At least three million Muslims from across the world performed Eid ul Adha prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah yesterday.
In his Eid sermon, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, the imam of the Grand Mosque, called on Muslims to respond to the hate campaign the Islamic religion and Muslims are currently facing.
“Islam is the religion of moderates and yet a vicious campaign has been unleashed to tarnish its image. For the misdeeds of a few, the entire community is being held to ransom,” he said.
“We all must realize that they are always on the lookout for the mistakes of a few Muslims so that Islam gets a bad name and people all over start hating it.”
The Sheikh moreover called for adopting moderation, saying that the deviation of thoughts and concepts had assumed “dangerous” levels.
“We now see fights and challenges taking place in the form of intellectual invasion globally for more freedom,” he said.
He urged Muslims to “fight terrorism and extremism,” noting that spreading the message that Islam does not preach terrorism, and stressing that moderates should not be held responsible for crimes committed by a few in the Muslim world.
“Let’s start with ourselves. However, reforms should not be imposed on us. They should come from within us and in keeping with the tenets of Islam,” the imam said.
He also denounced the crimes committed by the Israeli occupiers against the Palestinians, “They are trying to destroy the mosque,” he said, referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque issue. Sheikh Abdul Rahman called on Muslims not to forget the horrors and daily massacres the Iraqis facing and their struggle for peace and prosperity.
Riyadh Governor Prince Salman offered Eid Al-Adha prayers, which were in 20 locations and 396 mosques in different parts in the capital along with citizens and residents- similar scenes in Jeddah, Dammam and elsewhere in the Saudi kingdom.