Six Saudi clerics once affiliated with Islamic terrorists —including two singled out for praise by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in past videotapes — have condemned recent attacks against Westerners in the kingdom, describing the perpetrators as "a deviant group." The clerics, all of whom have served prison time for opposing the Saudi government, called the attacks "a heinous crime" in their statement issued Sunday. The official Saudi Press Agency reported on the statement — an unprecedented airing of known dissidents' remarks. At least two of the six signatories — Safar bin Abdul Rahman al-Hawali, and Salman al-Awdah — were believed to have been close to bin Laden in the past.
| Hawali's a particularly vile specimen... |
Bin Laden was seen praising them in his videotapes a few years ago, thanking them for their support and for "enlightening" the Muslim youth. They did not explain their reasons for joining the government in speaking out against terror attacks, even adopting the monarchy's description of attackers as deviants.
| Oh, I think we can guess the reason. |
| "You guys! Wait! Come back!" |
| "Sure would be a sad thing if your car broke down out in the middle of the great nothing, wouldn't it, Sheikh?" |
"We condemn the criminal acts committed by the deviant group in a number of Saudi areas in which many innocent people were killed," their statement said. "The nation's theologians are in consensus that it is a sin to kill a life without a right, be it Muslim or non-Muslim," it said, adding that such acts would divide Muslims "at a time ... when other nations are uniting against them."
| "Youse guys better knock it off, or we're gonna get it!" |
It also warned against calling other Muslims infidels. In statements posted on Islamic web sites, suspected al-Qaida members have accused the Saudi government of being un-Islamic and allying itself with "infidels" a reference to the United States and other Western countries. Several of the clerics did not answer their phones Monday, and one was said to be in meetings and unavailable for comment.
| Meeting with stern-faced men in a small room? |
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