Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Association of Muslim Scholars urges al-Sadr to cancel Shia march
Politics, Religion, Security
(AP) - An influential Sunni clerical organization urged Shiite Muslims on Monday to cancel a march toward a destroyed shrine in an Iraqi central city, warning that such a move will further enflame sectarian hatred. The statement by the Association of Muslim Scholars was in response to a call by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for his followers to march July 5 to Samarra's Askariya shrine, which was bombed for a second time June 13.
Such a march by Shiites in predominantly Sunni area could lead to more sectarian violence between the two Muslim sects. Thousands of Sunnis and Shiites have been killed in sectarian killings in the past two years.
"We want you to be aware that this step in this current situation is not suitable and its risks are clear to everyone," the Sunni association said in the statement. "The goals behind this movement are very dangerous. There are some parties who want to make use of your feelings of love for these shrines to have their ambitions of tearing Iraq's unity and provoking a nonstop sectarian dispute among its people."
"The citizens of Samarra will consider this huge march in their city as an invasion on their areas, and the parts who pushed you might attack you as well, and the blame would be fall on Samarra's people," the statement said. "We appeal you to forsake this demonstration now for the sake of your country, your unity and Islam," The letter said.
An aide to al-Sadr, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that the cleric is insisting on the march despite efforts by the government to talk him out of it. The aide said thousands of gunmen will guard the demonstrators, who are expected to come from the predominantly Shiite south and Baghdad's eastern slum of Sadr City. He said that the government has sent al-Sadr intelligence reports warning that insurgents are planning attacks against the Shiite demonstrators.
July 5 is the Islamic calendar anniversary of the birth of the mother of Imam Hussein, a major Shiite saint. Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, is an area where al-Qaida is known to be active. The Askariya shrine is revered by Shiites even though the city is mostly Sunni.
Such a march by Shiites in predominantly Sunni area could lead to more sectarian violence between the two Muslim sects. Thousands of Sunnis and Shiites have been killed in sectarian killings in the past two years.
"We want you to be aware that this step in this current situation is not suitable and its risks are clear to everyone," the Sunni association said in the statement. "The goals behind this movement are very dangerous. There are some parties who want to make use of your feelings of love for these shrines to have their ambitions of tearing Iraq's unity and provoking a nonstop sectarian dispute among its people."
"The citizens of Samarra will consider this huge march in their city as an invasion on their areas, and the parts who pushed you might attack you as well, and the blame would be fall on Samarra's people," the statement said. "We appeal you to forsake this demonstration now for the sake of your country, your unity and Islam," The letter said.
An aide to al-Sadr, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that the cleric is insisting on the march despite efforts by the government to talk him out of it. The aide said thousands of gunmen will guard the demonstrators, who are expected to come from the predominantly Shiite south and Baghdad's eastern slum of Sadr City. He said that the government has sent al-Sadr intelligence reports warning that insurgents are planning attacks against the Shiite demonstrators.
July 5 is the Islamic calendar anniversary of the birth of the mother of Imam Hussein, a major Shiite saint. Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, is an area where al-Qaida is known to be active. The Askariya shrine is revered by Shiites even though the city is mostly Sunni.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Askariya shrine, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Muslim Scholars Association, Samarra
Friday, June 22, 2007
Al-Maliki condemns Al-Khalani mosque bombing, AMS blame the government
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) - Nuri al-Maliki's office issued a statement on June 20, strongly condemning the June 19 bombing of the Al-Khalani Mosque in Baghdad, which killed 78 people and wounded more than 220, international media reported the same day. "The bombing is yet another proof that takfiris [unbelievers] and Saddamists are insisting on fanning the flames of sectarian sedition and trivializing all values and sanctities," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association released a statement on its website the same day denouncing the attack and blaming the U.S.-led occupation and the Iraqi government. "While condemning this heinous act, the Muslim Scholars Association holds the occupation and the current government fully responsible for it. It also calls upon all Iraqis to thwart their enemies' schemes by demonstrating greater unity, solidarity, and brotherhood," the statement said.
Labels: Al-Khalani Mosque, Muslim Scholars Association, Nouri Al-Maliki
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Association of Muslim Scholars turns against Al Qaeda
Insurgency
(TIME) - Al-Qaeda has lost its most powerful friend in Iraq: Harith al-Dari, the country's most influential Sunni cleric and a prominent anti-American figure, has rejected al-Qaeda's vision of an Islamic state, telling TIME that Iraqis "will not accept such a system." In a sharp departure from his long-standing view of the terror group, al-Dari now says al-Qaeda has "gone too far." He also repudiates recent statements on Iraq by Osama bin Laden's deputy, saying: "Ayman al-Zawahiri doesn't represent Iraqis."
