Dubai: Shiite scholars in the Saudi Eastern Province town of Al Qatif have thanked the Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh and the Council of Senior Scholars for their “responsible, religious and patriotic” stances following an attack on a Shiite community centre that left eight people — six of them young students — dead.
The scholars in their statement also praised the security authorities for their initiatives to track down the perpetrators and their keenness on defusing “fitna” (strife).
Several Saudi religious and judicial institutions condemned the act, saying that it was a painful incident that is totally alien to the peaceful character of the Saudi society.
“This outrageous incident and ugly criminal act is part of a scheme targeting our security, stability and our nation as a whole,” Shaikh Salman Bin Mohammad Al Nashwan, the secretary-general of the High Judiciary Council, said.
“The perpetrators of this criminal and gruesome act must be given the severe sanctions for attacking innocent people. We need all to stand together to reinforce our security and consolidate our stability,” he said, quoted by local news site Sabq on Wednesday.
