Insulting remarks by a Saudi Mufti about the most senior Iraqi religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Sistani, have strained re...
Insulting remarks by a Saudi Mufti about the most senior Iraqi religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Sistani, have strained relations between Baghdad and Riyadh. According to Press TV, in a Friday sermon in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, a leading Wahhabi Mufti, Mohammad al-Ureifi, insulted Ayatollah al-Sistani."
He also launched an attack on Iraqi Shias alleging them of conspiring with Yemen's Houthis against Saudi Arabia with Iran's support.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki strongly criticized the Saudi religious institutes after the cleric's remarks.
He said Saudi religious institutes had a tendency to launch attacks on Shia clerics due to their hostile attitude towards Shia Muslims.
Iraq's Parliament also condemned the remarks by calling on the Saudi government to take transparent position on the issue. In a statement, Iraqi lawmakers said the Saudi cleric had intended to create a rift among Muslims.
They called on the Saudi government to warn the Muftis against making provocative statements.
The Iraqi Parliament also called on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Association of Asian Parliaments and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to condemn the remarks. Read More
Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi in Iran in his Friday sermon said:
"Ayatollah Sistani is one of the pillars and pivots of Iraq's Shi'ites, and insulting Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini's photograph and [Iranian Supreme] Leader [Ali Khamenei] and Ayatollah Sistani stems from one trend."
We, the people of India also strongly condemn this statement of Al Ureifi and demand all brothers and sisters to protest against it.
