170 scholars pledge support to resistance

Riyadh: More than 170 Muslim scholars in various parts of the Arab and Islamic world have stressed their support to the Lebanese resistance and Jihad (holy war) against continued Israeli hostilities and the offensives it has been launching against civilians.

They appealed to all Arab and Islamic countries to boycott the Hebrew state economically and politically as well as to stop dreaming of illusive peace.

In their statement, a copy of which Gulf News acquired, the scholars addressed all Islamic and Arab nations, political forces and the free world to make Israel stop its brutal attacks and genocide.

In their statement titled, Call from the Ummah's Ulemah, they extend their full support to the Palestinian and Lebanese people in their fight against the Israeli occupiers.

"It is one of the fundamental obligations mentioned in Sharia that the entire Ummah should support the two countries' people in defending the Islamic sanctuaries and Ummah's interests." It also called upon the entire Islamic world to side with their brothers in Palestine and Lebanon as well as supporting them morally and materially.

They also urged all Islamic and Arab governments to strictly abide by edicts made by Muslim scholars forbidding the establishment of any ties with the Zionist state or recognising it, besides abolishing any peace accord with it. This stems from our strong belief that the criminal enemy will only stop its hostilities under the resistance and Jihad, they said.

They stressed the only thing to stop the American and Jewish tyranny was to remain steadfast to Allah's bonds.

"Otherwise we will not succeed in our fight and the governments will inflict vast losses."

It called on elderly Jews and free American people to stop their unwise people from destroying the world and undermining the future of mankind for the sake of religious myths and personal interests.

They also stressed the importance of renouncing differences and unifying ranks to confront the Ummah's enemy "because the enemy will penetrate through these differences."