Spiritual leaders of Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority have accused some Shias of launching a sectarian cleansing campaign in two holy cities.
| Shucks. Golly. That's even worse than blowing people up, almost... |
They also accused neighbouring Shia-dominated Iran of trying to fuel growing religious tensions in the country by reaching out to Moqtada Sadr, a powerful young cleric known for his virulent opposition to the US-led occupation. The Shias "have taken over the al-Hamza mosque, our only one in Najaf, and the Hassan bin Ali mosque, our only one in Karbala," a spokesman for the Council of Ulema (religious scholars), Sheikh Abdel Salam al-Kubeissi, said. "Emptying Najaf and Karbala of Sunni presence is a grave phenomenon akin to sectarian cleansing and (conducive to) the Balkanisation of Iraq," he said. He also accused Shias of taking control of 16 other Sunni mosques across the country, including a dozen in Baghdad. But Kubeissi said the Ulema Council had called for calm among its followers in the face of "provocations from some Shias."
| ... he said, his hand on the hilt of his scimitar... |
"We are being quiet, not because we are cowards, but because in the current situation it is necessary that we remain calm." But in a broadside at Iran, the Ulema Council also accused the supreme leader of the neighbouring Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, of pressuring Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr to cut ties with the Sunnis. "We had a minimum of coordination with Moqtada Sadr but he changed about 40 days ago after a meeting with Khamenei in Iran," Kubeissi said. "Iran has entered the Iraqi scene. It looks badly on meetings between Shias and Sunnis, a fraternisation between (Sunni) mosques and the Husseiniyeh," or Shia holy places, he said. |