http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=278622&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
Saudi Arabia denies Shias being targeted in kingdom AFP/Riyadh Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz yesterday denied that Shia pilgrims were specially targeted by security forces last month. "It is not a matter of targeting Shias or others as much as it is a matter (of dealing with) anyone who goes against the law or tries to offend anything in the nation," Prince Nayef said in remarks published by the Okaz newspaper. Violence broke out in February between Shia pilgrims and security forces in the holy city of Medina. The Saudi interior ministry said nine people were arrested in the violence near Al Baqi cemetery adjacent to the Prophet Muhammad's mosque, which attracts millions of pilgrims every year. According to accounts from Shia Muslims, the pilgrims were angered when some people took videos of Shia women in their group and the dispute later boiled over into violence. Prince Nayef said the incident involved people gathering sand from tombs of companions of the Prophet. "We completely reject the clash of sects in our country," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia's Sunni doctrines "should not be tampered with." "Citizens in some parts of the kingdom who belong to other sects... should abide by this (Sunni doctrine)," he said. Prince Nayef said that the authorities arrested Sunni Muslims as well as Shias in connection with the violence, but he did not elaborate [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
