Top Shiite figure: “Sunni and Shiite conflict serves interests of US and Israel”

In the interview with “ Echourok” Ayet Allah Mohammed Hocine Fadh Allah dwells on the simmering conflict between the Sunni and Shiite communities as well as the Palestinian cause and the volatile political scene in Lebanon.

• Q: Do you still believe that the attempts to bridge the gap between the Sunnis and Shiites are beneficial?
• A: There are many attempts to close the gap between the two trends, some mediations played a major role in a recent past like the initiative that took place in Cairo, the same way with the attempt initiated in Teheran and there are other initiatives elsewhere. But the problem lies in the fact that this rapprochement is based on political arguments rather than ideological ones.
• Q: There is also a large campaign to spread the Shiite ideology in some Sunni countries especially in the Maghreb, don’t you think that this would deepen the crisis between the Sunni and Shiite trends?
• A: The question you have raised earlier has been amplified by the media in order to serve the interests of some political parties here and there amid huge tensions between the religious trends in the Islamic world. It is aimed to divert the Muslims’ interest concerning the major issues.
• Q: How do you evaluate the different political initiatives that intervened to tackle the Palestinian cause?
• A: Actually there is a complete Arab disengagement from the Palestinian cause, since most of them considers this question a burden rather than a cause and seize the least opportunities to give concessions until the almost complete loss of the cause… The problem is that the Islamic world is divided into categories and the Arabs didn’t reach a consensus concerning this question. Moreover, The United States which moves according to the Israeli agenda is acting in disfavour of the Arab and Islamic nations in a move to make them yield to the Zionist will.
• Q: Do you consider the Palestinian Islamic Movement an alternative to the Palestinian liberation Movement or its ally?
• A: The Palestinians have no other choice than to move in the direction of the national and Islamic unity and come back to the Islamic and Arab principles in order to reach their independence especially that negotiations didn’t bring anything for the Palestinians.
• Q: What did the Iranian revolution bring to the Arabs and Muslims and do you think that the internal conflicts can undermine the Islamic model in Iran?
• A: The Islamic revolution led by the Imam Khomeini ( may he rest in peace) brought back on track the Islamic religion to the political scene, Khomeini wanted to make of Iran an Islamic  model to follow based on the Islamic principles in one hand and modernity in the other hand.
• The Islamic revolution supported the Lebanese and Palestinian cause and paved the way for a genuine cooperation with the Arab and Islamic world. But Al Khommeini wanted to establish an Islamic unity and urged for pushing the Muslims to focus on their major causes rather than squander their efforts in minor problems.