Minister blames personal feuds for Al Zulfi town slur

The controversy surrounding Al Zulfi town, which is accused of encouraging deviant elements, took a new turn with the Saudi minister of education joining the issue.

Dr Abdullah Al Obaid, Minister of Education, said the education department was dragged into the issue due to personal feuds and to settle scores.

The department was accused by the media of preventing students from singing the national anthem or saluting the national flag.

The minister criticised the media for the way it handled the issue. He said all that has been reported about the department was of personal dimensions and involved some individuals who were seeking to settle personal feuds.

"The accusations that have been raised led to incriminating not just the town, but the entire region, which is an integral part of this country.

"Those accusations also led to incriminating the relevant bodies fighting terrorism. They were accused of negligence.

"The entire education establishment, which works to spread the true teachings of Islam and raise righteous generations, was also targeted by the accusations.

"Those were mere allegations that lack credibility. Any attempt to create division must be put down, because this would only serve personal interests at the expense of the others," the minister said.

He said making accusations against others was not the right way to settling disputes. He called on the media to refrain from sensational reporting.

Last week, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz ordered an investigation into reports by the local press accusing the Saudi city of Al Zulfi, 360km north of Riyadh, of serving as a hub for terrorists and claiming that one of the city's schools prevented its students from singing the national anthem.

A delegation from the city residents met Crown Prince Abdullah and complained against the press campaign against their city and demanded an investigation into the reports.

Their demand was met.

The residents took their case to the royal court following the publication of a series of reports by the local media accusing their town of sheltering extremists and terrorists.

The papers spoke of a local charity body helping to finance terrorism.