IRAQ: Many Iraqis tuned in to foreign radio stations yesterday for news of the UN Security Council's vote on a resolution warning Baghdad of "serious consequences" unless it disarmed, while official media ignored the vote.
The official Iraqi News Agency (INA) remained silent. Earlier in the day, however, preachers at Friday prayers in many mosques heard stern denunciations of the resolution. Some urged Muslims to rise up in a Jihad against the "infidels and crusaders", saying a war on Iraq would be a war on Islam.
"Bush, who are you, you little dwarf, to threaten (the prophet) Mohammad and the sons of Mohammad?" demanded Sheikh Bakr Abdelrazzak Samaraei at the Mother of All Battles mosque, before thousands of people.
"Who are you, perverts of the world? Who are you, sons of monkeys and pigs, to threaten the nation of Mohammad? Today ... the Jihad is a must for every Muslim. By God, we will defy you with our words and then our arms ... By God, we will defeat you and wipe you out," he added.
Ordinary people were a little more low-key.
"As soon as I was through with my iftar (fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan), I tuned in to Radio Monte Carlo to learn what was happening in the Security Council," said Mr Kamel Naim, a 37-year-old translator.
"I was very disappointed when I learned that the US draft was unanimously adopted even though it ... gives the United States the cover it has long sought to carry out an attack against Iraq," he said.
"Let's hope things go calmly and the Iraqi people are spared another American aggression," said retired civil servant Ali Hussein (55).
"Even if Iraq accepts the new resolution, the United States ... will find a thousand and one ways of using the inspectors to attack Iraq," predicted Ms Amal Mohammad, a 35-year-old housewife.
Many Iraqis went about their fast-breaking meal without unduly worrying about the vote in New York pending an official response to Resolution 1441.
But there was no holding back Sheikh Samaraei. He said the US had consistently provoked Muslim feelings by supporting Israel's occupation of Jerusalem, threatening Arabs and Muslims and deploying troops in the Arabian peninsula.
"We keep our promise to you God, we will fight them with all our weapons. We call you for the Jihad, the Jihad, the Jihad. Rise up you nation of the Koran, nation of Mohammad, nation of Muslims, to defend the sanctity of Mohammad."
He urged worshippers to rely on God "to confront the provocations of the infidels, the crusaders, the Jews, the Americans and the British who are defying God".