But al-Dari's change of heart on al-Qaeda is not necessarily good news for the Bush administration. The Sunni cleric remains an implacable foe of the U.S. occupation, and of the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He is dismissive of the "surge" in Baghdad, insisting that no solution to Iraq's problems is possible while American troops remain -- and rejects as "insincere and meaningless" al-Maliki's efforts to reach out to the Sunnis.
As leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the largest Sunni clerical body, al-Dari is the sect's most prominent figure in Iraq. Many U.S. military commanders and Iraqi government officials believe he is the spiritual head of the insurgency, and accuse his son Muthanna of personally commanding a deadly terror group known as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution (named after an anti-British uprising led by Harith al-Dari's grandfather). Both al-Daris deny direct connection with the Brigades, but say Sunni insurgent groups are part of a legitimate, nationalist resistance to occupation. He has given religious sanction to some of the insurgency's more controversial tactics, such as kidnapping and killing foreigners, citing precedents from Islamic history.
In the past, Harith al-Dari and other AMS figures have given at least tacit backing -- and occasionally open support -- to al-Qaeda, believing the terror group would help the Sunni insurgency achieve its goal of driving American forces from Iraq. But in recent months, many Sunni leaders have grown uncomfortable with al-Qaeda's indiscriminate bombing campaign, which targets Iraqi civilians more often than U.S. forces. Now, al-Dari says, insurgent groups "have changed their view of Al-Qaeda."
Al-Dari says the "harsh actions" -- suicide bombings and attacks on civilian targets -- of al-Qaeda's foreign fighters in Iraq are "unacceptable." He also accuses the group of trying to take over sole command of the fight against the Americans, pushing aside home-grown insurgent groups. But there may also be a personal reason for al-Dari's change of heart: his nephew, also known as Harith and a top commander of the Brigades, was murdered by al-Qaeda in March.
But al-Dari's change of heart on al-Qaeda is not necessarily good news for the Bush administration. The Sunni cleric remains an implacable foe of the U.S. occupation, and of the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He is dismissive of the "surge" in Baghdad, insisting that no solution to Iraq's problems is possible while American troops remain -- and rejects as "insincere and meaningless" al-Maliki's efforts to reach out to the Sunnis.
As leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the largest Sunni clerical body, al-Dari is the sect's most prominent figure in Iraq. Many U.S. military commanders and Iraqi government officials believe he is the spiritual head of the insurgency, and accuse his son Muthanna of personally commanding a deadly terror group known as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution (named after an anti-British uprising led by Harith al-Dari's grandfather). Both al-Daris deny direct connection with the Brigades, but say Sunni insurgent groups are part of a legitimate, nationalist resistance to occupation. He has given religious sanction to some of the insurgency's more controversial tactics, such as kidnapping and killing foreigners, citing precedents from Islamic history.
In the past, Harith al-Dari and other AMS figures have given at least tacit backing -- and occasionally open support -- to al-Qaeda, believing the terror group would help the Sunni insurgency achieve its goal of driving American forces from Iraq. But in recent months, many Sunni leaders have grown uncomfortable with al-Qaeda's indiscriminate bombing campaign, which targets Iraqi civilians more often than U.S. forces. Now, al-Dari says, insurgent groups "have changed their view of Al-Qaeda."
Al-Dari says the "harsh actions" -- suicide bombings and attacks on civilian targets -- of al-Qaeda's foreign fighters in Iraq are "unacceptable." He also accuses the group of trying to take over sole command of the fight against the Americans, pushing aside home-grown insurgent groups. But there may also be a personal reason for al-Dari's change of heart: his nephew, also known as Harith and a top commander of the Brigades, was murdered by al-Qaeda in March.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Harith al-Dari, Muslim Scholars Association, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Friday, May 11, 2007
Muslim Scholars Association condemns U.S. Samarra siege
Politics, Security
(RFE/RL) - The Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association issued a statement on its website on May 9 condemning the nearly weeklong siege of Samarra by U.S. forces and describing it as collective punishment. "These forces carried out raid-and-arrest campaigns against the sons of the city without leveling any charges against them," the statement said.
