Muslims should consider lessons learned from history

Al Azhar Grand Imam, Mohamed Sayed Tantawi said during his Friday's prayer sermon that Muslims should take into consideration the lessons learned from history.

Following the Friday's prayer, hundreds of worshippers took to the streets in peaceful march condemning Israeli brutal acts in the Palestinian territories and potential US attack on Iraq and they called on the international community to stop these acts.

Tantawi said the commando operations undertaken by Palestinian men and women are acts of martyrdom, but rejected the targeting of civilians by such operations.

In statements published Friday by he London-based Arabic language A1 Quds A1 Arabi newspaper, the Grand Imam said the people who find no other means but to explode themselves at the aggressors, are martyrs.

He strongly rejected A1 Qaeda activities against US civil targets, as well as the activities of Islamist groups adopting violence to effect change.