“O my dear people of Iraq! O you great ummah, in this difficult and turbulent moment and this juncture of your struggle, I would like to address all groups and sects, Arabs and Kurds alike, Sunni and Shi’a alike, because the calamity that has been inflected upon us knows no sectarian or ethnic divide; the calamity is universal. Therefore, a fighting stance, heroic retaliation and cohesion should be the living reality of all the Iraqi people. From position of responsibility in this ummah, I have spread no effort to sacrifice my well-being for the sake of the Shi’a and the Sunni in equal measure, as well as for the sake of Arab and Kurd equally. This stems from my belief in defending the message that unites them all and he faith that unites them all. I have lived my existence for nothing other than Islam, which is the road to salvation and the goal of all. I am with you, O my Sunni brother and son, just as much I am with you, O my Shi’a brother and son! I am with you both in the same measure you are with Islam, and in just as much as you bear this great flame to salvage Iraq and rid it of the nightmare of oppression, subservience and persecution. The despotic regime and its followers try to suggest to our noble Sunni sons that it is a matter of Shi’a and Sunni, so as to separate Sunni from their real struggle against the common enemy. I want to say to you, O sons of ‘Ali and Hussain and sons of Abu Bakr and Umar! The fight is not between Shi’a and Sunni rule.”

 - Shaheed Sayyid Muhammed Baqir As-Sadr