Riyadh – Famous Muslim scholar Shaykh Saleh al-Fawzan stated that it’s “obligatory upon you all” to defend crown prince Mohammed bin Salman against the false accusations of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, as “they” intend to attack the “Qiblah” of Muslims.
In October 2018, Al-Fawzan made these statements which resurfaced the social media after United States intelligence released an assessment report framing the Saudi crown prince of directing the murder of the slain journalist.
Faculty Member of University of Imam Muhammad Riyadh Dr. Mahir bin Abdurrahim Khujah tweeted on 25th October 2018 that, “I visited our Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan just before a while, and asked him regarding what is being raised by the declarations of dissent and the enemies of Islam and peace, about the eminent Crown Prince (Muhammad bin Salman)?”
زرت شيخنا صالح الفوزان حفظه الله قبل قليل
— د.ماهر خوجة (@maher_khujah) October 25, 2018
وسألته عما يثيره إعلام الفتن وأعداء الإسلام والسلام
حول سمو ولي العهد؟
فقال:
"هم لا يريدون سموه
وإنما يريدون هذا البلد بأكمله.
والواجب عليكم الدفاع عنه والذب عنه والدفاع عن هذا البلد الذي هو قبلة المسلمين
وجزى الله خيرا من قام بهذا"
Shaykh replied, “They are not intending his eminence, rather they intend this nation as a whole. It is obligatory upon you all to defend him and protect him and to defend this nation which is the Qiblah of the Muslims. May Allah reward those who discharge this (obligation)”.
Meanwhile, Saudi columnists have lambasted the Biden administration for baseless allegations against the Kingdom’s leadership.
“America does not have the right to bully a strategic regional ally and it is not in its interest to let domestic differences harm its regional interests and those of its partners,” Khaled al-Malik wrote in local Al Jazirah newspaper.
Abdullah al-Otaibi, wrote in Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that “Saudi Arabia is not a banana republic to be shaken by threats”.
The Saudi government has reiterated that Khashoggi’s killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group, for which a Saudi court jailed eight people last year.
Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority has also issued a statement rejecting the report as “false and unacceptable”.
