MAKKAH, 22 July 2006 — Imam and Khatib at the Holy Mosque in Makkah Sheikh Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais exhorted believers to unite and hold to the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, at these trying times, referring to the current crisis in the Middle East.
Sheikh Al-Sudais made this call while delivering his Friday sermon at the Haram Mosque yesterday. Al-Sudais questioned the silence of the international community as the bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza continues.
"Why do people howl at the top of their voice to protest the silliest of matters, but are silent at the extermination of whole nations? Where are the people who sing hymns of freedom and human rights and against violations of sovereignty? What happened to those people who shout slogans of democracy and world peace? Were they all just propaganda and false statements to shed Muslim blood?" the imam asked.
The religious scholar appealed to the sane and fair-minded people with the least remnants of the sense of humaneness as well as the international organizations and "councils of security" to take action against the oppression, injustice and hostilities and come forward to save the innocent civilians.
Al-Sudais called for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and its neighbors.
The speaker also told the congregation that the "the issues of Palestine, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Iraq, Lebanon and other places are the tragedies of our Ummah and issues with which Allah puts our faith, willpower, unity to test."
Al-Sudais advised the victims to exercise patience and said that Allah's victory will come to them and the community will be proud of their steadfastness and heroism.
source