Muslim pilgrims perform Friday prayers around Nimrah Mosque on the plains of Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah.
AFP/Riyadh
Muslim leaders must strike the enemies of Islam with "an iron hand", Saudi Arabia's top cleric said during Friday prayers, in apparent condemnation of the Islamic State jihadist group.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh's comments came after Saudi Arabia and four other Arab nations joined the US in aerial bombardment of the IS militants in Syria.
Speaking to Muslims from around the world in an address during the annual Haj pilgrimage, the mufti called on fellow Islamic leaders to "hit with an iron hand the enemies of Islam."
The IS group has declared a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq where they have committed a spate of atrocities including crucifixions and beheadings.
"Your religion is threatened. Your security is threatened," he thundered, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
"These criminals carry out rapes, bloodshed and looting," he said, adding that "these vile crimes can be considered terrorism" and their perpetrators have nothing to do with Islam.
"They are tyrants," he said, warning of "their deviant ideology."
The mufti spoke from Nimrah Mosque at Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites.
Close to two million Muslims from around the world have gathered at Mount Arafat for a day of prayer at the peak of the annual Haj.
The comments were the mufti's latest criticism of the extremists.
In August, he urged Muslim youth not to be influenced by "calls for jihad ... on perverted principles," and he described Al-Qaeda and IS jihadists as "enemy number one" of Islam.
The kingdom is seeking to deter youths from becoming jihadists after Syria's conflict attracted hundreds of Saudis.
King Abdullah decreed in February jail terms of up to 20 years for citizens who travel to fight abroad.
Tears, prayers as Muslims mark peak of Haj
Tears flowed and prayers filled the air as the annual Muslim pilgrimage by almost two million believers from around the world reached its zenith on Friday on a vast plain in western Saudi Arabia.
"I am now a newborn baby and I don't have any sin," Nigerian pilgrim Taofik Odunewu told AFP, tears streaming down his face.
He stood at the foot of Mount Arafat and raised his hands to the heavens in the seamless two-piece white "ihram" outfit of male pilgrims.
"I pray for prosperity, long life and... I pray for my country," Odunewu said with a broad smile on the second day of the hajj pilgrimage.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrived at Arafat on Friday carrying suitcases and other luggage among thousands of white tents which stood ready to accommodate the multitude.
From early morning, pilgrims crowded onto the slippery, rocky hill where Prophet Muhammad is believed to have given his final sermon 14 centuries ago.
The pilgrims pushed forward to touch the rocks during prayer, their attire turning the hill, which is also known as Mount Mercy, white in colour.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef said the Haj had attracted almost 1.4mn foreign pilgrims from 163 nations.
Local media report that several hundred thousand Saudis are also participating, pushing the total towards two million.
