Muslim states form coalition against terrorism

riyad - The great danger of terrorism is not only that the innocent die, but also the destruction of the reputation of Islam as a religion. That is what the Saudi Crown Prince Salman said on Sunday in Riyadh, the capital of his country.

Mohammed bin Salman spoke at the first meeting of a new coalition of Muslim countries that will fight international terrorism. The Islamic Military Anti-Terror Coalition (IMA) consists of 41 member states.

The opening meeting took place two days after the bloody attack by terrorists on visitors to a mosque in Egypt, causing at least 305 people to die and dozens of others were injured. Salman called the attack 'a painful incident that reminds us in a penetrating way of the danger of radical extremism'.

The formation of the alliance against terrorism was announced two years ago. The great absentee is the predominantly Shiite Iran, a powerful competitor of Saudi Arabia in the region.