Islam 'does not mean killing', says cleric

Story dated 20 January 2005

This is possibly one of the most important stories in the world for Muslims and non-Muslims and I apologize for the delay in reporting it. "A leading Saudi cleric issued a plea today for Muslims not to heed calls to wage terror attacks in the name of Islam. Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudeis, the state-appointed preacher at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, told pilgrims in a sermon marking the feast of Eid al-Adha that scholars must preach moderation to confront militants, who were using "misguided and void" interpretations to justify violence." This sermon was given to the two and a half million Muslims who made the annual Hajj to Mecca. His words, echoing those of Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al Sheik, are being echoed in sentiments by other Muslim clerical and secular leaders. Looking at this optimistically, I am hoping that decent Muslims will now have the courage to speak out vociferously against extreme, violent sects of their religion -- just like Christians have no trouble speaking out against aggressively violent Christian groups (by the way, 'aggressive violence' and 'Christian' really ought to be mutually exclusive terms). Al-Sudeis is requesting Muslim scholars to confront violent rhetoric with scholarly refutation. I like it. If this movement takes hold, maybe Muslims worldwide will come to understand that no one wants to kill them and, in light of this understanding, they will ignore the jihadists who tell them that all non-Muslims mean them harm.

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 3:46 PM

_____________________________________________