MAKKAH — The imams of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Friday condemned the Houthi targeting of Makkah, describing attacks on the Two Holy Mosques as a “grave crime” and an affront to religious and humanitarian values.Sheikh Bandar Baleelah, imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque, said during the Friday sermon that the security of the holy sites and the lives of innocent people are a “red line.”He said acts intended to terrorize Muslims and threaten their holiest sites violate the sanctity of the holy places and endanger innocent lives.“Whoever dares to target the Sacred House of Allah and the Mosque of His Prophet has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam,” Baleelah said, accusing the Houthis of using religious slogans as a cover for destructive actions.“These attacks will only make the land of the Two Holy Mosques more resilient and strengthen the unity between its leadership and people,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will remain the qibla of Muslims, impervious to the hatred of the spiteful and the schemes of plotters.”At the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Abdulmohsen Al-Qasim said Houthi attacks threatening Makkah and Madinah reflected a pattern of terrorism that permits the shedding of Muslim blood and seeks to frighten people living in safety.The sermons came after Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah on Tuesday evening before it entered the prohibited airspace of the holy city.The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said the drone was intercepted at 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 15 and described the incident as the Houthis’ second attempt to target Makkah, following a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.MAKKAH — The imams of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Friday condemned the Houthi targeting of Makkah, describing attacks on the Two Holy Mosques as a “grave crime” and an affront to religious and humanitarian values.Sheikh Bandar Baleelah, imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque, said during the Friday sermon that the security of the holy sites and the lives of innocent people are a “red line.”He said acts intended to terrorize Muslims and threaten their holiest sites violate the sanctity of the holy places and endanger innocent lives.“Whoever dares to target the Sacred House of Allah and the Mosque of His Prophet has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam,” Baleelah said, accusing the Houthis of using religious slogans as a cover for destructive actions.“These attacks will only make the land of the Two Holy Mosques more resilient and strengthen the unity between its leadership and people,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will remain the qibla of Muslims, impervious to the hatred of the spiteful and the schemes of plotters.”At the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Abdulmohsen Al-Qasim said Houthi attacks threatening Makkah and Madinah reflected a pattern of terrorism that permits the shedding of Muslim blood and seeks to frighten people living in safety.The sermons came after Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah on Tuesday evening before it entered the prohibited airspace of the holy city.The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said the drone was intercepted at 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 15 and described the incident as the Houthis’ second attempt to target Makkah, following a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.
Two Holy Mosques imams condemn Houthi targeting of Makkah as ‘grave crime’
