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Gulf Minister Urge Armies to Join U.S. "Anti-Terror Campaign"
MANAMA, Oct 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Gulf Arab armies must be prepared to join the "war against terrorism", Bahrain's army chief of staff Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa said Sunday.
"We are called on to double efforts to prepare our armed forces to carry out their role in the struggle against terrorist operations under all their guises," he said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
He was addressing the chiefs of staff of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ahead of a meeting of the defense ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Monday.
General Rashed voiced hope that "international efforts, which are increasing at every level against terrorism, succeed in containing" the phenomenon.
Gulf monarchies have strongly condemned the September 11th terror attacks on the United States, but publicly they have refused to grant any military assistance for the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan.
In another step aimed at combating terrorism, Saudi Arabia and five other Gulf countries have agreed to freeze the assets of 39 additional groups and individuals alleged to have terrorist links.
The oil-rich GCC is complying with the United States in attempting to cut off the funds of "terrorist organizations".
Finance ministers had already agreed to freeze the assets of 27 individuals and groups blacklisted by the United States.
Now, the 39 additional names listed by Washington will be circulated across the Gulf states.
The GCC is an economic, political and military alliance that includes Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
U.S. President George W. Bush had warned that if institutions or countries refused to freeze assets and share information, they would be prevented from doing any business with U.S. individuals or companies.
The GCC spent two days in talks agreeing to comply with the global crackdown on terrorists' means of money laundering.
The GCC is also attempting to integrate its economies in a bid to offset the global slowdown. It is working towards launching a unified currency by 2010, with the U.S. dollar as the common denominator.
Meanwhile, senior religious figure in Saudi Arabia warned the country's ruling al-Saud family against siding with the United States against a Muslim country.
In a series of fatwas - or religious rulings - Sheikh Hamoud bin Oqla al-Shuaibi has declared that those who support the non-believer against Muslims are themselves non-believers, BBC's online service reported.
Saudi authorities are reported to have asked him to stop issuing fatwas, but he has refused.
Sheikh Hamoud is a Wahhabi cleric, in his late 70s, who lives in Buraida - a town to the north of the capital, Riyadh.
He was imprisoned in 1995, along with other clerics who were critical of the Saudi ruling family for its policies during and after the Gulf war.
Since the attacks against the U.S. on September 11th, Sheikh Hamoud and at least six other religious Saudi figures have issued
fatwas warning Saudi authorities not to take the side of a non-Muslim power against a Muslim country.
Sheikh Hamoud is considered the most senior of these figures, and given his religious credentials, the ruling family cannot ignore his warnings.
He has twice been called in for questioning by local officials, but has consistently refused to be silenced.
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