In his Friday sermon, Sayyed Sadruldin Al-Qabanchi, imam of the Najaf mosque and a leader in the Supreme Islamic Council, welcomed the U.S.-Iran negotiations but called on Iraq's neighbors to do their utmost to put an end to terrorism in Iraq.
He said that if Iraq's neighbors wanted the U.S. to withdraw, they must stop terrorism. By his account, 4,000 terrorists from Syria and Saudi Arabia have been killed in Iraq.
Al-Qabanchi called on Saudi Arabia to put an end to the fatwas issued by the country's religious establishment calling for the destruction of the Dome of Ali in Najaf [Imam Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, is the most significant figure in Shi'ite Islam]. He characterized the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia as Wahhabist, terrorist and takfiriya (accusing other Muslims of apostasy).
Source: MEMRI's Baghdad office, July 27, 2007
