Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH – Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, Imam and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, called on the faithful to take a unified and rational position toward the people of Syria who are under oppression, and support them by all means. He stressed that it is the responsibility of all Muslims to exert more efforts and be steadfast in removing the aggression and injustice that befell their brothers in Syria. In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Shuraim denounced Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as a tyrant whose troops he said had raped women, killed children and destroyed homes over the past two years. “Our brothers in Syria are undergoing an ordeal in an enormous way, and the forces of injustice and oppression are suppressing. Children are displaced as orphans and bereaved women are crying,” he said. The Imam noted that the people of Syria are reeling under hunger and oppression and their houses are collapsing. “The bombs and their shrapnel are falling on them and their valleys are full of dead bodies. All of that puts on the shoulder of each one of us a share of responsibility before Allah, on leaders, rulers, scholars, reformers, thinkers and people to take a unified and conscious stand against the mad (crackdown) on our brothers in Syria.” Sheikh Shuraim called on the believers to rise to occasion to support their oppressed brothers. “By Allah..., our brothers need more efforts and determination to be exerted to remove the merciless injustice and aggression through all means and with no exceptions. We tell our brothers in Syria to be patient." Sheikh Hussein Al-Sheikh, Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, also referred to the pathetic condition of Muslims without naming Syria. “Muslims are surrounded by misfortunes and evil. It is imperative for us to jointly deter the aggression and oppression faced by Muslims in some countries.” The Imam said, in the sermon, that shedding the blood of Muslims and humiliating them, besides depriving them of their wealth are among the grave sins. “Humiliation and shame befall Muslims because of the blood being shed in some countries. Hence, it is indispensable for Muslims to jointly work to end this injustice and support the victims of oppression,” he said.
