SAUDI ARABIA: SOME SAUDI ARABIAN MARKING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN BELIEVE THE RECENT SUICIDE ATTACKS IN THE KINGDOM ARE CONTRARY TO THE TEACHINGS OF KORAN

Record ID: 189791

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: SOME SAUDI ARABIAN MARKING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN BELIEVE THE RECENT SUICIDE ATTACKS IN THE KINGDOM ARE CONTRARY TO THE TEACHINGS OF KORAN
  • Date: 16th November 2003
  • Summary: (U4) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 16, 2003)(REUTERS) 1. LV CALL TO PRAYER AT SHIEKH FAHD AL-AWETHA MOSQUE 0.06 2. CU MOSQUE'S DOME AT SUNSET WITH CALL TO PRAYER 0.11 3. CLOSE UP OF CRESCENT ON TOP OF DOME 0.15 4. CU MOSQUE'S MINARET AT SUNSET WITH CALL TO PRAYER 0.19 5. SV MAN WALKING INTO TENT / TAKING OFF SANDALS 0.24 7. SLV TENT WITH PEOPLE GATHERED INSIDE EATING THEIR "IFTAR" 0.29 8. SLV MEN SITTING IN LONG ROW EATING 0.34 9. CU OF MEN EATING WITH HANDS (2 SHOTS) 0.43 10. SLV MEN SITTING IN LONG ROW EATING 0.47 11. MCU MAN EATING WITH UTENSILS 0.52 12. SLV MEN EATING THEIR MEALS 0.58 13. MCU (English) SHIEKH IBRAHIM ABOU ALI, PREACHER OF SHEIKH FAHD AL-AWETHA, SAYING "Islam is against this completely, we as very peace people of Saudi Arabia are against these actions completely too." 1.09 14. SLV/SV/CU VARIOUS OF MUSLIMS PRAYING INSIDE SHIEKH FAHD AL-AWETHA MOSQUE (6 SHOTS) 1.52 (U4) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 17, 2003) (REUTERS) 15. LV INTERIOR OF SHOPPING CENTRE 1.57 16. TV GROUP OF SAUDI WOMEN AND CHILDREN WALKING THROUGH SHOPPING CENTRE 2.04 17. TV WOMAN WITH FAMILY WALKING BESIDES ESCALATOR 2.14 18. LV SHOPPING CENTRE 2.20 (U4) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 16, 2003) (REUTERS) 19. SLV/SV OF YOUNG SAUDI MEN IN TRADITIONAL ROBES SITTING AT OUTDOOR CAFE (2 SHOTS) 2.30 20. SLV MAN READING NEWSPAPER / MAN SPEAKING ON PHONE 2.35 21. MCU (Arabic) ABDUL RAHMAN AL ASMARI, STUDENT SITTING AT CAFE, SAYING "They are a bunch of strays, which is a shame, they have been brainwashed with wrong beliefs. They thought they were right and were in Jihad. This is a wrong Jihad. If they read the Holy Koran and the prophet's teaching they would have not committed such a crime." 2.53 22. SV OF MEN AT CAFE (3 SHOTS) 3.08 23. LV HALF MOON IN SKY 3.14 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters ID: LVA7X494H055VXAZHSMN61VRXTZO
  • Story Text: Some Saudi Arabians marking the holy month of
    Ramadan believe the recent suicide attacks in the Kingdom
    are contrary to the teachings of the Koran, Islam's holy
    book.



    Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic
    calendar. Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink,
    sexual intercourse and arguments from dawn to dusk. The
    month is also a time when wealthy Muslims set up special
    tents to feed the poor.

    At Sheikh Fahd Al Awetha mosque in a Riyadh, a large
    construction company erected a tent to provide the evening
    meal of "Iftar" for at least three hundred workers and
    passers-by, a common scene in the oil-rich kingdom.

    According to Islamic belief, God is His most merciful
    and forgiving during Ramadan. Muslims also believe that the
    devil and his followers are chained to hell during the
    month, preventing them from sowing evil on earth.

    But according to many Saudis, evil struck the kingdom,
    the birth place of Prophet Mohamed and Islam, last Sunday
    (November 9) when at least 18 people were killed and some
    120 injured after suspected al-Qaeda militants staged a
    suicide car bombing at a Riyadh residential compound
    housing predominantly Arab expatriates.

    Many of the casualties were women and children.

    A cleric from the mosque condemned the attacks. "Islam
    is against this completely, we, as very peace people of
    Saudi Arabia are against these actions completely too,"
    Sheikh Ibrahim Abou Ali told Reuters television.

    In addition to praying the obligatory five times a day,
    Muslims also perform special Ramadan prayers known as
    Taraweeh,
    give alms to the poor and read as much of the holy book,
    the Koran, as possible.

    Muslims also spend most of the hours between sunset and
    sunrise in mosques, praying and reciting from the Koran.

    The last 10 days of Ramadan are especially significant
    Muslims believe that God sends angels to earth during
    one of these nights, known as the Night of Power or Lailat
    al-Qadr.

    After prayers, women and children flock to shopping
    malls in the capital in search of new clothes for their
    children to celebrate the festival at the end of Ramadan
    Eid al-Fitr. The fasting month is also a time for families
    and relatives to spend more time together According
    to Saudi tradition, which segregates men and
    women, males gather at cafs to drink tea and eat before
    sunrise. The discussion at a local caf this night was of
    the militants who had attacked expatriate residential
    compounds.

    "They are a bunch of strays, which is a shame, they
    have been brainwashed with wrong beliefs. They thought they
    were right and were in Jihad. This is a wrong Jihad. If
    they read the Holy Koran and the prophet's teaching they
    would have not committed such a crime." Said Abdul Rahman
    al Samari.

    The lunar month of Ramadan is to end soon and Saudis
    hope that their holy month will end peacefully.


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