DUBAI -- A group of more than 200 prominent Muslims have accused the United States of leading a crusade against Islam and warned that an assault on Iraq could provoke revenge attacks against Western targets.

The 209 politicians, scholars and intellectuals -- mostly Muslim activists from pro-Western Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and Morocco -- urged their governments to oppose Washington's drive for a "regime change" -- Washington's euphemism for toppling President Saddam Hussein's government -- in Iraq.

They warned that chaos would ensue throughout the region.

"Any aggression against the (Muslim) nation...

will open the gates of jihad (holy war) and a legitimate resistance will repel the evil invading crusader and Zionist (Israeli) forces," they said in a joint statement faxed to Reuters late on Wednesday.

"By insisting on using force against Iraq, the American administration is reminding the region of the crusades and the era of colonialism," they added.

Nearly three-quarters of the signatories listed in the statement are from Saudi Arabia, Washington's key ally in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. They include Muslim scholars, judges, university professors and columnists at Saudi newspapers.

Other prominent signatories include Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a widely respected Egyptian cleric based in Qatar, former Sudanese president Abdel Rahman Swaredahab and Islamist parliamentarians from Morocco and Yemen.

"The dangers of American intervention not only threaten countries in the region but also their mere existence and push the region towards chaos and collapse," the statement said.

The six-page statement made no mention of Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network, blamed by the United States for last year's September attacks and a string of other bombings against U.S. and Western interest.

U.S. President George W. Bush has tried to reach out to Muslims following his remark last year that Washington's declared war on terrorism was a crusade -- a term that carries immense emotive connotations for Arabs and Muslims.

It recalls Medieval Christian Europe's attacks against a Muslim-dominated Middle East.

On Wednesday Bush warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that his days would be numbered if he carried on denying having weapons of mass destruction.

But the Islamists' statement said Washington had other motives for its campaign to rid Iraq of doomsday weapons.

The United States wants to "wipe out the Islamic identity, spread the American culture in the region, control its oil wealth and cover up for its failure in Afghanistan," they said.

"It wants to plunge the region into turmoil, prevent development and protect Israel and ensure its superiority," they added.