"While condemning these inhuman acts, the Muslim Scholars Association calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibility and stand in the face of the occupation forces and the current government." Samarra has been sealed off and under curfew since leaflets by the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq warning of attacks against the Iraqi military and police were distributed in the city. On May 6, a suicide car bomb struck a police station in Samarra, killing 12 police officers.
COMMENT: The Hayat Al-Ulama Al-Muslimin [Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS] is also known as the Ulema Council. Ulema is the community of legal scholars of Islam and the Sharia. The Muslim Ulema Council is the highest Sunni authority in Iraq. It has many activities on the political, social, economic, and religious levels. They as of yet have not joined the newly formed government and remain as opposition group due to the fact that they believe joining the process whilst iraq is under occupation is unjust. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Islamic State of Iraq, Muslim Scholars Association, Samarra, U.S. forces
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Sadr calls for talks with Sunnis opposed to Maliki's government
Politics
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Both Sunni and Shiite political factions are threatening to withdraw from the already weak government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a prospect that threatens the political accommodations needed to calm Iraq's sectarian warfare. Maliki supporters say the threats are nothing more than the bluster of negotiations and that the prime minister will be able to hold his fragile coalition together.
But Sunni politicians said Tuesday that they're serious about pulling out of parliament over what they say is Maliki's reluctance to share power. Maliki is a Shiite.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that loyalists of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also are considering breaking away from the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance in the legislature, a move that would rob that ruling political bloc of its slim majority. Sadr followers denied that, but they said the cleric has asked them to reach out to rival Sunni groups.
The threat to the Maliki government comes as sectarian violence appears to be on the rise. On five of the last seven days, the number of unidentified bodies found on Baghdad's streets has surpassed 25, a significant increase over previous weeks.
But dissent is coming not only from Sunnis. Sadr, too, was expressing dissatisfaction, which could threaten the government. At issue were Maliki's delay in replacing six Sadrists who walked out of his Cabinet last month to protest the arrests of fighters from Sadr's Mahdi Army and his refusal to set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw. Maliki still hasn't named replacements for the six ministers, though an aide said those nominations could come this week.
Now Sadr is calling for talks with Sunnis who are bitterly opposed to the Maliki government, including Harith al-Thari, the head of the Muslim Scholars Association. An aide to Maliki, speaking on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the topic, said even if Sadr were to withdraw from the United Iraqi Alliance coalition, giving it less than a majority, the prime minister could still triumph in parliament votes.
Kurdish members of parliament would stick with the prime minister on pivotal matters, and his fellow Shiites would be unlikely to bolt.
"The Sadrists would not leave," he said. "There is no other parliamentary bloc they would join." Still Sunni parliament members say the government is reaching a crisis. "It would be unfortunate if we gave Maliki an ultimatum and he either ignored it or was unable to commit to it," said Omar Abdul Sattar, a Sunni member of parliament and a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
But Sunni politicians said Tuesday that they're serious about pulling out of parliament over what they say is Maliki's reluctance to share power. Maliki is a Shiite.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that loyalists of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also are considering breaking away from the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance in the legislature, a move that would rob that ruling political bloc of its slim majority. Sadr followers denied that, but they said the cleric has asked them to reach out to rival Sunni groups.
The threat to the Maliki government comes as sectarian violence appears to be on the rise. On five of the last seven days, the number of unidentified bodies found on Baghdad's streets has surpassed 25, a significant increase over previous weeks.
But dissent is coming not only from Sunnis. Sadr, too, was expressing dissatisfaction, which could threaten the government. At issue were Maliki's delay in replacing six Sadrists who walked out of his Cabinet last month to protest the arrests of fighters from Sadr's Mahdi Army and his refusal to set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw. Maliki still hasn't named replacements for the six ministers, though an aide said those nominations could come this week.
Now Sadr is calling for talks with Sunnis who are bitterly opposed to the Maliki government, including Harith al-Thari, the head of the Muslim Scholars Association. An aide to Maliki, speaking on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the topic, said even if Sadr were to withdraw from the United Iraqi Alliance coalition, giving it less than a majority, the prime minister could still triumph in parliament votes.
Kurdish members of parliament would stick with the prime minister on pivotal matters, and his fellow Shiites would be unlikely to bolt.
