Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian Shura Council member Muhammad Farid Zakaria, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 5, 2007.

Muhammad Farid Zakaria: Let me begin by saluting the absent, yet present, president Saddam Hussein. I salute the absent-present martyr Saddam Hussein, the hero of the Arab nation. The hero of the Arab nation. The hero of the Arab nation in his life and in his martyrdom – Saddam Hussein. By Allah, people, I sense that Saddam's soul is in our midst. I sense that Saddam's soul is in our midst. It says to you: "I have been faithful to [the values], and have given you the message. What will you do with it?" I sense that the soul of Saddam is being married off [in Paradise] by the souls of the heroes of Al-Qadisiyya, by the souls of the heroes of Al-Faw, by the souls of the heroes of Bahr Al-Baqr, by the souls of the heroes of Palestine, by the souls of the heroes of Qana, by our martyrs in Sinai, the martyrs of Egypt, who fought for freedom, the martyrs of Abd Al-Nasser, who were martyred for the sake of the Arab nation. Brothers and sisters, I have been meeting with President Saddam since 1984. I met him before the war, and even earlier. The last words of President Saddam were... I said to him: Mr. President, I fear for the Iraqi people because of the cowardly American technology. He said to me: Reassure my people in Egypt, and say to them: The world will forget America's war with Vietnam, but will remember Iraq's victory over America.