The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, addressed in a letter, the Pakistani Sunnis and Shiites reminding both parties that they do not represent a problem for one another, and that their real problem is the American arrogance and the Zionist Terrorism.

In his letter H.E. said:

Dear brothers and loved ones of the Shiite and Sunni Muslims in Pakistan.

We have been following the sufferings you are living as a result of the difficult conditions you are passing through, whether that of economic hardship of poverty and deprivation, the political chaos that has led to additional conflicts or the barbaric bombings that serve in one way or another the American project of spreading chaos in the Muslim world aiming at serving US strategic interests and driving Muslim and Arab countries to take part in what it calls a war on terrorism.

The letters we received conveying the details of what happened in the Parachinar region have made us deeply concerned, especially that the regrettable clashes have led to the death of about 3000 Sunni and Shiite victims, creating an additional deterioration in the relations between the two sects, and enabling international powers to continue their efforts to spread strife into new areas in the country, and lead Muslims to kill brother Muslims in cold blood, angering God and pleasing the enemies of the nation, especially the international arrogance and the Zionists.

We call on our brothers in Pakistan, especially in the provinces where the unrest continues to abide by the Islamic rules of dealing with fellow Muslims. The blood, honour and wealth of Muslims are Haram (impressible to violate).

We also call on them to be committed to Islamic unity. The Sunnis are not the problem of the Shiites and the Shiites are not the problem of the Sunnis.

It is the American arrogance and the Zionist terrorism that are the problem of both parties, and the ones who stand to benefit from the internal fights and destruction in our countries, especially what has been happening in Pakistan following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Faced by what is happening in Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world of turmoil and arrogant attempts to incite strife, we call on the Sunni and Shiite religious scholars to unite and confront all kinds of Takfir or offending the Prophet’s companions, and unify their ranks in confronting the American policies that seek to destroy Islam in its entirety.

As we prepare to receive the month of Muharram and the Hijra year and Ashoura, we want these Islamic occasions to become opportunities to solidify Islamic unity and not incite further discord. We want the Muslims to live their Islam by solidifying the unity of Muslims. Let the occasion of the anniversary of Hijra turn into an occasion for solidifying their efforts, for the good of Islam. And let Ashoura be a movement in confronting the injustice imposed on the nation, both from inside and outside. Let us all unite in defending the causes of the nation with the cause of Palestine in the forefront…