"The Sadrists would not leave," he said. "There is no other parliamentary bloc they would join." Still Sunni parliament members say the government is reaching a crisis. "It would be unfortunate if we gave Maliki an ultimatum and he either ignored it or was unable to commit to it," said Omar Abdul Sattar, a Sunni member of parliament and a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Labels: government, Iraq, Iraqi Islamic Party, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Muslim Scholars Association, politics, United Iraqi Alliance
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Muslim Scholars Association blames Shiite death squads for deaths of Yazidis
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) - The Muslim Scholars Association issued a statement on its website on April 23 blaming Shi'ite death squads for the killing of 23 members of the Yazidi religious minority in Mosul on April 22. "While condemning this horrendous crime, the Muslim Scholars Association draws attention of all our sons in Iraq, and in the city of Mosul in particular, to the fact that these crimes were committed by the death squads that operate under the supervision of the occupiers and their agents, the militia leaders. The aim is to fuel religious and ethnic strife based on a plan specifically drawn up for this purpose," the statement said.
Local police officials said unknown gunmen stopped a bus carrying workers back from a textile factory near Mosul, separated the Yazidis from the others, and killed them execution-style on the side of the road. Yazidis are ethnic Kurds who practice a syncretistic pre-Islamic religion that worships an archangel figure named Malak Taus, often represented as a peacock. Some Muslims and Christians consider Malak Taus to be the devil. There are an estimated 500,000 Yazidis remaining in Iraq.
Labels: Mosul, Muslim Scholars Association, Shiite death squads, Yezidis
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Security forces wounded after fierce fighting in Sunni districts in Baghdad
Security
(Al Jazeera) - A fierce battle in central Baghdad on Tuesday left four Iraqi soldiers dead, 16 US soldiers wounded and a US helicopter damaged by ground fire. A US military spokesman said on Wednesday that 20 fighters were killed and 30 more wounded in the previous day's clashes in the Iraqi capital. The violence in central Baghdad on Tuesday shut down the Sunni-dominated Fadhil and Sheikh Omar neighbourhoods just after 7am local time, the US military said.
After American and Iraqi troops came under fire during a routine search operation, helicopter gunships swooped in, engaging Sunni fighters with machine gun fire. Some TV stations reported an American helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify.
The US issued a statement late on Tuesday saying an attack helicopter suffered damage from small arms fire but returned to base. A US spokesman said Wednesday that 12 of 15 wounded Americans had returned to duty, though the military initially said 16 soldiers were hurt. The Association of Muslim Scholars, a predominantly Sunni Arab group, issued a statement quoting witnesses as saying that the battle in central Baghdad began after Iraqi troops entered a mosque and executed two young men in front of other worshipers.
After American and Iraqi troops came under fire during a routine search operation, helicopter gunships swooped in, engaging Sunni fighters with machine gun fire. Some TV stations reported an American helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify.
The US issued a statement late on Tuesday saying an attack helicopter suffered damage from small arms fire but returned to base. A US spokesman said Wednesday that 12 of 15 wounded Americans had returned to duty, though the military initially said 16 soldiers were hurt. The Association of Muslim Scholars, a predominantly Sunni Arab group, issued a statement quoting witnesses as saying that the battle in central Baghdad began after Iraqi troops entered a mosque and executed two young men in front of other worshipers.
Ground forces used tear gas on civilians, it said. "The association condemns this horrible crime carried out by occupiers and the government," the statement said. But the witness in Fadhil said the two men were executed in an outdoor vegetable market, not in the mosque. The Iraqi military was not immediately available to comment on the claim.
COMMENT: The Hayat Al-Ulama Al-Muslimin [Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS] is also known as the Ulema Council. The Muslim Ulema Council is the highest Sunni authority in Iraq. Shaykh Dr Harith Sulayman al-Dari is its secretary general. The Council comprises several religious institutions that existed before the occupation of Iraq in April last year. It has many activities on the political, social, economic, and religious levels.
The Ulema Council had called for calm among its followers in the face of provocations from some Shias. They also accuse neighbouring Shia-dominated Iran of trying to fuel growing religious tensions in the country by reaching out to Moqtada al-Sadr. Sunni clerics in the Muslim Ulema Council became increasingly vocal and teamed up with some influential Shias to oppose the occupation. They as of yet have not joined the newly formed government and remain as opposition group due to the fact that they believe joining the process whilst iraq is under occupation is unjust. COMMENT ENDS.
