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| Arabia |
| Clown Prince sez imams being watched |
| 2004-07-18 |
| Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has warned imams they are being closely monitored and reminded the Muslim preachers they had to battle extremists. "Tell your colleagues, the mosque imams, that we are keeping an eye on them and we know them," he was quoted as telling a delegation of imams by Al-Eqtissadiyah daily on Sunday. The de facto ruler of the conservative oil-rich kingdom said the preachers had a responsibility to fight Islamic militants. "I would like to make it clear to you that you have a special responsibility, because you influence young people," he said. "Some of you have been utterly unsuccessful and we know them. Allah's wrath will fall upon them," he said. "[Allah] will order one of his servants [to punish them], and we are among his servants, to judge them according to Allah's law, because they have articulated words unsuitable to a Muslim." A study by the ministry of Islamic affairs published Saturday criticized the performance of many imams in fighting extremism. Imams "are not well qualified and not aware of the dimensions of the terrorism problem," the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper quoted the study as saying. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |