His Excellency the General President of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Sanad, stressed that deviation from the Muslim mainstream community and the lack of expertise in handling misconceptions and extremist beliefs are causes for sedition and dissension among the members of society. He pointed out that the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah emphasize the necessity of obeying those in authority in both favorable and unfavorable circumstances, and that people would not experience welfare, either in religious or worldly affairs, unless a ruler is appointed and followed.

His Highness delivered a lecture entitled, "The Necessity to Listen and Obey Those in Authority and Keep to the Mainstream Community". The lecture was delivered today, Thursday, 15 Rabi` Al-Thani, 1441 A.H., in King Abdulaziz Hall, Umm Al-Qura University, in the presence of His Excellency the President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah Bafail, a number of college vice deans, academic staff, and directors of the commission’s branches in Makkah.

Dr. Al-Sanad talked about the impact of listening and obeying rulers on promoting security and stability, and consolidating the principles of attachment and national cohesion. He urged the people to support the rulers and to reject extremist ideologies and parties, stressing the importance of obedience to the rulers and adherence to the mainstream community in achieving people's interests, preserving their rights, and helping them establish the laws of their religion. He warned of the danger of separation and differences as causes of dispersing the matters of Muslims and weakening their ranks.

He pointed out that our country is blessed with wise and rational leadership that adopts the approach of the Qur’an and Sunnah, establishes the principles of enjoining good and forbidding evil, suppresses religious innovations, disproves of superstitions, propagates the correct balanced methodology, and seeks to uphold the word of Islam and the unity of the Muslims.

After the lecture, His Excellency the General President of the Commission visited the exhibition entitled, "Arabic Language and Artificial Intelligence", which the university is currently organizing. He reviewed its most prominent technical and educational contents, and referred to the kingdom's efforts to consolidate the concepts of the Arabic language and spread it regionally and internationally.

The lecture comes as part of the program of cooperation between Umm Al-Qura University and the General Presidency for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, in the framework of the activities of the Intellectual Security Forum that aims to develop and strengthen attachment to the country and obedience to those in authority on the part of the members of the society, and protect the citizens from deviant ideas. The forum is sponsored by the Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prince of Makkah Region, His Royal Highness Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, under the title, "Affiliation and National Unity".

The forum aims to guard against and treat intellectual aberrations, promote social responsibility among individuals to preserve national cohesion, deepen loyalty and a sense of belonging to this blessed country and its rulers, and clarify the rights of the rulers, the obligation to obey them, and the importance of consulting the scholars and receiving knowledge from them.