DUBAI - A top Saudi cleric Monday warned of waves of conversion to Shiism by Sunni Muslims, motivated by the strong showing by Shiite Hezbollah militants against Israel and the situation in Iraq.
"Due to the political presence of Shiite groups in Iraq and after the confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, many Sunnis have developed a kind of allegiance to Shiism," Sunni cleric Salman al-Udeh told Al-Jazeera news channel.
"This allegiance turns in many cases into a fertile soil to be exploited ... through being tempted by money or employment, to encourage some people to convert from the Sunni faith to the Shiite faith," he told the Doha-based television.
The ultra-orthodox Sunni cleric also lashed out at Iran accusing it of aiding its co-religionist Shiites in neighbouring Iraq.
"Iran has flagrantly dipped its hand in Iraq's affairs. There are documents and evidence to prove so," he claimed.
"Huge amounts of money are being pumped, accompanied by a very strong presence of (Iranian) intelligence, apart from the moral impact on the Shiite groups in Iraq," he added.
"This has resulted in a big change in the power balance and encouraged what is known as (Shiite) death squads to practice an ethnic cleansing," against Sunni Arabs, he said.
Saudi Arabia is dominated by the ultra-conservative Sunni doctrine of Wahabism -- many of its followers describe Shiite Muslims as rejectionists.
Shiites represent some 10 percent of the population of the desert kingdom, and have a varying presence in other Gulf and Arab countries.
But the popularity of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah has rocketed in the predominantly Sunni Arab and Muslim world after its July showdown with Israel, in which many Muslims saw a victory against the mighty Jewish army.
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