Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Condemns Terrorism

            On August 1, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz called on the international community to take a united stance against terrorism. His statement, read on live television by a state television anchor, seemed to refer to the actions of the so-called Islamic State. The extremist Sunni militant group has taken control of large swaths of Syria and Iraq in recent months and has begun to enforce its ultra-strict interpretation of Islamic law on the local population. King Abdullah also noted the bloodshed in Gaza and the lack of response from the international community.
            Iraq’s foreign ministry lauded the Saudi king’s statement. “Terrorism is taking various forms, groups and organizations, under the nose of the international community, with all its institutions and organisations, that seem not concerned with the killing, displacement and targeting places of worship and religious minorities in Iraq and the region, as well as the flagrant violations of human rights and crimes against humanity,” the Iraqi ministry warned in a statement on August 5.
           The following are excerpts from the king’s statement translated by the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C.

           “I call on leaders and scholars of the Islamic nation ‎to carry out their duty towards God Almighty, and to stand in the face of those trying to hijack Islam ‎and present it to the world as a religion of extremism, hatred, and terrorism, and to speak the word of ‎truth, and not fear anybody. Our nation today is passing through a critical, historic stage, and history ‎will be witness against those who have been the tool exploited by the enemies to disperse and tear ‎the nation and tarnish the pure image of Islam.

           “Ten years ago, during the Riyadh ‎conference, we called for the establishment of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. The ‎proposal was supported by the entire world at the time. The aim has been to coordinate among the ‎states, but we were disappointed afterwards because of the lack of serious interaction by the ‎international community with this idea, which has led to lack of activation of the proposed center in a ‎way that achieves the great hopes we pinned on it.

           “We see the ‎blood of our brothers in Palestine shed in collective massacres that have not excluded anyone. War ‎crimes are committed against humanity without any human or moral deterrence. Terrorism has gained various forms, whether groups, organizations or countries which makes it most ‎dangerous in potential, intentions and plots. All of this is happening while the international community ‎is watching silently with all its institutions and organizations, including human rights organizations. This ‎silence has no justification. Is the world not aware that this will lead to the emergence ‎of a generation that believes only in violence, rejects peace and believes in the clash and not dialogue ‎among civilizations?”‎