Saudi Council of Scholars gives new blow to Brotherhood

The highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

The Council of Senior Scholars said the Brotherhood does not represent the Islamic religion and that the group uses religion only to reach its goals.

It warned in a statement on Tuesday against joining the Muslim Brotherhood or sympathizing with it.

The council also added that incitement against rulers is impermissible in Islam.

The Brotherhood is a group based on fighting with rulers and disobeying them, the council said.

It added that the same group destabilizes the societies where it exists and violates the rules of co-existence.

The council noted that the Brotherhood had never care about the Islamic faith since its establishment in the last century.

It only wants to reach power, the council said.

It added the Brotherhood also gave rise to a large number of terrorist organizations that spread corruption and violence in societies around the world.

It said God forbids Muslims to divide themselves or fight against each other.

Saudi Arabia designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in March 2014. The group was included in a list of groups deemed as terrorist by the Saudi government.

The list included al-Qaeda and its different branches in the Arab Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen. It also included the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, al-Nusra Front and Hezbollah in Saudi Arabia.

The list also included the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.