BAGHDAD: The Egyptian president s claim that Shiite Muslims in Iraq and the Middle East are more loyal to Iran than their own countries serve only the enemy, Iraq s radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr said Wednesday.
Such remarks serve only the enemy, and try to ignite civil and sectarian war, Al-Sadr said in a written statement issued from the holy Shiite city of Najaf. The cleric defended the loyalty Iraqi Shiites feel to their own country.
As Muslims, our loyalty is to Islam, he said. Our rejection of Iranian interference (in Iraqi affairs) … is proof that the Shiites loyalty is to their country and religion.
During an interview with the Al-Arabiya news channel aired Saturday, President Hosni Mubarak said Shiites in Iraq and across the Middle East are more loyal to Iran than to their own countries. He also said that civil war has almost started in Iraq.
The Iraqi government boycotted a Wednesday meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss Iraq. The country s cabinet called on Egypt to reconsider its position in a statement issued Wednesday. AP
