ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack on a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where diplomats and expatriates were gathered to commemorate the First World War fallen. In response to the attack, which injured three, the multireligious Board of KAICIID issued the following statement:

“The Board of KAICIID condemns any attack on a sacred site and rejects categorically any attempt by extremist groups to legitimise acts of violence through religion.  Our thoughts are with the injured and their loved ones.

“All sacred sites offer an opportunity for peaceful prayer and reflection.  Any attack on such a site is nothing more than an act of extreme cowardice and criminality.  All faiths recognise at their core the call to peace, mutual respect and dialogue.

“We note with concern heightened levels of violence across the region as well as in Europe attributed to this group and call on all to resist the temptation to give way to cultural and religious polarisation that is so obviously its chief aim.”