Wakeup Pushtoon

[wasily]

Saudi cleric bans Muslims from joining al-Qaeda
Updated at: 2010 PST, Tuesday, January 12, 2010
DUBAI: A prominent Saudi scholar has issued a fatwa banning Muslims from joining al-Qaeda and labeled it a violation of Islam's teachings, press reports said on Tuesday, amid concerns about the growing strength of operatives in Yemen.

Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obeikan, a top religious scholar and an advisor in the court of King Abdullah, said Muslims who join the militant group and engage in terrorist operations are deviating from the right path of Islam, Saudi newspaper Okaz quoted him as saying.

"Affiliation with the so-called al-Qaeda group is haram," meaning banned in Islam, al-Obeikan told the paper, adding "It is strictly prohibited to legitimatize the shedding of blood of other Muslims without having the right to do so."

Obeikan reiterated the official Saudi view that Qaeda's ideology was one of forbidden "takfirism," which accuses others of apostasy to justify murdering them.

Anyone who joins al-Qaeda "belongs to a group that has adopted takfir thinking," he said.

Although there are no more al-Qaeda members in Saudi, the terrorist group is gaining ground in neighboring Yemen, which is now becoming the main base of their operations in the Arabian Peninsula.

Obeikan, who has played a major role in rehabilitation programs of repentant militants, called on al-Qaeda members in Yemen to repent and turn themselves in to the authorities.

The cleric also warned that "Muslims should not also rise against their leaders or create strife among people."

[Yosuf]

This cleric sounded fine until he talked about not rising against their leaders - dictators that have been put on throne as Kings by british 100 years ago and have subdued the local population for over 100 years. This cleric is nothing but a proxy mouthpeace of Saudi government. The government should serve the people - not the other way around, as is currently in many Muslim countries. Any human being with a little intellect would tell you that if your government is corrupt, it should be changed. In the America people can vote them out every 4 years, in the middle east they usually have to be overthrown due to extreme greed of the dictators to stay in power and terrorize people.