ISIS, Nusra, Muslim Brotherhood not related to Islam, says top Saudi cleric

Groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al-Nusra Front and the Muslim Brotherhood are misguided and do not have any connection to Islam, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia said.

According to a report published in the Saudi Al-Hayat newspaper, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh’s remarks came in response to a question put to him by one of his students in a study circle he addressed at Imam Turki ibn Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh recently.

Asked about his opinion regarding ISIS (it’s now just referred to as Islamic State), Al-Nusra Front and the Muslim Brotherhood, he responded: “If you were to have a thorough examining look you would find that they do not have a shred of connection to Islam. They have adorned their opinions and vanities with the robes of Islam in order to deceive the people. You would find them to be misguided, for they have shed blood, violated sanctities, looted funds, created mischief in the earth and stolen countries unlawfully.”

He added: “All the methods of these groups are false. There are things behind them and there is no good in them. We do not trust them or trust their people. Whoever invites our youth to join these misguided factions is mistaken and is straying far away from the right path.”

This comes months after Saudi authorities designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and banned anyone being affiliated with it or supporting it. The Saudi list of terrorist organizations also includes ISIS, the Houthis in Yemen, Al-Nusra Front and the Saudi Hezbollah group.

Last August Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda were blasted by the top Saudi cleric as “enemy number one” of Islam.

“The ideas of extremism, radicalism and terrorism … have nothing to do with Islam and (their proponents) are the enemy number one of Islam,” the kingdom’s top cleric said in a statement on August 19.

Also last August Saudi Arabia donated $100 million to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) to help combat terrorism.

“Terrorism is an evil that must be eradicated from the world through international efforts,” Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir said during a ceremony at the United Nations in the presence of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

ME monitor /agencies