REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's top cleric has urged young citizens to obey the king's orders not to fight in conflicts abroad. Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik said on Saudi television on Wednesday night that people had been tricked into thinking they were fighting a holy war for God's sake, but instead had fallen prey to enemies of Islam.
The mufti did not specify who those enemies of Islam, but it is widely believed that Syria's civil war has drawn hundreds of Saudis to fight alongside jihadist militants. Many were encouraged by influential clerics who view the fight as a sectarian battle between Sunnis and Shiites.
Earlier this week, King Abdullah ordered that citizens who fight in foreign conflicts or incite jihad should receive lengthy prison sentences.
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