Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most revered Shia cleric in Iraq, yesterday warned that sectarian conflict could destroy the country as deadly tit-for-tat attacks continued to plague the capital.
"I call on all Iraqis of every sectarian and ethnic community to realise the magnitude of the danger threatening the future of the country and to unite and forsake hatred and violence," Sistani said in a statement. "Replace it with love and peaceful dialogue to resolve our conflicts."
Sistani, who commands immense respect across the country, said "the enemy" had sparked civil strife between followers of the rival Shia and Sunni Islamic traditions when they blew up a Shia shrine in Samarra in February.
"I also exhort all the intellectuals, religious leaders, politicians, tribal chiefs and others to exert maximum efforts to end the bloody cycle of violence," Sistani added.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=98380&version=1&template_id=42&parent_id=18
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