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Top cleric lambasts extremists who 'sow seeds of trouble'
Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Shaikh underscored the need to intensify awareness campaigns among youth to prevent them from being lured into extremist and deviant ideologies
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:04 May 28, 2008
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Shaikh underscored the need to intensify awareness campaigns among youth to prevent them from being lured into extremist and deviant ideologies.
Attending a crowded open dialogue held at a mosque in Riyadh on Tuesday, the mufti lambasted the extremists, saying, "They would neither learn any lesson nor use their wisdom. They are such people who have been subjected to brainwashing and are living in a world of hallucinations away from realities."
Shaikh Alu Al Shaikh vehemently criticised extremists, saying that they are mere followers of evil and treachery. They are luring weak-minded people into false ideologies and exploiting them to sow seeds of trouble.
Weapon
In response to a question about jihad [holy war], which is the most misunderstood word in the present context, the grand mufti said that there should be some conditions and rules for waging jihad, and that using a weapon is not a prerequisite for jihad.
"We can wage jihad through our tongues by promoting virtues and preventing vice. We can also wage jihad by using our heart and wealth," he said adding that the most important aspect of jihad is that society becomes reformed through various permissible means.
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