WASHINGTON, Jan 22: Panicked by the daily reports of troop deployments in the Persian Gulf, major American Muslim groups have once again urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to step down and save the Middle East from yet another devastating war.

In an appeal distributed in Washington earlier this week, they also have urged the Bush administration not to attack Iraq and look for a negotiated settlement to the dispute.

“Saddam’s resignation would save the Iraqi people from further suffering and despair and clear the image of Islam, a religion incompatible with dictatorship,” says the American Muslim Political Coordination Council, an umbrella organization for four major US Islamic groups.

The council also reminded President Bush that a US-led war would destabilize the region, radicalize youth in Iraq and neighbouring countries, build support for Osama bin Laden, cause the loss of innocent Iraqi lives and endanger US troops “for no convincing reason.”

The United States is mobilizing tens of thousands of troops in the Persian Gulf to back up its threat to attack Iraq if Saddam does not disarm.

Omar Ahmed, board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said many Muslims are unconvinced that Hussein’s alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction or his egregious record on human rights is justification for war.

“There are a lot of bad leaders in the world and there are other countries with weapons of mass destruction,” Ahmed said. “Should we make a list of all of them and invade them?”

He also said many Muslims believe the Iraqi people themselves should make the decision about their leadership, not foreign outside forces.

Another Muslim activist, Faiz Rehman of the Washington-based American Muslim Council, said: “We want to avoid war at all costs, and since Saddam Hussein is mentioned as a prime motivation for war, we are asking him to step down.” At its annual convention last month, the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles urged Hussein to step down and Bush to call off war plans.

The unified statement represents the first time major American Muslim organizations have joined together to press for the removal of an Islamic head of state.