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The terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq have been feeding on the Wahhabi ideology of Saudi Arabia and learning the extremist ideas from their books. Former imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Adel al-Kalbani has said that the ISIL group follows the same brand of Islam as officially adopted and advocated by Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with the Dubai-based channel MBC, al-Kalbani said that “[the terrorist group] draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, from our own principles.”

“We follow the same thought [as ISIL] but apply it in a refined way,” the cleric said, adding “we do not criticize the thought on which it (ISIL) is based".

Blaming intelligence for the growth of these groups, al-Kalbani claimed that such agencies had “exploited” those who followed the ultra-conservative Salafist brand of Sunni Islam.

“Intelligence agencies and other countries might have helped Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIL] to develop, providing them with weapons and ammunitions, and directing them,” he pointed out.

In his MBC interview on 22 January, Kalbani said ISIL and Salafists in Saudi Arabia shared the same opinion on apostasy. Like all Salafi-Wahhabi organizations, ISIL declares all others disbelievers, whether they are Muslims or Persons of the Book, which has become a well-established feature of ISIL doctrine.

Moreover, the cleric said that the killings of journalists and civilians [including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff], which drew wide condemnation were all “within the Salafist framework”.

“Their blood was shed according to Salafist fatwas (religious edicts) not outside the Salafist framework,” he said.

Kalbani was refused a visa to visit the UK in 2013. Although no official reason was given for the refusal, it was reported at the time that it may have been linked to televised comments he made calling Shia Muslims “apostates”.

ISIL has repeatedly said it wants to topple the Saudi royal family and the group has declared a province in the kingdom.

The danger of the so-called Islamic State or ISIL stems from the fact that it embraces the same doctrinal claims and it preaches the same religious teachings formulated by the founder Mohammad ibn Abdel Wahhab.

In addition, it also carries the promise of establishing an “Islamic state” and succeeding at a time when the clerics of Wahhabism and the Ikhwan, the Juhayman movement, the Awakening clerics, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other individual and collective efforts failed.

In an interview with RT, analyst Ali Rizk said that the problem of terrorism comes down to one main problem which is the Wahhabi Salafist ideology.

“I don’t know if you are also aware there was a significant statement made by this democratic member of the Senate, Senator Chris Murphy on Friday when he said that this issue is a fundamental issue that must be addressed. The Saudis and their support for Wahhabism...” he said.