Saudi cleric: US, Israel benefit from sacrilege of Islamic sanctities

A prominent Saudi cleric condemned the recent desecration of Islamic sanctities in Syria by the West-backed terrorists, and said such acts only serve the interests of the US and the Israeli regime in the region. \"Such acts are being carried out in line with the Zionist regime and the US\'s interests in the region to engage the Muslim world in intrinsic conflict and attain their expansionist and separatist goals in the region,\" Sheikh Ismae\'il al-Hafoufi told FNA on Sunday. He said that enemies are trying to stir conflicts in Syria, Iraq and the Persian Gulf littoral states to accelerate the disintegration process in them, loot them and engage their young people in internal disputes and conflicts. Hafoufi expressed regret over the silence of Islamic organizations on such sacrilegious acts, and said many of these organizations are dependent on foreigners and cannot show independent reaction. Wahhabi extremists damaged the mausoleum of a highly revered Shiite figure in Jordan on Saturday after desecrating the shrine of another Muslim figure in Syria a few days before. The Wahhabis attacked the mausoleum of Ja\'far al-Tayyar, a close companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the brother of Shiite Islam\'s first Imam, and torched his grave in Karak province in Southern Jordan today. The desecration of al-Tayyar\'s grave came only a few days after Wahhabi-backed Nusra Front attacked the mausoleum of Hojr ibn Oday in the Damascus suburb of Adra and exhumed his grave taking his remains to an unknown location. Hojr was a close companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and also a companion of Imam Ali (PBUH). The sacrilege of Islamic sanctities has aroused intense feelings in Muslim lands, specially in Shiite communities. In Yemen, leader of the Houthi Movement Seyed Abdelmalik Al-Houthi in a statement on Saturday condemned the desecration of Hojr\'s shrine. \"This action which has been done in line with the Zionists\' criminal plots seeks to increase religious intolerances,\" the leader of Yemen\'s Houthi Movement said. Al-Houthi described the desecration of Hojr as an immoral and inhumane action. The Nusra Front, affiliated to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, has taken up the responsibility for the desecration of Oday\'s grave. In Iran, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a message condemned the sacrilege of Islam\'s religious sanctities. In his message, the speaker condemned \"the Syrian terrorists\' new crime of desecrating and exhuming the grave of Hojr ibn Oday\". Larijani called on the UN and UNESCO to take the necessary action to prevent the destruction of Muslims\' religious and cultural sites. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian also strongly condemned the desecration of the shrine of a prominent Shiite figure in Syria by Wahhabi extremists. Amir Abdollahian said that the perpetrators of such ugly acts are affiliated to the Zionist regime who have conducted similar attempts at holy Muslim sites in the occupied territories The Iranian deputy foreign minister warned the masterminds of such inhumane acts that they will receive a response that will make them sorry for what they have done. Also, large groups of Iranian seminary students and teachers staged protest gatherings in Tehran and Qom on Saturday to strongly condemn the Wahhabi extremists\' insult to Shiite Islam. Seminary students and teachers convened at the shrine of Hazrat Abdolazim Hassani in Southern Tehran on Saturday reading a message of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who condemned the sacrilegious act. The protesters also chanted slogans against the perpetrators and their Wahhabi supporters. They also issued a statement condemning the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) for conducting such shameful acts. In a similar move in Qom, the seminary students and teachers gathered in the city\'s Feyzieh seminary school today and condemned desecration of Hojr ibn Oday. They read the messages of Grand Ayatollahs Golpayegani and Makarem Shirazi who condemned the desecration of Hojr ibn Oday\'s shrine. Reports from Iraq also said that similar moves had been done by Shiite seminaries in the holy city of Najaf. Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also condemned the desecration of the grave of Hojr by foreign-backed terrorists. In a statement issued by his office, Maliki described the attack as a \"mean act\" that targeted the unity among Muslims. Hojr was a staunch supporter of the first Shiite Imam Ali (PBUH) and led the army of Muslims to victory in several crucial battles. He and his sons finally fell victim to their loyalty to Imam Ali (PBUH) and were murdered at the order of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year 660 CE.