RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Shiites have demanded the government to sack the first black imam of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani and try him for inciting hatred against their community.

In a live interview on the BBC Arabic Television in first week of this May, Sheikh Kalbani called Shiite Maraje and clerics "heretics" and insisted they were not entitled to join the Supreme Council of Ulema, the highest religious body in Saudi Arabia.

“There are Shiites in the kingdom, but it is a minority and they should not be included in the Supreme Council of Ulema,” stressed Al-Kalbani.

"Shiites themselves do not recognize the Supreme Council of Ulema and they have their own Marja'iyya (reference, the highest Shiite religious authority)."

The Supreme Council was extended last February to three other doctrines of Sunni Islam (Maliki, Hanafi, Chafii), whereas it was previously formed entirely of members of the Hanbali school known for its rigor. However, the Shiite community is not represented in the Council.

In recent months, some Shiites, speaking on Shiite websites, called for "the establishment of religious pluralism" and requested the entry of Shiite clerics to the Supreme Council.

His evil statements have angered religious Shiite dignitaries, writers and journalists, calling for his dismissal and trial.

Some even urged the Saudi government "to officially apologise to Shiites."

Sheikh Hassan As-Saffar, condemned these "takfiri sentiments" and asked Sheikh Kalbani to be present an "official apology" or be dismissed, while several other Shiite clerics called for his dismissal and trial.

Sheikh Abdel Karim Al-Hobayl accused Sheikh Kalbani of "religious terrorism" and demanded an official apology from the government, stressing that Sheikh Kalbani’s words were "a blow to all the initiatives of inter-religious dialogue" initiated by the King Abdullah.

Sheikh Hassan An-Nimr As-Saegh warned against "a possible implosion like what happened in some neighbouring countries or in many other Muslim countries,” with a particular reference to inter-community violence in Iraq.

More recently, some 160 Shiite personalities, including religious and intellectuals, urged the government in a communique to enact a law criminalizing "any religious hatred" in the kingdom while they made it known that "Sheikh Kalbani’s statements should not go unpunished."

Shiites writers claim shiites represent between 15% to 20% of the Saudi population which is estimated at 18 million.