Religious leader prays for Bush coma

Baghdad: The leader of one of Baghdad's largest Sunni mosques prayed that God strike US President George W. Bush down with the same fate that befell former Israeli president Ariel Sharon.

"Lord, make the fate of the criminal Bush like the fate of the criminal Sharon, make him suffer in this world before the next," Shaikh Mahmoud Essawi said during Friday prayers at the Abdul Qader Al Kilani mosque, referring to the coma that Sharon slipped into after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage on January 4.

"Oh Lord, visit suffering upon the American people and show them your power. Leave their children without parents, their women without husbands and let their blood flow the way the blood of the Iraqis has flowed. The forces of occupation are engaging in the wholesale killing of the Iraqi people while Iraqi officials watch and bicker amongst themselves seeking only personal gain," the religious Shaikh, who had tears running down his face throughout the sermon.

A wicked thing to say
By Nicholas Coates Associate Editor

Dubai: Shaikh Mahmoud Essawi's "prayer" is a disgrace to Islam. He should be condemned for it by all Muslims as he brings discredit to the religion. Whether one agrees with Bush or not, such remarks should not be said in a house of worship.

It is comments like this that cause many people in the West to fear Muslims.