The Mufti of Saudi Arabia does not consider Iranians to be Muslims. The Supreme Mufti of Saudi Arabia called on the authorities to destroy all Christian churches in the region. Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Calls for the Destruction of Christian Churches

Mufti of the Chechen Republic Salakh Mezhiev delivered a landmark speech on the subject of Muslim unity. This problem was devoted to a major one, which took place the other day in Blessed Mecca. The mufti spoke in Arabic, becoming the only representative of Russia at the forum who was given a pulpit to address. IA IslamNews offers readers a translation of the speech of the head of the Muslims of Chechnya.

In the name of God the Merciful, the Merciful! Praise be to Allah Almighty! Peace and God's blessings to our master, favorite and intercessor on the Day of Judgment, Muhammad, as well as to his family and all his companions!

Dear Sheikh, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah al ash-Sheikh. The Honorable Sheikh, Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul-Karim al-Isa, General Secretary of the Islamic World League. Dear guests! I greet you with the greeting of Islam - peace be upon you, mercy and blessings of the Almighty.

Congratulations to the World Islamic League on the success of this event. And it is successful in that it brought together the representatives of Islam, who had been divided and disunited for a long time, and precisely at the moment when they most of all need unity and unanimity. This conference has succeeded in conveying its noble message, namely, the idea that the disagreements that exist between us should not divide and divide us. Issues of ijtihad and other issues related to the interpretation of certain prescriptions should not be a cause for contention between Muslims.

No one in the world has as much in common as Muslims. We have one aqida (belief). We have the same worship. Common pain and common hopes. All this is a single whole: rituals, laws, customs, and teachings. One religion, one book, one prophet, one qibla. One goal and one path.

It's time for us to mend. The time has come to restore to us our unity and cohesion, through which in the past we became the center of civilization, the beauty of which was contemplated by all. It was built by Muslims who did not share the color of their skin, nor the difference in corners of the world, nor the diversity of cultures. Today we are obliged to return the unity of Islam, before which other disagreements make no sense, hatred and greed recede, the banners of racism and fanatical adherence to madhhabs are lowered. The flags of disunity and partisanship are lowered. So let us put into practice the words of Allah Almighty: “Indeed, your ummah is a single ummah. And I am your Lord. Fear me!"

It is the responsibility of scholars and preachers to rebuff the factors of division between us, dividing us into groups, reject treachery and distrust, accusation of error and sin. We must adhere to a culture of brotherhood and mutual support for the benefit of our common Islamic values. It is necessary to look for calm ways of dialogue, consistent with the ethics and rules of Islam, to resolve differences.

Today, the world expects the Islamic community to regain its role as a leading civilization, fit for the 21st century, which will allow us to be useful to humanity again. Our disunity and the preoccupation of each with himself hinder the achievement of this goal.

On behalf of myself and on behalf of all the guests who received the best welcome - they will return home enriched with useful knowledge gleaned from meetings and reports, becoming their guides in their countries - let me convey my sincere words of gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the person of its leadership and people led by His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of the Two Holy Mosques, and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud. May Almighty Allah protect them for all the efforts that they show in serving Islam and Muslims, show the true picture of our pure religion.

I also want to express my gratitude to His Highness Prince Khaled al-Faisal. I express my gratitude to the World Islamic League, which provides comprehensive assistance to those in need around the world. I thank Sheikh, Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdul-Karim al-Isa for his great contribution in spreading the ideology of al-wasatiya (the Koranic principle of moderation), tolerance and mutual respect. I express my gratitude to all those who took part in the preparation of this conference.

It's no secret that we in Chechnya have suffered from the ideology of takfir. Blood was shed, there was destruction, about 300 thousand people were killed, tens of thousands went missing. All this continued until Sheikh Shahid Akhmat Haji Kadyrov appeared, may Allah have mercy on him, who stood up for the unity of the people, Muslims, against terrorism and extremism. Stability returned to the republic, people began to live in peace and tranquility. His obedient son Ramzan Kadyrov, may Allah preserve him, has become the successor of his father's work, and today he conveys his sincere greetings to you, thanks you for your efforts and expresses support for the forum.

At the end of my speech, I would like to personally thank the Minister of the Two Holy Mosques - King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman for their attention to this event. I would also like to express my gratitude to the World Islamic League, which initiated this significant event, which took place on the territory of the Sacred Mosque. I hope that the heads of Islamic states will listen to the results of this conference. May the results of this forum illuminate the path to a brighter future. We are looking forward to the next international conference "Message to the Ummah in the 21st century" organized by the World Islamic League.

I ask Almighty and Almighty Allah to make this conference useful and grant us help in charitable deeds.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Supreme Mufti of Saudi Arabia, called on the authorities of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to destroy Christian churches in the region.

The mufti addressed the authorities with the following words: "It is necessary to destroy all the churches in the countries of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf." The sheikh made such a statement after the Kuwaiti authorities warned of a possible ban on the construction of temples. This is reported by the Russian Emirates website.

Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, communicating with the Kuwaiti delegation, said that this small country is part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore all the churches in it must be destroyed.

The mufti's statement, he said, is based on an ancient rule that only Islam can be practiced in the region.

Recall that the Chief Mufti of Saudi Arabia is the most authoritative representative of the Sunni clergy in the country, speaking on behalf of the "religious law". At the same time, the Sheikh heads the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and the Issuance of Fatwas and the Supreme Council of the Ulema. Both named structures unite the most famous experts on the practical and theoretical aspects of Islam.

In February of this year, one of Kuwait's parliamentarians, Osama al-Munawer, said he wanted to put forward a proposal to ban the construction of churches, as well as any other non-Islamic places of worship in the country.

The parliamentarian announced his plans to submit a draft law on the destruction of all churches in the country to the government on Twitter. Later, al-Munawer made a clarification: existing churches can be left, but construction must be prohibited.

In the United Arab Emirates, there are currently several churches belonging to various Christian denominations. Three of them are located in the emirate of Dubai, at least two - in the emirate of Sharjah, and several more - in other emirates.

Conversations on the topic of a ban on the construction of Christian churches have been going on in Saudi Arabia for a long time. Nine years ago, Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the kingdom's defense minister, said: "This land was the cradle of Islam, and nothing can contradict it."

As noted in the report citing this statement by the minister, in 2003 there were over sixty thousand mosques in the country - and not a single Christian church. But among the foreign residents there are quite a lot of Christians, and Muslims treat them with respect, considering them "People of the Book."

It should also be noted that Qatar, neighboring Saudi Arabia, allowed in 2002 to build a Catholic church in Doha. At that time in the UAE there were only houses of worship for Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, belonging to the Church of Hellas, and representatives of some other faiths.

Abdulaziz Shaikh, Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on September 6th in response to the statement of the religious leader of Iran Ayatollah Said Ali Homanei on this year's pilgrimage procedure, stated that "Iranians are not Muslims." In a statement published in the Mecca newspaper, this high-ranking Saudi religious figure called Homanei's statement "not surprising", since the ancestors of the Iranians professed "Zoroastrianism."

The Arabs, who stand on the positions of extremism, call those who professed fire-worship as such. In Khorasan, this religion was dominant before the advent of Islam. Abdulaziz Shaikh noted, " we must be on the alert, since they (Iranians) are not Muslims, they are from the clans of fire worshipers and have had hostility towards Muslims, especially Sunnis since ancient times».

In response to such a statement by Abdulaziz Shaikh on the statement of the religious leader of Iran, the Foreign Minister of this country noted that “ Islam of the Iranians has nothing to do with the extremism of the Wahhabi mufti of Saudi Arabia». Muhammad Javod Zarif wrote on his Twitter that indeed, there is nothing in common between Iranian Islam and most Muslims of the world and racial extremism, which is preached by the Wahhabi mufti of the Saudi sponsors of terrorism».

The statement by the respected Mufti of Saudi Arabia comes a day after an Iranian religious leader accused Saudi officials of "murdering wounded pilgrims" in a story that took place last year in the Mino Valley. Ayatollah Homanei then stated that " cruel and criminal men" of Saudi Arabia created cages for the "half-dead wounded" and instead of helping or at least instead of supplying water to the thirsty, they brought them to death».

It has been speculated that at least 2,426 pilgrims died in a stampede at last year's pilgrimage ceremony at Mino, Mecca. Of this number, 464 were Iranians, which is considered the highest number of victims among Muslims of Islamic countries. The Saudi Arabian authorities have not yet published a report on the reasons for that story. But, according to preliminary data from the investigation, during the tragedy, two routes for the movement of pilgrims were blocked.

Ayatollah Hamanai in his statement also accused Saudi Arabia of the fact that officials of this country made a mistake in the accident of a tower crane around the Haram Mosque in Mecca even before the incident in the Mino Valley. When a tower crane fell, 111 people died.

The angry statements of the authorities of Iran and Saudi Arabia are evidence of their attempts to blame each other for the processes in the region. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran support opposing factions in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon.

Diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran were cut off last January after extremist groups in Iran set fire to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashhad.

Negotiations between the two countries on the participation of Iranian pilgrims in the Hajj procedure this year ended in failure, for which Iran accused Saudi Arabia. Tehran has said that Iranian pilgrims will not take part in the Hajj ceremony this year. The Ministry of Hajj Affairs of Saudi Arabia, in response to such a decision in May of this year, stated that the Iranian government would be responsible for such a decision before the Almighty and the world community.

Muhammad bin Noif, Saudi Arabia's heir and interior minister said Monday evening, " officials of the Islamic Republic, due to internal problems, have become an obstacle on the way of Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and are busy politicizing the hajj and turning this ceremony into a contradiction with Islamic canons". The Hajj ceremony in Saudi Arabia has already begun and millions of Muslims are busy making the pilgrimage.