Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, yesterday described the current Israeli military campaign against Lebanon as "Zionist terrorism" and urged that the perpetrators behind the aggression must be tried for committing war crimes.
"Those who condemn violence and fight terrorism must see how the children and orphans in a refugee camp were obliterated and listen to the cries of widows and mourners there," the imam said, in reference to the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana killing mostly women and children.
"We call from the platform of the Grand Mosque in Makkah to stop this war immediately," Sheikh Sudais said while delivering his Friday sermon.
He said the current campaign of the Jewish state against Lebanon and Palestine had unmasked those who have been supporting the enemy and misleading the world opinion by raising the slogans of humaneness, peace and democracy.
Sudais said the new world order failed to stop Israeli barbarism and despotism. "We should know that these killings and aggression are directed against every Muslim," he said.
The imam also spoke about the irony of calling the heinous Israeli aggression and massacres as legitimate acts of self-defense and condemning the resistance of the oppressed as acts of terrorism.
He said this policy of double standard would not help bring about peace and security in the Middle East and it would only trigger hatred and hostility among nations. He said the barbaric bombardments, killings and destruction in Lebanon would remain in people's memory forever.
In his speech, Sheikh Sudais called upon the whole world to stand up against the Israeli aggression and tyranny. He also commended Saudi Arabia's firm stand in support of the Lebanese and Palestinian people reeling under the Israeli aggression.
In Madinah, Sheikh Salah Al-Bedair, imam of the Prophet's Mosque, emphasized that Islam and Muslims will remain strong despite the attacks of enemies. He called upon Muslims worldwide to stand united in the face of aggression and tragedies.
"Islamic communities - despite their differences of ethnicity, color and nationality - are like one edifice and one body. They become happy for the happiness of other people among them and are hurt by the pains of people among them. They are united by one religion, one book and one Prophet," Bedair said delivering his Friday sermon.
Meanwhile, Saudi businessmen are thinking of hiring an international law firm to file a lawsuit against Israel in the United Nations or at the World Trade Organization seeking compensation for losses to their investment in Lebanon because of the Jewish state's aggression, Al-Watan reported yesterday.
Saudi investments in Lebanon are estimated at more than billion, billion of which is real estate holdings, according to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Saudi businessmen own real estate in the country in addition to ventures in tourism, industrial and services. Fahd Al-Hammadi, a member of the Saudi-Lebanese Committee, said the committee would review their losses in Lebanon with the help of the Beirut government.
Al-Hammadi said the rebuilding of Lebanon after the war would take more than five years.
Nasser Al-Mutawa, a member of the Riyadh chamber, said that a group of Saudi businessmen who have investments in Lebanon was seeking to appoint an international law firm to take up their case to win damages from Israel.
Abdullah Nasser Al-Khamees, a Saudi investor in Lebanon, said that the Lebanese market had been very attractive for Saudi investors. He said that he bought real estate in Lebanon after the Taif Accord signed in 1989. He said that the value of the land he bought had increased by five times his original investment.
"The real estate market in Lebanon will rebound because Lebanon has always overcome problems it faced," said Al-Khamees. "Many Saudi businessmen will return to the Lebanese market as soon as the war ends."
Source: Arabnews
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