Grand mufti calls suicide bombers criminals

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh has condemned suicide bombings as grave crimes, reiterating his stance in strong language.
“Killing oneself is a grave crime and a grave sin,” Al-Asheikh was quoted as saying by a local newspaper on Thursday.
“Those who kill themselves with explosives are criminals who are hastening their way to hell.”
“Their (suicide bombers) hearts have veered away from the right path, their minds have been invaded by evil,” the paper quoted Al-Asheikh as saying after what the daily described as a recent lecture in a Riyadh mosque. “They have been exploited in order to cause destruction to themselves and society.”
Nearly two months ago, the mufti urged Saudis not to travel to Syria to join rebels battling to unseat President Bashar Assad.
The mufti did not refer to suicide bombings in a specific country.
In February 2010, Al-Asheikh denounced terrorism as un-Islamic and condemned the killing of civilians. His latest remarks come after a preliminary inquiry into a Dec. 5 suicide car bombing and assault on a Yemen Defense Ministry complex found that most assailants were Saudis. Fifty-six people were killed in the attack.