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Saudi Imams Pray for Muslim Afghan Brethren
RIYADH, Oct 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Prayer leaders at Saudi mosques Friday offered prayers for fellow Muslims in Afghanistan and rallied against "enemies of Islam", but made no mention of the ongoing U.S.-British strikes against the Taliban, news agencies reported.
Sheikh Saud al-Sharim, imam of al-Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque) in Mecca, Islam's holiest shrine, warned Muslims to "steer clear of strife," without referring to the strikes against Afghanistan.
Sheik Hussein Ali Sheik, leading prayers at the Prophet's (SAW) Mosque in Medina, implored God to "protect all the Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine." He repeated the call several times, and each time the crowd of worshippers echoed his words, then repeated "amin" (amen).
The prayers followed a sermon in which no direct mention was made of the September 11th attacks on the United States or the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan that began Sunday. During his sermon, Ali Sheik called on Muslims to strengthen their faith.
The mosque, which can hold roughly 167,000, was full Friday and thousands of others prayed in an adjacent courtyard.
Meanwhile, some prayer leaders in the capital's mosques were slightly more explicit, urging Muslims to "support their brethren in Afghanistan," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"It is every Muslim's duty to support his brothers in Afghanistan to show them that we are brothers in adversity," said the imam of a Riyadh mosque.
"The blood of Afghan Muslims is being shed," he said.
"Punishment must not be collective," the imam added in reference to the U.S.-British strikes against Afghanistan.
There have been reports this week of at least 500 Afghan civilians being killed as a direct result of the U.S. attacks on the country, many of whom are women and children.
The Saudi government has strongly condemned the September 11th attacks on the U.S., but withheld comment on the strikes against Afghanistan.
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