The Ulema Council had called for calm among its followers in the face of provocations from some Shias. They also accuse neighbouring Shia-dominated Iran of trying to fuel growing religious tensions in the country by reaching out to Moqtada al-Sadr. Sunni clerics in the Muslim Ulema Council became increasingly vocal and teamed up with some influential Shias to oppose the occupation. They as of yet have not joined the newly formed government and remain as opposition group due to the fact that they believe joining the process whilst iraq is under occupation is unjust. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Baghdad, Fadhil, Muslim Scholars Association, Sheikh Omar
Friday, April 06, 2007
Leader of Muslim Scholars Association criticises security plan
Politics, Security
(KUNA) Muslim Scholars Association Secretary-General Sheikh Harith al-Dari on April 3, criticized the Baghdad security plan, saying it unfairly targets Iraqi civilians, KUNA reported on April 4. Speaking at the Egyptian Journalists' Association in Cairo, al-Dari said the security operation is displacing Iraqis and creating a state of siege, all under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
He claimed that the aim of the security plan is to kill and torture Iraqis who are opposed to the presence of foreign forces in Iraq. He went on to praise the resistance, stressing that it is "carrying out its role courageously in confronting the occupation forces." Al-Dari also described the current security crisis in Iraq as "discord between all sects," and said it will not develop into a full-scale civil war.
COMMENT: The Hayat Al-Ulama Al-Muslimin [Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS] is also known as the Ulema Council. Ulema is the community of legal scholars of Islam and the Sharia. The Ulema Council was created on 14 April 2003, five days after the fall of Saddam Hussein. It grouped all the country's Sunni ulema. The Muslim Ulema Council is the highest Sunni authority in Iraq. Shaykh Dr Harith Sulayman al-Dari is its secretary general. The Council comprises several religious institutions that existed before the occupation of Iraq in April last year. It has many activities on the political, social, economic, and religious levels.
The Ulema Council had called for calm among its followers in the face of provocations from some Shias. They also accuse neighbouring Shia-dominated Iran of trying to fuel growing religious tensions in the country by reaching out to Moqtada al-Sadr. Sunni clerics in the Muslim Ulema Council became increasingly vocal and teamed up with some influential Shias to oppose the occupation. The Muslim Scholars Association issued a statement in its weekly "Al-Basa'ir" urging Iraqi police and military forces not to partake in operations in support of U.S.-led multinational forces. They as of yet have not joined the newly formed government and remain as opposition group due to the fact that they believe joining the process whilst iraq is under occupation is unjust. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Muslim Scholars Association, Sheikh Harith al-Dari
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Leader of 1920 Revolution Brigades killed
Insurgency
(AP) - A military leader of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, a major Sunni Arab insurgent group, was killed Tuesday west of Baghdad, the group announced in an Internet statement. A local official confirmed the death of Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, saying he died when rocket-propelled grenades hit his car and an accompanying vehicle in the Abu Ghraib district. Two associates also died, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
The U.S. military, however, said al-Dhari was killed when two suicide car bombers targeted a house in the Abu Ghraib area. Three bodies were found by U.S. troops, it said. The district official also blamed the attack on al-The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government-backed opponents of al-Qaida and supporters of the terror group in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad. Government-backed tribal militias have been trying to chase al-Qaida fighters out of the vast province, and al-Qaida has responded with bomb attacks on leaders and key supporters of the tribes allied against them.
The 1920 Revolution Brigades has consistently been rumored to have taken part in talks with American and Iraqi officials, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents lay down their arms and join the political process.
Al-Dhari's father is the sheik of al-Zuba'a tribe in Abu Ghraib. Also a member of this tribe is Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was seriously wounded Friday when a suicide bomber blew up his vest of explosives at the prayer room of his Baghdad home. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Zubaie, which killed nine people.
In separate statements, al-Dhari was mourned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab party, and by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a radical Sunni group led by the slain leader's uncle, Harith al-Dhari.
Both groups have long been suspected of maintaining links to Sunni Arab insurgent groups. The Islamic Party, however, is widely viewed as a force of moderation within the Sunni Arab minority, which is deeply embittered by the loss of its domination under Saddam Hussein. The association, by contrast, has grown increasingly militant.
The U.S. military, however, said al-Dhari was killed when two suicide car bombers targeted a house in the Abu Ghraib area. Three bodies were found by U.S. troops, it said. The district official also blamed the attack on al-The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government-backed opponents of al-Qaida and supporters of the terror group in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad. Government-backed tribal militias have been trying to chase al-Qaida fighters out of the vast province, and al-Qaida has responded with bomb attacks on leaders and key supporters of the tribes allied against them.
The 1920 Revolution Brigades has consistently been rumored to have taken part in talks with American and Iraqi officials, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents lay down their arms and join the political process.
