ABU DHABI Ñ The alliance between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been
marred by a dispute over Islamic sites.
The tension was sparked by an address by a leading Saudi cleric who
suggested that Iranian pilgrims who arrive in Mecca are infidels. The
remarks prompted an official protest by Iran.
It was the first Iranian protest of Saudi behavior since Riyad signed a
security pact with Teheran last April. The two countries are also said to
cooperate on military and intelligence issues.
On Feb. 8, Saudi cleric Sheik Salah Al Budair differentiated between
Muslims who are flocking to Mecca for the annual Haj pilgrimage. Al Budair,
the spiritual leader of the Saudi city of Medina, said those who seek "God's
blessings at his holy shrine and other Islamic holy sites are infidels."
The reference appeared to be to the hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite
Muslims who are said to be attending the Haj. Iran is the seat of Shi'ism,
which broke away from Sunni Islam nearly 1,300 years ago.
Teheran protested the remarks of the Saudi cleric. The Iranian
government sent a letter to Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul
Aziz that objected to what Teheran termed controversial and inflammatory
remarks.
"Is not the move by this cleric, under the current critical conditions
in which the Islamic world is entangled with its numerous grave problems, an
effort aimed at creating a gap among the world Muslims and therefore
infidelity in Islamic beliefs that are aimed at creating unity and
brotherhood among world Muslims?" Mohammad Mohammadi Reyrahri, the Iranian
official responsible for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, wrote.
Iranian officials said Saudi Arabia had improved conditions for Iranian
pilgrims to Mecca, scheduled to culminate over the weekend. At the same
time, Saudi authorities have tightened security to ensure that Iranian and
other pilgrims do not exploit the Haj for demonstrations against the
regime's policy.
