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‘Practice what you preach’: son slams cleric fatherover jihad call

2/5/2014 ‘Practice what you preach’: son slams cleric father over jihad call - Al Arabiya News

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Staff writer, Al Arabiya NewsTuesday, 4 February 2014

The son of popular Syrian Salafist cleric Adnan al-Aroor publically rejected his father's calls for jihad in Syria, criticizing

him for urging young men to fight in Syria while he sits and watches from a comfortable distance.

“Why don’t you get up and go fight in Syria! Don’t just sit down on the chair. Bashar [al-Assad] is better than you,” Jaber

al-Aroor, yelled at his father, during a television interview aired on the Kuwaiti Wesal channel.

Al-Aroor became a prominent voice regarding the Syrian conflict shortly after its start, frequently making appearances

criticizing the Syrian regime and calling for the arming of the opposition and a foreign military intervention. Living in Saudi

Arabia for the past 40 years, he has previously been accused of inciting his followers to jihad and calling people to “rise

and fight."

His son later announced his rejection of his father's views, stating he was neither “with Sheikh al-Aroor nor with Bashar al-

Assad, but with the revolutionaries.”

In another one of the cleric's videos, al-Aroor claimed one of his children was fighting in Syria, after being accused of

hypocrisy as he called others to fight while his offspring were not. He added that his other children were working to provide

relief for Syrians, another form of jihad. He did not provide further details.

The Salafist gained criticism through social media channels, especially Twitter.

While some users called him a terrorist, others claimed he was a thief stealing the money he raises for victims of Syrian’s

war.

"I wish he’s release statements to see the massive amounts in his bank accounts! (sic)” Twitter user @bro_Noah wrote.

Some called for his expulsion from Saudi Arabia.

“Why is he not kicked out along with his family from the county [Saudi Arabia]. He destroys an entire country [Syria] while

sitting safely in ours,” tweeted user @ tttt89673.

A number of preachers promoting jihad, including Saudi clerics Mohammad al-Arifi and Salman al-Ouda, have recently

gone under fire as they urge people to rise and fight but do not commit to the cause themselves, with many living in

countries far from the war torn country living luxurious lifestyles.

Last Update: Wednesday, 5 February 2014 KSA 23:47 - GMT 20:47

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