The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia called on Friday for military conscription for Saudi citizens, Anadolu has reported. “We must prepare our youth through conscription in order to be ready to carry out the missions needed from them,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh during the Friday sermon in Turki Mosque in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“This measure is very important to our youths and makes the country ready to face any threat,” he added. “There is a need to remain ready all the time. Readiness at the time of crises is not useful. We need our youths to be trained for all kinds of missions.”
Military service has not been compulsory in the Gulf States, where the armed forces have traditionally been built upon volunteer recruits who serve on a full-time basis. Last August, Prince Mit’eb Bin Abdul-Aziz, the National Guard Minister, denied that Saudi was planning to impose conscription for its citizens, noting that there was enough voluntary recruitment.
On Tuesday, however, the Kuwaiti parliament approved the National Military Service Bill (compulsory recruitment). It will come into effect in two years’ time. The UAE introduced conscription on 30 August last year, four months after it was also introduced in Qatar.
The Gulf States are extremely nervous about the expansion of Iran in the Arab region, and the rise of Shia militias across the Middle East.