A senior Sunni Muslim cleric urged Iraqis yesterday to reject the US presence in their country and likened it to the "tyranny" of Saddam Hussein.Sheikh Moayyad Ibrahim al-Aadhami also told scores of worshippers at the Abi Hanifah Nouman mosque in Baghdad that Sunni and Shia Muslims should shun sectarian divisions and live in harmony.
Although the sheikh's sermon was milder than the fiery, anti-US rhetoric of some previous homilies, his words reflected the anger many Iraqis feel at what they regard as the US occupation of their country.
"Let's say No to America, No to the occupation. We won't replace one tyrant with another," Sheikh al-Aadhami said to mark Friday prayers.
"We want a people that enjoys security . . . We want a Muslim people, that has equal rights and duties, that groups Arabs, Kurds and other minorities. We want a people not split by sectarianism, with Sunni and Shia standing hand in hand."
Shia Muslims make up 60 per cent of Iraq's population of about 26 million, but were repressed under Saddam, a Sunni Muslim. Some Sunnis fear the Shia will try to concentrate power in their own hands and dominate post-war Iraq.
Thousand of Iraqis, Sunni and Shia alike, have staged anti-US protests since the invasion, expressing the hope that the Americans will not force their will on the country.
A Reuters reporter said there was no sign of any major protests after the sermon, but anti-American sentiment was still running high among many Iraqis at the Abi Hanifah mosque.
"We don't want America. We don't want its agents. Those were dogs barking from outside the border," said Mr Abdel Jabar Khalaf, referring to the members of US-backed Iraqi opposition groups who are now seeking a role in government.
"We all want to choose our own leaders democratically and through elections," said Mr Khalid Jamil, another worshipper.
Outside the mosque, which was bombed during the war, residents of the capital's Aadhamiya area had strung up banners reading: "Pull out the tanks, don't provoke the people."
Many Iraqis are bitter at the United States for failing to prevent the anarchy and looting that followed the bombing of Baghdad, where armed gangs still roam free and essential services remain patchy.
- (Reuters)