RIYADH - The US-based SITE reported that Yemen-based branch of Al-Qaeda has slammed Saudi King Abdullah for launching the kingdom's first mixed public university.
"The father of the daughter or the brother of the sister or the husband of the wife, how can they accept that these (women enroll) in this university," said Ibrahim al-Rubaish, a Saudi member of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), according to a transcript issued late on Tuesday by SITE, a US-based monitoring group.
In a direct attack on the Saudi monarchy, Rubaish blamed King Abdullah, saying he is moving the country toward "secularism".
"If he is not able to distinguish between good and evil and what is good and harmful, then how can he be put as the ruler over millions of people?"
"I call upon every Muslim to (distance themselves) from this agent apostate government, that has clearly demonstrated that it prefers infidelity to faith," Rubaish said.
Rubaish's statement came in a 17 minute audio message posted to internet forums on November 1, SITE added.
On September 23 Abdullah presided over the launch of the new research-focused science university on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah, whose student and faculty body mixes men and women from all over the world.
Saudi officials played down the issue.
Saudi soldier killed in Yemen border clashes