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Iraqi Shiites Welcome Sunni Unity Overture
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Madrasi urged all Iraqis to join forces to rebuild a close-knit Iraq.
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By
Mazen Ghazi, IOL Correspondent
BAGHDAD,
May 2, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Leading Shiite figures have welcomed
an initiative put forward by a prominent Sunni scholar to foster
national unity and head off looming sectarian strife.
“The
Al-Sadr group absolutely supports this initiative as should every
Iraqi keen on sparing the bloodshed of his fellow citizens,” Jalil
Al-Nouri, a senior member of the influential Shiite group, told
IslamOnline.net.
He
praised the Sunni initiative as “reasonable” and “timely”.
Al-Nouri
said he was sure that attacks against mosques and religious sites in
Iraq are perpetrated by people who are Muslims only by name.
“They
forgot that the extrajudicial killing of a fellow Muslim is a major
sin under Islam,” he stressed.
He
called for putting the Sunni initiative into effect to thwart attempts
to destabilize the country and plan the seeds of sectarian sedition.
Chairman
of the Sunni Waqfs Adnan Al-Delimi on April 26 called for holding a
general convention bringing together Iraqis representing the
country’s religious and ethnic rainbow to nip any sectarian strife
in the bud.
“It
is high time we held such a congress to steer clear of any bloodshed,
close our ranks and enhance an atmosphere of fraternity and national
reconciliation,” he said.
Responsible
Ali
Kazem Al-Addad, a member of the shura council of the Supreme Council
for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), said bloodshed makes more
pressing the need for such an overture.
“This
call was motivated by a high sense of responsibility toward the people
of Iraq and it is the duty of scholars and dignitaries to safeguard
the lives of innocent Iraqis,” he told IOL.
Al-Addad
agreed that the success of the Sunni initiative counts on action.
“The
parties concerned should spare no efforts in mobilizing the people to
maintain national security,” he maintained.
Ayatollah
Mohammad Taqi Al-Madrasi, the Shiite authority in the southern holy
city of Karbala, was among the first to staunchly back the proposed
Sunni initiative.
Madrasi
urged, in a statement released on Saturday, April 30, all Iraqis to
join forces to rebuild a close-knit Iraq.
He
asked the new Iraqi government of Ibrhaim Al-Jaafari, a Shiite, to
face up to its responsibilities and prove democratic and non-partisan.
Mainly
Shiite and Kurdish Iraqi police and army forces have been a target of
frequent attacks since reformation under the US-led occupation.
Just
on April 20, the bodies of 19 Iraqi soldiers were found piled in a
soccer stadium in western Iraq.
In
a stark warning, An-Najaf governor Assad Abu Kalal explicitly accused
Sunnis of being behind the killing of soldiers and guardsmen and the
attacks on Shiite mosques.
He
threatened that Shiites would not tolerate any more “Sunni”
aggressions and would hit back.
Iraqi
authorities last month alleged that Sunni militants were holding
hundreds of Shiites hostage in Al-Maden town, south of Baghdad,
a claim that proved fabricated
later and raised eyebrows.
A
cohort of 64 Sunni scholars issued on April 1 a fatwa urging Iraqis to
join the fledging army and police forces provided that enlistees do
not collaborate with US-led occupation forces against their
countrymen.
They
maintained that joining the army and police has become a necessity to
prevent them from falling into the hands of those who have caused
chaos, destruction and violated the sanctities.
Sunnis
further accuse the guardsmen of adopting an iron-fist approach and
carrying out unjustified raids in their towns.
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