RIYADH, Oct 2: Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh has warned the Saudi youths against travelling abroad to take part in Jihad since ‘the situation there is troubled, ambiguous and not clear’. He was apparently pointing to increasing number of Saudis reportedly going to Iraq to participate in Jihad.

“Our youths have become a commodity bought and sold by (Middle) Eastern and Western agencies ... they became tools carrying out heinous acts,” the Grand Mufti said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

He emphasised that such youths were enthusiastic to follow religion but lacked the necessary level of knowledge to be able to differentiate between the right and wrong. “I decided to say this after it was clear that over several years Saudis have been leaving for Jihad. They did this because they are passionate about their religion but they are not wise enough to know right from wrong”.

“By doing such things, the youths commit a number of violations of Islamic injunctions and teachings, including disobedience of our rulers, and subject themselves to be attracted by deviated elements and misuse their enthusiasm to achieve political and military gains for suspicious quarters,” Sheikh Abdulaziz said.

“I advise those with money to be careful about where it’s spent so it does not damage Muslims and I urge religious scholars and preachers to explain the truth and guide young people to the reality,” he said.

Recent media reports have said that a significant number of Saudis are taking part in the ongoing war in Iraq. There is a growing fear here that some of these battle-trained youths may eventually return to the kingdom to wage Jihad here too. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif has been warning against this phenomenon for a long time, urging the clerics to play their role in preventing youths from being misguided by unsolicited fatawas (edicts).