Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Husain

*Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Fadlallah of Lebanon has complained about Muslims engaging in violence, saying that they are aping Marxists in so doing rather than sticking to Islamic principles. Daily Star quotes him as calling on the “educated elite to lead the way in safeguarding Islam’s intellectual heritage in the most dangerous period for the Islamic world,” adding that “we should plan to achieve an end that aspires to Muslims and the teachings of Islam and not to Western and other foreign ideals, even if takes us 50 years.” He urged adherence to the “wise” and “moderate” teachings of the Koran. Fadlallah is said to have special influence with the Iraqi al-Da`wa Party.

*Shiite prayer leader Kadhim al-`Ibadi in East Baghdad said in his Friday sermon that the sole beneficiaries of the UN Security Council decision to lift sanctions on Iraq were the US and Britain. He also said he protested in the strongest possible terms the recent announcement by ORHA head Paul Bremer that the formation of an Iraqi transitional government had been postponed, terming this an “extension of American rule.” His al-Muhsin Mosque is attended by thousands.