BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) Prominent Saudi religious scholars have called on Iraqis to support militants waging holy war against the U.S.-led coalition forces, saying fighting the occupation was a duty and a right.
In an open letter to the Iraqi people and posted on the Internet Saturday, 26 Saudi scholars and religious preachers stressed that armed attacks launched by militant Iraqi groups on U.S. troops and their allies in Iraq were ''legitimate'' resistance.
The statement came as U.S. troops, backed by air and artillery power, were gearing up for a major assault on the militant stronghold of Fallujah.
The scholars some of whom have been criticized in the past for their extremist views issued a fatwa, or religious edict, prohibiting Iraqis from offering any support for military operations carried out by U.S. forces against militant strongholds.
''Fighting the occupiers is a duty for all those who are able. It is a jihad (holy war) to push back the assailants ...,'' said the letter. ''Resistance is a legitimate right. A Muslim must not inflict harm on any resistance man or inform about them. Instead, they should be supported and protected.''
Among the 26 scholars who signed the letter are influential Sunni Muslim clerics, Sheik Safar al-Hawali, Sheik Nasser al-Omar, Sheik Salman al-Awdah, Sheik Sharif Hatem al-Aouni and Sheik Awad al-Qarni.
Al-Hawali jailed in the 1990s for five years without trial because of his criticism of U.S. involvement in the 1991 Gulf War is known for his radical views and was once close to al-Qaida terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Like many Islamic extremists, al-Hawali also opposed the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. His name appeared this month on a list issued by a group of Arab intellectuals who seek prosecution of prominent clerics for encouraging terrorism.
The scholars said their appeal was prompted by ''the extraordinary situation through which the Iraqis are passing which calls for unity and exchange of views.''
The scholars said inter-Iraqi fighting would cause ''great damage to the Iraqis and give a free service to the Jews who are infiltrating into Iraq and to the coalition forces which exploit differences to consolidate their domination.''
The invasion angered many in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to its two holiest cities.
The Saudi government has launched a military campaign against militants that started after al-Qaida-affiliated operatives attacked three residential compounds in Riyadh in May 2003.
I don't quite understand...
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