Al Saud’s Acts at Odds with Sunni Islam’s Principles: Afghan Cleric


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Afghan Sunni cleric condemned Saudi Arabia for executing prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, saying that Shiite Muslims should know the Al Saud’s moves have no place in the principles of Sunni Islam.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Secretary of the Ulema and Islamic Brotherhood Council of Northern Afghanistan Molavi Abdel-Raouf Tavana expressed his condolences over the martyrdom of Sheikh Nimr and said the tragic event cannot be tolerated by the Muslim community.

He further emphasized that the Saudi regime revealed its true face to the world by killing Sheikh Nimr, adding that the regime proved it has no qualms about shedding the blood of clerics and dissidents.

The Al Saud regime’s performance has nothing to do with Islam and Sunnis as “the basis of Shiite and Sunni schools of thought is the holy Quran and the Household of the Prophet,” he went on to say.   

Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 prisoners, including Sheikh Nimr, on Saturday drew global condemnation.

The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading. The bodies were then hanged from gibbets in the most severe form of punishment available in the kingdom's law.

Sheikh Nimr had been detained in July 2012 on charges of delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners.