Saudi Arabia commends its citizens loyalty, campaign for the statement of the 6 men of religion
The Saudi Arabian authorities continues search for the group which kidnapped the American hostages at a time when the Kingdom authorities underlined the importance of co-operation of its citizens in confrontation of the " corrupted terrorist groups." The authorities commends their loyalty to " religion, the king and the homeland."
No news was disclosed about the fate of the American citizen Paul Johnson on which the Saudi security forces exert great efforts in search of him since his disappearance on Saturday, in what it might be thought the first kidnapping operation for one foreign resident by the supporters of al- Qaida organization in the Kingdom who also announced responsibility for killing another American.
The Saudi daily Okaz said that Johnson ( 49 year old) is one of the four engineers working on updating the Apache plane system " A H 64" who work in the Arab peninsula.
However, several Saudi men of religion denounced in a statement issued yesterday in Riyadh the attacks which targeted westerners in the Kingdom and described them as regrettable and "greatly sinful." In a special step by the Saudi authorities, the Saudi news agency and TV quoted the statement issued by the 6 men of religion who were jailed earlier by the government, stressed that Islam urged for the protection of foreigners in the land of Islam and that men of religions hold unanimous views to "forbid attacking, unrightfully non Muslims, according to texts of the Loran and the Sunnah to that effect."
The statement was signed by Abdul Rahman al-Barrak, Abdullah al-Jibreen. Safar al-Hawali, salman al-Odeh, Abdullah al-Tweijari and Nasser Bin Suleiman al- Omer.
Following a session for the Saudi cabinet in Jeddah presided over by the Crown Prince Abdullah, the minister of information and culture Doad al-Faresi said that the cabinet expressed "satisfaction over the solidarity shown by citizens in various parts of the Kingdom." About the Palestinian issue, the Saudi government expressed its support and satisfaction with what Egypt has done of mediation between the Palestinian authority and Israel to reactivate the peace process. "