Al-Dhari's father is the sheik of al-Zuba'a tribe in Abu Ghraib. Also a member of this tribe is Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was seriously wounded Friday when a suicide bomber blew up his vest of explosives at the prayer room of his Baghdad home. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Zubaie, which killed nine people.
In separate statements, al-Dhari was mourned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab party, and by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a radical Sunni group led by the slain leader's uncle, Harith al-Dhari.
Both groups have long been suspected of maintaining links to Sunni Arab insurgent groups. The Islamic Party, however, is widely viewed as a force of moderation within the Sunni Arab minority, which is deeply embittered by the loss of its domination under Saddam Hussein. The association, by contrast, has grown increasingly militant.
Labels: Al Qaeda, al-Zobaie tribe, Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, Iraqi Islamic Party, Muslim Scholars Association, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Monday, March 26, 2007
Al-Anbar tribal coalition now counts 41 tribes
Tribal, Insurgency
(AP) - Not long ago it would have been unthinkable: a Sunni sheik allying himself publicly with American forces in a xenophobic city at the epicenter of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. Today, there is a change. Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi is leading a growing movement of Sunni tribesmen who have turned against al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Anbar province.
The dramatic shift in alliances may have done more in a few months to ease daily street battles and undercut the insurgency here than American forces have achieved in years with arms. The American commander responsible for Ramadi, Col. John W. Charlton, said the newly friendly sheiks, combined with an aggressive counterinsurgency strategy and the presence of thousands of new Sunni police on the streets, have helped cut attacks in the city by half in recent months.
Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers were killed by al-Qaeda assassins, said insurgents were "killing innocent people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction and we finally said, enough is enough." Al-Rishawi founded the Anbar Salvation Council in September with dozens of Sunni tribes. Many of the new newly friendly leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the insurgency in the past, though al-Rishawi said he never did.
His movement, also known as the Anbar Awakening, now counts 41 tribes or sub-tribes from Anbar, though al-Rishawi acknowledges that some groups in the province have yet to join. It's unclear how many that is, or much support the movement really has.
And there is opposition. In November, a top Sunni leader who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, described al-Rishawi's movement as "thieves and bandits." And for at least a year, U.S. forces have also witnessed sporadic firefights between Sunni militias and insurgents in Ramadi, reflecting the growing split among Sunnis. They used to describe such skirmishes as "red on red" fighting -- battles between enemies. Now they call it "red on green."
U.S. Lt. Nathan Strickland, also of the 1-77th, said the sheiks were influenced by the realization that Shiite Iran's regional influence was rising, and "the presence of (Sunni) foreign fighters here was disrupting the traditional local tribal structure." Al-Rishawi and other sheiks urged their tribesmen to join the police force, and 4,500 Sunnis heeded the call in Ramadi alone -- a remarkable feat in a city that had almost no police a year ago.
Local Sunnis have deeply resented the overwhelmingly Shiite Iraqi army units the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has deployed here. Sunni tribes have begun to realize that if anybody is going to secure the city, it might as well be the sons of Ramadi, Strickland said.
Also pouring through the streets in police trucks fixed with heavy machine-guns are 2,500 Sunni tribesmen who have joined newly created SWAT team-like paramilitary units. Paid by the Interior Ministry with the blessing of U.S. commanders, the so-called Emergency Response Units are clearly loyal to local sheiks. The ERU members were screened and sent either on 45-day police training courses in Jordan or seven-day courses at a military base in Ramadi -- part of an effort to capitalize on the Awakening movement and make use of them as quickly as possible.
Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers were killed by al-Qaeda assassins, said insurgents were "killing innocent people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction and we finally said, enough is enough." Al-Rishawi founded the Anbar Salvation Council in September with dozens of Sunni tribes. Many of the new newly friendly leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the insurgency in the past, though al-Rishawi said he never did.
His movement, also known as the Anbar Awakening, now counts 41 tribes or sub-tribes from Anbar, though al-Rishawi acknowledges that some groups in the province have yet to join. It's unclear how many that is, or much support the movement really has.
And there is opposition. In November, a top Sunni leader who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, described al-Rishawi's movement as "thieves and bandits." And for at least a year, U.S. forces have also witnessed sporadic firefights between Sunni militias and insurgents in Ramadi, reflecting the growing split among Sunnis. They used to describe such skirmishes as "red on red" fighting -- battles between enemies. Now they call it "red on green."
