told the congregation, that was attended by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, other royal family members, and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri.
“It is a shame that this plan is considered part of freedom of expression…it is an act of aggression against Islam and Muslims and an encroachment on their religious freedom…it is also an evident and scandalous insult to our sacrosancts, religious rites and our nation’s sentiments.”
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