[Al Arabiya Latest] The new U.S. administration has deluded Arabs and Muslims into believing it would chart a course away from the policies of the Bush era, one of the leading religious authorities in Shi'ite Islam said.Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who spoke earlier this year of the "sincerity" of U.S. President Barack Obama's message to the Muslim world, criticized U.S. policies across the Middle East and in Afghanistan and urged Arabs and Muslims to forget the U.S. president's "foggy" words. "It appears that the American administration, which deluded Arabs and Muslims into believing it would tread a path different to that of the previous administration...has begun, bit by bit, to reveal its true face," Fadlallah said.
" The American president's speech, in Turkey or Cairo, is behind us "Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed HusseinFadlallah |
Fadlallah accused the United States of involvement in events in Iran after its disputed presidential election, adding that it aimed "to bring about a deep fracture in the Islamic Republic," where the disputed vote triggered mass protests. Fadlallah said the region had entered a new phase after events in Iran.
He also spoke of U.S. "interference" in Lebanon during and after its June election, and "negative American movement" in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Fadlallah said the U.S. administration was attempting "to show the face of America the warrior."
On the Palestinian issue, Fadlallah, who is from south Lebanon, spoke of "complete collusion" with Israel.