memri
March 19, 2009 Special Dispatch No. 2275

Iran Friday Sermon: Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami Tells Saudi King to Rein In Extremist Wahhabis, Says Saudi FM Spoke of 'Iranian Provocation,' Condemns ICC Arrest Warrant Against Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Praises Tehran International Conference In Support Of Palestine

March 19, 2009
Iran | Special Dispatch No. 2275

Following are excerpts from today's sermon by TehranFriday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami. [1] To view the MEMRI TV page for Ahmad Khatami, visit: http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/380.htm

Saudi FM's Remarks "Provocative"; Saudis Must Turn Islamic World Against Israel, Not Iran

In his sermon, Ayatollah Khatami expressed regret over recent remarks by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal in which he spoke of the "Iranian provocation," [2] and called on Iran's Foreign Ministry to find a diplomatic solution to the issue.

He also condemned the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, saying that it attested to "instrumental use of international bodies."

Speaking to a crowd of worshipers at the Tehran University campus, Khatami said that Al-Faisal's remarks were provocative, and added that instead of calling for the mobilization of Islamic forces against Israel, Al-Faisal had called for an Islamic mobilization against Islamic Iran. He added that Al-Faisal had repeated the statements of Israeli officials, and that the sovereign Iran had always showed that it is an affectionate neighbor and seeks peace and tranquility for all its neighbors.

"The guy [i.e. the Saudi foreign minister] needs to note that Israel has chanted the slogan of Nile to Euphrates," he said. He continued, "The Saudi foreign minister recently made statements spreading hatred among brothers and turning the Islamic world against Iran, and I say to him that he must turn it against Israel... [Israel is] also likely to turn against Mecca and Madina."

He added, "[Do not] forget that Moshe Dayan once spoke of capturing Khaybar in Saudi Arabia."

Wahhabi Extremism in Saudi Arabia Detrimental to Islamic World

Khatami distinguished between extremist Wahhabis and the Sunni population in Saudi Arabia. Addressing Saudi King Abdallah, he said that extremism was detrimental not only to the Islamic world, but also to his own status, and urged him to stop the extremist conduct. He said that the rights of the 15% of the Saudi population that is Shi'ite have been ignored in Saudi Arabia, adding, "I ask the Saudi officials, why don't you allow the minority to perform their rites? Why do you restrict their rituals?"

Calling on Iran's Foreign Ministry to take a firm stance against the issue, he added that a Hajj pilgrimage which comes along with insult and humiliation would betray the reputation of the noble Iranian nation.

Sudan Guilty Only of Standing Against Colonialists; ICC Should Judge Israel, U.S. Crimes

Turning to the ICC's arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, he said, "Israelis committed crimes in Gaza for 22 days, killing hundreds of women and children; Americans commited crimes in the Guantanamo and Abu Ghuraib prisons and Afghanistan; they turned wedding caravans into bloodbath; the Hague did not make any comment on all those but issued arrest warrant against president of a country."

Khatami said that Sudan was guilty only of standing against the transgressions of colonialists, and added, "We say that the [International Criminal] Court and the judiciary apparatuses have the right to judge [the heads of the Zionist regime] and to execute them because they are seditious on the land and are fighting against God and the Prophet."

Khamenei Showed Iran is Centerpiece of Islamic World

Also in his sermon, Khatami welcomed the idea of "a vote for every Palestinian," saying: "The idea of 'Each Palestinian One Vote' will work to save Palestine from occupation." He hailed the guidelines set out by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the "Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine, The Model of Resistance, and Gaza, the Victim of War Crimes," [3] saying that he had shown that Iran is the centerpiece of the Islamic world and is passionately focusing on the world's oppressed. He said that Khamenei had "answered all doubts... and for the 60 years that Palestine has been occupied [by Israel], no proposal ever raised had any outcome, and the only way is for the Palestinian people to go to a referendum and decide its own destiny."

He added, "We cannot consider our and the Muslim world's destiny separate from each other - this is what our religion and our Constitution, that stems from religion, say."

Khatami noted that Iran, based on Islamic teachings, considers it a duty to support the oppressed, whether Lebanese, Iraqi, Palestinian, or even Saudi. He said, "Our support for the Palestinians is based on the Koran and the Hadith, and is not [merely] a slogan."

Endnotes:

[1] IRNA, IRIBnews (Iran), March 6, 2009

[2] See MEMRI Blog: "Senior Iranian Official: Saudi Statements Aren't Helping Arabs," March 5, 2009, http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/14377.htm ; "Saudi FM Calls For Dealing With Iranian Challenge," March 4, 2009, http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/14327.htm.

[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 2274, "Speeches by Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad at the International Conference in Tehran for Support of Palestine," March 6, 2009, Speeches by Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad at the International Conference in Tehran for Support of Palestine

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