Shafaq News / Iraq’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nazim apologized on Saturday for his request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take care of the Iraqi poet Saadi Yusuf.

"The letter that I sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling to take care of the Iraqi poet Saadi Yusuf was based on a human dimension established by Islam in the Holy Qur’an, and Prophet of Mercy Muhammad (PBUH) in his speeches and behavior, which are Islamic principles that I believe in my personal and professional life." Nazim said in a statement.

The Minister of Culture added; my aim was to show empathy for an Iraqi poet.

"As an official in the state, i believe that the sacred values ​​and people's feelings are always taken into consideration more than anything else. Therefore, I apologize to everyone who felt pain in their national, religious and human conscience."

Earlier, The Minister of Culture sent an official letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying it is the Ministry's duty to supporting artists and authors and demanding from the Ministry to instruct the Iraqi Ambassador to London to communicate with Yusuf’s family who lived in Britain, and visit the Poet to check his health on behalf of the Minister of foreign affairs.

The letter was condemned by many Iraqi leaders and politicians, because Saadi Yusuf “desecrated Prophet Muhammad and the clerics in his writings." as they said.