Riyadh: Shaikh Saleh Al Laheedan, chairman of the Saudi Arabian Supreme Judiciary Council, has lambasted Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden and second leader Ayman Al Zawahiri.

"Osama is a preacher of evil and destruction while Al Zawahiri is an eccentric, who left for turbulent regions when his country was not accommodative [to] his evil designs," Al Laheedan said.

In a press statement, the leading Saudi Islamic scholar said that those who follow the instructions of Bin Laden are those who follow destruction.

"If a man performs prayers in night and then disobeys the rulers of his country, how can he be a good man? No doubt, such people are sinners. How can these people plan destruction of Saudi Arabia, which has the most sacred sites on the earth," he asked.

Stability

Al Laheedan also lauded the efforts made by the security forces in foiling the attempts of terrorists to target Saudi oil facilities and arresting hundreds of terror suspects over the past few months.

Al Laheedan blamed Al Zawahiri for attempting to undermine the stability of Saudi Arabia, which is keen in serving Islam and Muslims and supporting their causes.

He called for strict measures against those affiliated to Al Qaida either intellectually or in its activities. Shaikh Abdullah Al Motlaq, a member of the Senior Islamic Scholars' Commission and the Ifta Council, said terrorists target Islamic scholars because of the latter's strong position against these deviant groups.

Speaking to Gulf News, he said that Saudi scholars are in the forefront of those carrying out intensive campaign against extremists in the kingdom.

"We are striving to make the public aware about the foolishness of following such misguided and deviant people, who are trying to create havoc in the society as well as to sow seeds of division among them," he said, while highlighting the success of the ongoing counselling programme.

Al Motlaq said that several extremists repented and abandoned their deviant ideologies and returned to normal life, thanks to the programme initiated by the Ministry of Interior.

If a man performs prayers in night and then disobeys the rulers of his country, how can he be a good man? No doubt, such people are sinners."