U.S. Lt. Nathan Strickland, also of the 1-77th, said the sheiks were influenced by the realization that Shiite Iran's regional influence was rising, and "the presence of (Sunni) foreign fighters here was disrupting the traditional local tribal structure." Al-Rishawi and other sheiks urged their tribesmen to join the police force, and 4,500 Sunnis heeded the call in Ramadi alone -- a remarkable feat in a city that had almost no police a year ago.
Local Sunnis have deeply resented the overwhelmingly Shiite Iraqi army units the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has deployed here. Sunni tribes have begun to realize that if anybody is going to secure the city, it might as well be the sons of Ramadi, Strickland said.
Also pouring through the streets in police trucks fixed with heavy machine-guns are 2,500 Sunni tribesmen who have joined newly created SWAT team-like paramilitary units. Paid by the Interior Ministry with the blessing of U.S. commanders, the so-called Emergency Response Units are clearly loyal to local sheiks. The ERU members were screened and sent either on 45-day police training courses in Jordan or seven-day courses at a military base in Ramadi -- part of an effort to capitalize on the Awakening movement and make use of them as quickly as possible.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, Anbar Awakening, Anbar Salvation Council, Muslim Scholars Association, Ramadi, Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, Sunni tribes
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Muslim Scholars Association criticises oil investment law
Oil, Politics
(Reuters) The Muslim Scholars Association, a leading Sunni clerics group accused by the Iraqi government of fomenting violence, said the law as drafted was "invalid and lacks legitimacy". The influential Sunni Arab group accused the United States and Britain of invading the country out of greed for its vast oil wealth. Iraq's cabinet agreed a draft of the law last month after months of wrangling, sending it to parliament for final approval.
The law sets out how oil revenues will be divided among the population and regulates how foreign companies will be able to invest in exploration and production. Iraqi and U.S. officials have said the law will be a crucial ingredient for Iraqi reconciliation. It states that oil revenues will be spread evenly according to population around the country rather than staying in the region where the oil is found.
Sunni Arabs have long feared that Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who sit on top of Iraq's vast oil fields, will not share the country's wealth in an even way. The Muslim Scholars Association is influential amongst disaffected Sunni Arabs, once the dominant group in Iraq under Saddam Hussein but now marginalised since multiparty elections in 2005 swept majority Shi'ites and Kurds to power.
The law sets out how oil revenues will be divided among the population and regulates how foreign companies will be able to invest in exploration and production. Iraqi and U.S. officials have said the law will be a crucial ingredient for Iraqi reconciliation. It states that oil revenues will be spread evenly according to population around the country rather than staying in the region where the oil is found.
Sunni Arabs have long feared that Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who sit on top of Iraq's vast oil fields, will not share the country's wealth in an even way. The Muslim Scholars Association is influential amongst disaffected Sunni Arabs, once the dominant group in Iraq under Saddam Hussein but now marginalised since multiparty elections in 2005 swept majority Shi'ites and Kurds to power.
Labels: draft oil law, Muslim Scholars Association
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Muslim Scholars Association criticises Baghdad security plan
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) The Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association has criticized the Baghdad security plan, claiming in statements posted on its website on February 24 that U.S. forces have killed scores of civilians in security sweeps in Sunni Arab neighborhoods. The association pointed to one such operation in the Al-Mashahidah district, calling the bombing of a house there a "barbaric massacre" of civilians; Iraqi Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Khalaf said the operation targeted members of the insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq.
The association also claimed that Iraqi security forces, in collaboration with militiamen from Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Imam Al-Mahdi Army, are carrying out what it called sectarian displacement operations. One statement implied that the Iraqi government is aware of such operations, but chooses to remain silent. The association also claimed that Interior Ministry forces targeted the Al-Amil neighborhood in a series of raids, pointing out that the neighborhood is the home of a Sunni Arab woman who claimed she was raped by Interior Ministry forces.
Labels: Al-Amil, Al-Mashahidah, Interior Ministry forces, Islamic Army in Iraq, Mahdi Army, Muslim Scholars Association
Friday, February 23, 2007
Rape allegations widen political sectarian rift
Politics, Security
(CNN) Allegations that a Sunni woman was raped by Shiite police officers, and the Iraqi government's response has strained the already frayed relations between followers of the Muslim sects. The woman appeared Monday on Al-Jazeera alleging she was raped Sunday by three members of the security forces. She said the rape occurred at a police facility after she was seized in a Baghdad raid, allegedly for helping Sunni insurgents.
