TEXT OF FATWA ISSUED BY MUQTADA AL-SADR IN RESPONSE TO

UNCLAS HILLAH 000062 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KISL IZ SUBJECT: TEXT OF FATWA ISSUED BY MUQTADA AL-SADR IN RESPONSE TO EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK ¶1. (U) On April 11, Muqtada Al-Sadr issued a fatwa in response to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's comments questioning the loyalty of Iraqi Shi'a. ¶2. (U) Begin Text (translated by REO Hillah local staff): By the Name of God: Your Excellency the Leader of Islam and Muslims: Within this conflict that is lived by the sons of this injured country and within the latest events, and while many of the rioters increased attempts to spread rumors that divide the ethnicities of the country, and with the absence of voices that call for unity and to stop bloodshed on this sacred country. Iraqis are surprised by the latest statements of the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, in which he accused the sons of the Islamic Shi'a of loyalty to Iran and disloyalty to their country. As a son of this entity we would like you to give your opinion against this claim which came from a known political figure in the Arabic and international community. Group of the Islamic Shi'a April 11, 2006 Muqtada: By the name of God: "if we go back in Shi'a history we shall see Shi'a belief is the loyalty to the prophet Mohammed and his family, the source of the loyalty is in Medina first, and Najaf second. So we can then say the Shi'a in Iran are followers of Iraq since the Imam Ali lived in Kufa and is buried in Najaf. As Muslims, our loyalty is to Islam and as Arabs our loyalty is to the Arabs, but those such as the Egyptian president have no knowledge of these fields and they forget that relationships with any Islamic country is not shameful. Shameful and forbidden is the loyalty to the ominous trinity of America, the United Kingdom, and Israel, and partnership with Zionists and the American invaders. So I'm surprised to hear that some claim they are Arab. Does "Arab" mean your loyalty to this trinity? Many Sunni Arabs follow the scholars in Saudi and in Azhar (Cairo) but that does not mean they are loyal to these countries. The Shi'a religious center is in Najaf. I advise all Arabs, as a nation and as government that Iraq is in a difficult period that requires their support so that Iraq shall not be dragged into ethnic an civil wars. Such statements serve nobody except the enemy and ignite the civil war that Iraqis have moved away from due to their knowledge of the risks. So the son of Omar be assured that sons of Ali and Mahdi are your brothers in Islam and I shall always work to assure you from the Shi'a and their governance that we reject Iranaian influence and the Iranian-American negotiations to show evidence of Shi'a loyalty to their country. //Signed// Muqtada Al-Sadr END TEXT FONTENEAU