Some celebrated Saddam Hussein’s death sentence as justice deserved or even divine but denounced by others as a political ploy before critical American midterm congressional elections.

Worldwide, the range of reactions — including a European outcry over capital punishment and doubts about the fairness of the tribunal that ordered Saddam to hang — reflected new geopolitical fault lines drawn after America’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 and depose its dictator.

The European Union welcomed the verdict but said Saddam should not be put to death. At the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues, called the sentence a throwback to “eye for an eye” vengeance.

“This is not the way to present the new Iraq to the world, which is different from Saddam, who was behind hundreds of thousands of deaths as well as death penalty sentences,” an Italian organization working to rid the world of capital punishment, Hands Off Cain, said.

Islamic leaders warned that executing Saddam could inflame those who revile America, undermining President Bush’s policy in the Middle East and inspiring terrorists.

“The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans,” Vitaya Wisethrat said. Mr. Wisethrat is a respected Islamic cleric in Thailand, which has its own Islamic insurgency in the country’s South

“The Saddam case is not a Muslim problem but the problem of America and its domestic politics,” he said. “Maybe Bush will use this case to tell the voters that Saddam is dead and that the Americans are safe. But actually the American people will be in more danger with the death of Saddam.”