She didn't identify the attackers as Shiites. But there is an assumption that they were, because Shiites are predominant in the police force. Many Sunnis regard infiltration by Shiite death squad and militia members in the police force as widespread. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government said Monday that the allegations were investigated and that "medical examinations [show] that the woman has not been subjected to any sexual attack whatsoever."
His office released what it said was a copy of the findings of the medical examination. The report, in English from Ibn Sina Hospital, the U.S.-run medical facility in the Green Zone, said there were "no vaginal lacerations or obvious injury." A U.S. military spokesman confirmed only that the woman was admitted to a medical facility on Sunday and released the next day. The U.S. military said it is gathering information about the incident, which has sparked "great concern."
She didn't identify the attackers as Shiites. But there is an assumption that they were, because Shiites are predominant in the police force. Many Sunnis regard infiltration by Shiite death squad and militia members in the police force as widespread. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government said Monday that the allegations were investigated and that "medical examinations [show] that the woman has not been subjected to any sexual attack whatsoever."
His office released what it said was a copy of the findings of the medical examination. The report, in English from Ibn Sina Hospital, the U.S.-run medical facility in the Green Zone, said there were "no vaginal lacerations or obvious injury." A U.S. military spokesman confirmed only that the woman was admitted to a medical facility on Sunday and released the next day. The U.S. military said it is gathering information about the incident, which has sparked "great concern."
News of the incident reverberated throughout Iraq, spurring outrage from the villages and city neighborhoods. There is also concern in the halls of Iraqi power, where Sunni and Shiites are bickering over how the case is being handled.
The Shiite-dominated government says the "fabricated" story is serving to undermine a security effort -- called Operation Enforcing the Law -- to target insurgents regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation. Al-Maliki said three warrants have been filed against the woman, but he didn't disclose the charges. He also said that because the rape claims had been made up, he has ordered that the accused officers be rewarded.
Baghdad security plan spokesman Gen. Qassim Atta said the woman, from western Baghdad, is identified as a freedom fighter by some members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Sunni political movement. He said that police officers found the clothes of a slain kidnap victim in the woman's house. Although she lived alone, the woman had been seen preparing food for about 10 people at least twice, supporting accusations that she was cooking for insurgents, Atta said. Police also found a passage leading to a neighboring house with a small infirmary and large amounts of medicine, he said.
The Shiite-dominated government says the "fabricated" story is serving to undermine a security effort -- called Operation Enforcing the Law -- to target insurgents regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation. Al-Maliki said three warrants have been filed against the woman, but he didn't disclose the charges. He also said that because the rape claims had been made up, he has ordered that the accused officers be rewarded.
Baghdad security plan spokesman Gen. Qassim Atta said the woman, from western Baghdad, is identified as a freedom fighter by some members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Sunni political movement. He said that police officers found the clothes of a slain kidnap victim in the woman's house. Although she lived alone, the woman had been seen preparing food for about 10 people at least twice, supporting accusations that she was cooking for insurgents, Atta said. Police also found a passage leading to a neighboring house with a small infirmary and large amounts of medicine, he said.
One leading Sunni -- Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour al-Samaraie, who heads a group that takes care of Sunni mosques and shrines -- was dismissed from his government post by al-Maliki, who gave no reason. News reports say al-Samaraie was let go after he joined a chorus of Sunnis asking for an international investigation.
The Iraqi Islamic Party and other Sunni groups condemned what they say was a rape and the subsequent investigation. The Muslim Scholars Association also condemned what it said was an attack by the police force. The story is prominent on many Sunni-oriented Web sites, which refer to the incident as a crime. The Islamic Army in Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group, said in a written statement that it has declared a state of emergency and its operations will now focus on the Iraqi government "and its so-called" security forces. Discussion of rape is taboo in Arab and Muslim society, making the woman's comments on TV shocking.
The Iraqi Islamic Party and other Sunni groups condemned what they say was a rape and the subsequent investigation. The Muslim Scholars Association also condemned what it said was an attack by the police force. The story is prominent on many Sunni-oriented Web sites, which refer to the incident as a crime. The Islamic Army in Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group, said in a written statement that it has declared a state of emergency and its operations will now focus on the Iraqi government "and its so-called" security forces. Discussion of rape is taboo in Arab and Muslim society, making the woman's comments on TV shocking.
Labels: al-Maliki, al-Samaraie, Gen. Qassim Atta, Iraqi Islamic Party, Muslim Scholars Association, rape
