Saudi Muslim clerics condemn terror attacks

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Leading Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia have issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, calling terror attacks by Islamic extremists “serious criminal acts,” the BBC reported. “These acts have nothing to do with jihad for the sake of God,” the Council of Senior Clerics said, the BBC reported. “We must rally around the leadership of this country and its scholars, especially in this time of dissent.” The council, which is headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Azez al-Sheikh, the kingdom’s highest religious authority, said it supported the Saudi authorities in their fight against militant extremists carrying out bombings and murders in the country. Saudi Arabia, home to 15 of the 19 Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers, has been cracking down on militants since May, when triple suicide attacks targeting Westerners in Riyadh killed 35 people, including nine attackers.