Yemeni scholars have rejected as a “pure fabrication” Riyadh’s claim that Yemeni forces targeted the holy city of Mecca, saying the real danger to the Kaaba comes from US and Western military bases on Saudi soil and from the Saudi government's opening of the Land of the Two Holy Mosques to Zionist influence.
The Conference of Yemeni Scholars, convened in the capital this week by the Association of Yemeni Scholars, issued a statement dismissing the Saudi allegation that air defenses intercepted a drone approaching Mecca. The scholars said the charge was invented to inflame Muslim opinion, tarnish the Yemeni people, stoke sectarian discord, recruit new mercenaries, and conceal years of aggression and blockade against Yemen.
“The claim regarding the targeting of Mecca is false and baseless; it is merely a slanderous accusation from a regime notorious for lying and fabrication,” the statement said. The scholars warned that it would not be surprising if the Saudi government itself committed a crime against the holy sites and then attributed it to Yemen.
They stressed that exploiting the Two Holy Mosques for colonial agendas threatens the unity of the Islamic world and hands the Zionist enemy an opportunity to strike sacred sites and divide Muslims. Any state that joins the aggression against Yemen, they said, would share responsibility for that danger.
The real threat to Mecca, the scholars stated, is the presence of American and Western military bases in the Arabian Peninsula, the opening of Saudi airspace to Israeli aircraft, and the handing over of Hajj-related hotels and security services at the holy sites to Israeli companies.
They condemned the Saudi government’s violation of the sanctity of the Kaaba through public immorality, the authorization of alcohol, and other acts they said desecrate the Land of the Two Holy Mosques.
The conference called on free-thinking people not to be swayed by Riyadh’s propaganda and urged Islamic institutions, specifically Al-Azhar, the Muslim World League, and the International Union of Muslim Scholars, to fulfill their duty, work to halt the aggression and blockade, see the suffering of the Yemeni people, and address the crises in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
Yemeni Mufti Shams al-Din Sharaf al-Din told the gathering that Saudi officials were “exploiting the status of the Two Holy Mosques to promote lies.”
Other speakers said the campaign was meant to cover battlefield setbacks after Yemeni forces recorded gains on the West Coast and elsewhere. The statement praised the performance of the country’s ground and air units and the steadfastness of a nation that has stood with Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the days since the conference, Sana’a has repeated the same line. Leader of the Revolution Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi called the Mecca allegation a “great slander” and a “monstrous lie,” and crowds in Sabeen Square raised images of the Grand Mosque in a mass rally rejecting the charge.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Yemeni operations target oil facilities and military bases “far from the sacred sites.”
Senior Ansarullah official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said Yemen is a defender of Mecca, not an aggressor against it.
MNA
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