Friday, October 20, 2006
Makkah Document in final stages
Religion, Politics, Security, Region
It is being billed as the first serious and tangible step by the Muslim world to halt the growing bloodshed in Iraq between Shiites and Sunnis. Nearly 50 Iraqi scholars from both communities were busy yesterday fine-tuning a document that essentially calls for ending the fratricidal carnage in Iraq. Their names were, however, not revealed to the media.
General principles about avoiding inter-Muslim violence, which are the subject of agreement among all sects without exception, have been collated in a document known as the Makkah Document. The meeting tonight at the royal palace in Makkah that overlooks the Holy Kaaba is being held under the auspices of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Expectations in the Muslim street are high but analysts doubt if the accord will have any positive impact.
General principles about avoiding inter-Muslim violence, which are the subject of agreement among all sects without exception, have been collated in a document known as the Makkah Document. The meeting tonight at the royal palace in Makkah that overlooks the Holy Kaaba is being held under the auspices of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Expectations in the Muslim street are high but analysts doubt if the accord will have any positive impact.
The document has received full approval and endorsement from Iraq’s key leadership, most notably from Shiite leader Ali Al-Sistani, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and militant leader Moqtada Sadr. Mahdi Fathallah, the director of OIC’s political affairs, at a press conference yesterday said the Makkah Document would form the core of Friday sermons throughout the Muslim world. Fathallah’s optimism was, however, not shared by political analysts who say the problem of sectarianism is a direct result of the American occupation of Iraq.
