Al-Quds Al-Arabi
In 1998 he issued a fatwā against the United States, which was first published in "Al-Quds Al-Arabi", a London-based newspaper. It was entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places". Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest places in Islam. The reference to occupation in the fatwā referred to US forces based in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of controlling air space in Iraq, known as Operation Southern Watch.