Prayers said for Afghans in holy city

MEDINA, Saudi Arabia -- Prayers rang out for Afghans Friday at the main weekly service in Medina, Islam's second holiest city, and at other mosques across the Middle East.

Leading prayers at the Prophet's Mosque, Sheik Hussein al-Sheik implored God to "protect all the Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine." He repeated the call several times, and each time the crowd of worshippers echoed his words in a vast murmur, then chanted "amen."

The prayers followed a sermon in which no direct mention was made of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States and the U.S. retaliatory air strikes on Afghanistan that began Sunday. During his sermon, al-Sheik called on Muslims to strengthen their faith.

Friday prayers are a rare opportunity in this tightly controlled country for public expression, making the prayers for Afghans and Palestinians significant.

The mosque, which can hold 167,000, was full Friday, and thousands of others prayed in an adjacent courtyard.

The United States launched the attacks after Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the main suspect in the terror attacks.

Saudis, like other Arabs, are distrustful of the United States, which some accuse of unfairly siding with Israel in the Israeli-Arab conflict, seeking to control Arab wealth and governments, and harboring hatred of Islam.

Sermons and prayers across the Mideast on Friday had an anti-American tone in the wake of the strikes on Afghanistan. More than 20,000 people streamed through central Tehran following prayers in Iran's largest anti-Western demonstration since the U.S.-led attacks began.