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One of the highest-ranking Islamic scholars Mufti-e-Azam Saudi Arabia said in his Hajj address that suicide attacks are prohibited in Islam.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Sheikh emphasised in his sermon to some two million Muslims performing the day-of-Arafat obligations on Mount Arafat, a hill to the east of Mecca, that anyone who attempts or carries out a suicide attack will not be forgiven by God.

Saying that there was no link between Islam and terrorism, Mufti-e-Azam stressed Islam was a religion of peace, prosperity and brotherhood.

Islam teaches patience and tolerance and dismisses all kinds of violence in society, he said in the hajj sermon, adding that Muslims are obligated to do no harm to others on the basis of their caste, creed or religion.

He urged the pilgrims and all Muslims to come together as a single economic force and focus on improving science and technology to help overcome conflict and resolve the problems faced in the socio-economic arena of the Muslim world.

The Sheikh said that the Islamic system of governance was better than a fake democracy and that political problems can be solved through dialogue.

His comments provide a stark contrast to those of the Islamist militant leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, the head of the Taliban fighting the Afghan government.

Omar called for his followers to shun the peace process and infiltrate Afghan security forces so as to kill the foreign soldiers training and working with them.