THE heinous crime committed at Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in Qudaih village of Qatif in the Eastern Province has inflicted a gaping wound on the heart of the nation as a whole. The entire people of Saudi Arabia condemned the crime. How can we imagine that a sane person will blow himself up at one of the houses of God with a motive of terrifying people, killing innocent lives and creating sedition among members of the society? Who is to blame for brainwashing and convincing this man to commit such a gruesome crime that is not permissible in religion and that claimed the lives of innocent people who came to perform Friday prayers, seeking pardon and mercy from Almighty Allah? Everyone knows that terrorism has neither any religion nor any nation and that it exists in all societies and among followers of all religions. However, the case of a young Muslim who blows himself up at one of the houses of God, targeting a large number of worshippers is something very difficult to accept and interpret. Such a heinous act calls for a study to find out its causes and those who planned and instigated it. It is imperative to counter it in every way and combat the spread of deviant ideologies. These ideologies seduce young men, especially minors, to carry out acts that undermine the nation's security and stability, besides inciting sectarian strife and spreading hatred among sons of the nation.
We are in front of an inferno that is tearing the Arab world and dividing it along sectarian and ethnic lines. The happenings in Syria, Iran, Libya and Yemen tend to make us sorrowful and desolate. As far as we, the people of the Kingdom, are concerned, we had already sustained burns from the fire of terrorism and its evil consequences. Our security men were able to suppress and eliminate it to a great extent. However, it has now come back with an ugly face and much uglier plans than that it had in the past. Earlier, terrorism targeted mainly security men and residential compounds of the Westerners working in the Kingdom. But now it has come back to spread sedition and hatred among various segments of the Saudi society. It targets mosques of the Shiite community so as to create rift between Sunnis and Shiites. But the heinous crime that happened in Qudaih has disappointed those whose plot was to incite sectarian sedition. For, the entire society, beginning with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to ordinary citizens, came forward to roundly condemn the barbaric act. The King has directed Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, to quickly arrest all those who plotted this brutal act as well as those who incited and sympathized with the perpetrators of the crime. Similarly, the Council of Senior Scholars slammed all those who had connection with this heinous crime. It urged the government to punish those who had a role behind this horrendous crime. This condemnation was not restricted to the official bodies but encompassed all segments of the society. This was evident in the huge number of people who came to offer condolences to the families of those who were martyred in the attack. Apart from those in the Eastern Province, delegations of people from other provinces came to mourn the death of the victims. The social networking sites have also played a major role in conveying the outrage of people at the terrorist act. Many people used the social media to condemn and curse the suicide bomber as well as those who planned the attack and assisted the criminal. People shared questions about the beneficiaries of such gruesome acts. They accused some countries and groups of allying with Daesh (the so called IS) in carrying out the attack. It is to be noted that there were some supporters and sympathizers of this terror act who appeared on the social media but they did so under false names and did not have the courage to reveal their identities for fear that they would be held accountable and to face investigation and punishment. The Saudi authorities have warned that all those who sympathize with terrorists are virtually partners in crime. The fight against terrorism is the collective responsibility of all members of the society. It is wrong to perceive that it is the responsibility of the ministry of interior alone. It is also the responsibility for the ministry of education, as well as the ministry of Islamic affairs, which supervises mosques across the Kingdom in addition to hiring and firing prayer leaders (imam) and those who call for prayer (muaddin). We have come to know from the media that the ministry of Islamic affairs had issued orders to all mosque imams across the Kingdom to devote last Friday's sermon to speak against the terror attack on Qudaih mosque. The imams were directed to slam the attack as well as to advise the worshippers to inform the concerned authorities about the presence of anyone suspected of involvement in any illegal acts. They were also ordered to encourage the worshippers to shoulder their responsibilities toward maintaining the nation's security and stability. But it is unfortunate to see that some imams failed to execute the directives from the ministry. There are some imams who misuse the mosque pulpits to criticize and pray against the Shiite community as well as other segments of the society, including liberals and modernists and even mystics who disagree with them. This is not the duty and responsibility of mosque imams. On the other hand, their responsibility is to achieve rapprochement and bring different sections of the society closer, if not together. I have to say that the ministry should carry out investigation about those imams who fail to execute its directives in this regard. The school authorities have to make aware to students about this tolerant and moderate approach, and teach them the values to be observed while dealing with those who differ with them in matters of religion and schools of thought, as well as with those having tribal and regional divergences. All of them are sons of the nation and hence they have equal rights and duties.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
