US, Iran and al-Qaeda are each accused for the Samarra mosque bombing
Beirut (AsiaNews) Iran and its allies are accusing the United States and Israel for the still unclaimed attack that laid waste to the ancient Askariya or Gold Dome mosque in Samarra and set off enraged protests by Shiites. Still more and more people in the Arab world are realising that al-Qaeda is more likely behind the bombing for at this point in time its interests are objectively closer to those of countries like Syria and especially nuclear-ambitious Iran.
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today confirmed that Iran was now running 10 centrifuges loading them with the required feedstock gas to enrich uranium. Once this is done enriched uranium can be fuel for nuclear power reactors or the raw material for atom bombs.
In Iraq violence seems to have abated a bit compared to yesterday, but the spectre of civil war still looms over the country. The daytime curfew is likely to reduce chances that Friday prayers turn into more bloodshed.
According to the Sunni student association, in 24 hours 168 Sunni mosques have been destroyed, 10 imams have been killed and an unknown number, probably in the hundreds, of civilians murdered, probably.
Religious and political leaders are multiplying their appeals for unity against division. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Shia Islam's highest authority in Iraq, spoke again today. According to one his aides, Mohammad Hakkani, the issue is not only rebuilding the mosque, but building Iraq with all its ethnic and religious components.
For his part, Mgr Shleiman Warduni, auxiliary Chaldean bishop of Baghdad, said that the purpose of the attack was clear: "It was meant to spread division and hatred and stop the country's progress. We are not yet in civil war, but when such bloodbaths occur we should not take that risk too lightly".
Extremist Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr from Qom (Iran) told al-Jazeera that Sunnis should join Shiites in pledging not to kill fellow Muslims and should distance themselves from "takfiris", Sunni extremists who target Shiites.
Among Shiites however claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the United States and Israel were responsible for the attack still find credence.
In Lebanon, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, spiritual leader of the Sunni community, laid the blame squarely on the United States, "whether it directly carried out this act or instigated it".
By contrast, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), blamed Saddam Hussein loyalists and followers of al-Qaeda in Iraq boss Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In appeal to both Sunnis and Shiites he said: "We all have to unite in order to eliminate them."
According to the Khaleej Times, during protests in Bahrain against the mosque bombing people shouted slogans against Al-Qaeda and its supporters, accusing them of trying to fuel sectarian hatred. Many marched holding pictures showing the damaged dome and placards equating the attacks with the controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.
Asia Times also pinned the blame on al-Qaeda-linked groups calling them the "prime suspects" but also saying that they might "be the biggest losers in the fallout" because once the wave of outrage subsides the "Iraqi resistance will be viewed in a new light. And plans for a region-wide anti-US resistance movement centred on Iran will have to be rethought."
Security sources also told the paper that "several al-Qaeda members were moved from detention centers to safe houses run by Iranian intelligence near Tehran."
Even though a study by the Stratford Institute published by Lebanonwire suggests that al-Qaeda wants to split Iraq, al-Qaeda members and other jihadist groups have instead blamed Iran and the Shiite-controlled Iraqi government for the attack.
No evidence supports these allegations, but in this case, perception matters more than reality. In fact, the circumstances of the attack raise more questions than they answer. This uncertainty could lead to further finger-pointing at Iran by jihadists seeking support among the Sunni community, which is currently the recipient of unprecedented Shiite wrath.
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