Joining Qaeda is 'haram': Al-Obeikan 15-01-10

Saudi Gazette
By Abdullah Al-Oraifij

RIYADH - Adviser to the Royal Court Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Bin Nasser Al-Obeikan has said that "belonging to the so-called Al-Qaeda terrorist organization" is "haram", or prohibited in Islam. Speaking to Okaz by telephone, Sheikh Al-Obeikan said that anyone who belonged to the organization belonged to "a group that has left the people of truth and taken up takfeeri thought" and that "affiliation to the Al-Qaeda organization is haram".

Al-Obeikan called on Saudi members of Al-Qaeda in Yemen to return to the Kingdom and hand themselves in to the authorities. "The people of the Sunnah and Consensus have ruled that one must hear and obey and not come out against the leaders, or create strife, or legitimize the shedding of the blood of Muslims or the protected without any right to do so," the Sheikh said.