Saudi cleric says combatting anti-Semitism a duty

Jerusalem - Saudi cleric Mohammad Al Issa sees combatting anti-Semitism as a religious duty, an approach which saw the head of the Muslim World League awarded this week by Jewish groups.

Issa was given a prize by the Combat Antisemistism Movement and the American Sephardi Federation, in a virtual ceremony on Tuesday celebrating Muslim leaders tackling anti-Semitism and racism.

"Fighting antisemitism is a religious obligation and a moral obligation," Issa told AFP from the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The former justice minister vowed that the Muslim World League would "keep on until there is no more antisemitism and racism."

Political conflicts have led to tensions between Islam and Judaism, Issa said, calling on people to put such differences aside.

"Political outlooks change over time but our values, our morals should never change," he said.

The Saudi cleric was praised in January for travelling to Poland for events marking 75 years since the Nazi death camp Auschwitz was liberated.

Visiting the World War II extermination camp, where the majority of more than a million people killed were Jews, marked a turning point for Issa.

"We went to Auschwitz to tell the world that we are against these crimes and they will not be repeated," he said.

Riyadh has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

While Egypt and Jordan have relations with their neighbour Israel, other Arab states have set a peace deal with the Palestinians as a condition for normalising ties.