Iran says appeals for 'jihad' in Syria fuel radicalism

Calls by Sunni Muslim clerics for a holy war against the Syrian government and its Shiite allies are fuelling radicalism in the region, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, prominent cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi called for jihad in Syria after fighters from Shi'ite Lebanese group Hezbollah intervened to help President Bashar Assad. "There were steps and fatwas from clerics like Mr Qaradawi, these fatwas escalate and encourage apostasy and radicalism in the region," Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iranian Deputy Minister for Arab and Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Kuwait. (Reuters)