Top Saudi Cleric Calls Islamic State as Islam's No. 1 Enemy

Slamming what terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State do in the name of religion and jihad, Saudi Arabia's top cleric said Tuesday that the radicalism and the ideologies of these groups are the No. 1 enemy of Islam and Muslims were their first victims.

Referring to the al-Qaeda and Islamic State jihadists in a statement issued in Riyadh, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheikh said, "The ideas of extremism, radicalism and terrorism ... have nothing to do with Islam and (their proponents) are the enemy number one of Islam," AFP reports.

The Associated Press reports, the Grand Mufti emphasized that there is no place for terrorism in Islam; and what is more alarming is  their usage of Islamic slogans to justify their actions such as claiming human lives, dividing people, rendering thousands homeless.

"These foreign groups do not belong to Islam and Muslims adhering to it," he added.

He further said that unity in Saudi Arabian kingdom was necessary to avoid the kind of anarchy witnessed elsewhere in the region.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has reportedly been asking clerics to condemn the Islamic extremist groups publicly. The king went a step ahead, making it clear that the clerics who wouldn't abide by this rule and not condemn terrorism in the traditional Friday sermons might face penalties that include having their licenses to preach revoked.

The government had made it illegal for the citizens of the kingdom to take part in fights abroad.

According to local media reports, the Saudi Interior Ministry may ask the clerics to pass a security screening before they can preach; around 3,500 Saudi Arabian clerics have been dismissed for their sermons since 2003.

Advances of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have alarmed authorities in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia who are worried about security concerns. Almost a decade ago, al-Qaeda militants had launched a series of attacks in the kingdom in a bid to topple the monarchy.