MOSQUE SERMONS FOR SAUDI ARABIA AUGUST 4: OUTRAGE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000532 SIPDIS SIPDIS RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KISL PREL SA SCUL SUBJECT: MOSQUE SERMONS FOR SAUDI ARABIA AUGUST 4: OUTRAGE AT LEBANESE SITUATION AND "WAR AGAINST ISLAM" SHAPES SERMONS IN MECCA AND MEDINA FROM MECCA: IMAM FOCUSES ON LEBANON, RALLIES MUSLIMS AGAINST "ENEMIES" ¶1. Lebanon and the "West's war against Muslims" dominated the angry sermon of Imam Sheikh Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudays at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The imam called for a cease-fire in Lebanon and pleaded for support for the women, children and old people who have been harmed by the war. In a litany of complaints and injuries, he declared that the "present era is full of injustice, falsehood, false accusations and arrogance." He charged that "the slogans of humanness are meant to deceive people." The imam then told his listeners that the "Muslim Ummah is living in a state of misery, suffering and humiliation. It is passing through one tragedy to another in a series of wars against Islam and Muslims." However, he then assured the congregation: "Islam has spread across the continents and ... will regain its strength despite all the tragedies and suffering.... Islam cannot be defeated." ¶2. Al-Sudays raged: "The weeks of tyranny and massacres continue arrogantly and impudently in defiance of all appeals, efforts, and energies. The sinful and rancorous have repeated the disaster. They pounded the sleeping town of Qana with incendiary devastating bombs without any sense of mercy and with brutal force and vengeance, killing women, children and old people. These bombs (tear) infants and children to shreds in a brutality the like of which was not seen before." WORLD IGNORES MUSLIM PLIGHT ¶3. Then he complained: "Where is the world order? There is no trace left of it. None of the decision-makers has made any move but found excuses for the aggressors. How can injustice be removed from the world while innocent childhood is being crushed? How can aggression be removed when the hated oppressor, who is armed to the teeth, is considered legitimate defense, and the resistance of the oppressed and defenseless is deemed forbidden terrorism? It is a barbarity that one cannot imagine. This will not bring peace nor will it establish security. On the contrary, it will create more hatred in the hearts of the affected people. The scenes of killings and destruction are horrific and will remain in the records of history and cannot be erased by the passing days and nights. History will hold aggressors accountable." AGGRESSION IS DIRECTED AGAINST ALL MUSLIMS ¶4. The imam charged: "This killing and aggression is directed at every brave Muslim so as to shame him and hurt his dignity. It is excessive use of violence and force which will not achieve peace or accord, but explode the stockpile of hatreds among the coerced people. They are terrible scenes of murder, blood, destruction, which will remain in the memory of History. They will never be wiped out by time." IMAM CONDEMNS ZIONIST TERRORISM ¶5. Al-Sudays claimed: "This war is Zionist terrorism and war crimes by all standards and the perpetrators deserve to be tried as war criminals." He then demanded that: all "those who denounce terrorism and are waging a war against it to see the killing of innocent children and orphans; they should hear the cries of the orphans and women bereaved of their children who were hit in their shelters." He then confessed surprise that "this is allowed to continue and ... that this is leading to frustration and loss of confidence in the international community and world's conscience." He asked the worshipers: "Under what scale is this barbaric war being waged? Under what law are these savage massacres being justified? For whose interest is this outrageous aggression being carried out? For whose sake is this injustice and reckless tyranny being carried out?" He concluded his indictment with the cry: "I am calling loudly from the pulpit of the Grand Mosque and from the Holy Land during the sacred month for the necessity of an immediate and unconditional cessation of the aggression, injustice and tyranny." ENEMIES OF ISLAM NO LONGER HIDDEN JEDDAH 00000532 002 OF 002 ¶6. The imam then said that "the lesson that can be learnt from our tragedies is that they have exposed the enemies and have removed the dark masks they were hiding behind, including the slogans of humanness, peace and democracy." He next emphasized the "importance of unifying the Muslims' ranks," (and) called on "the whole world to stand united against the aggression and tyranny." He admonished Muslims to: "Hold fast to Allah's Book and the Sunnah of the prophet...only ...through these will Muslims be able to restore their pride and achieve victory." Finally, Al-Sudays declared that "when the Ummah chose peace they did so with all pride, but they rejected humiliation, subservience and submission. It rejects with all force all forms of violence, terrorism and revenge. The Ummah is looking forward to victory from Allah soon." He then assured the congregation that "tribulations and catastrophes only strengthen the unity of the communities and peoples as they rise to support the wronged and protect them from all terror. It is the duty of the Ummah to help every Muslim country suffering under tyranny and occupation." PRAISE FOR KINGDOM ¶7. Al-Sudays ended by praising "the Kingdom's government and people in rising to help the Lebanese people, containing the crisis and organizing relief campaigns to support them, as well as the people of Palestine. The Kingdom provides unique support to the causes of the Muslim Ummah whatever the critics say." FROM MEDINA: ALLAH'S LIGHT WILL NOT BE EXTINGUISHED ¶8. Speaking at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Imam Sheikh Salah al-Bedair assured his listeners that "however hard the enemies of Islam try to make the Muslims suffer and fail, they will not succeed in extinguishing Allah's light." He noted that in times of hardship, Muslims must engage in contemplation and look for their shortcomings and remedy them. He admonished that "whenever the tribulations increase, Muslims should strengthen their unity and support and protect their religion and country." BLAMES TREACHEROUS ZIONISTS ¶9. Al-Bedair, like his colleague in Mecca, blamed world Zionism, calling it "the treacherous nation that reneges on every treaty and cannot be trusted, is unleashing the cruelest forms of humiliation, intimidation, subjugation and terrorism in Palestine and Lebanon. They are killing men, women and children and aim to massacre the Muslims and occupy their lands." He charged: "Right under the nose of the world's powers, Zionism is committing all forms of terrorism in defiance of all the international treaties and agreements." Then he asked the worshipers: "Who will stop this terrorism? Where is the scale of justice and fairness that people are claiming? How can any Muslim live a peaceful life or be happy when his Muslim brethren are being killed or injured or their women widowed or their men folk losing their near and dear ones and taken prisoner? The injustice has reached its peak." NO REPORT FROM EASTERN PROVINCE ¶10. No report was received from the Eastern Province this week. Gfoeller