"War of the mosques" has dangerous political implications
The largest Sunni party announced that it will not be attending a meeting called by President Talabani to put a stop to clashes sparked by yesterday's destruction of the golden dome in Samarra.
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) "The war of the mosques" as the revolt of Shi'ite Iraqis has been dubbed could well have dangerous political implications. According to latest news, the past 24 hours have seen the bodies of 80 victims pile up in hospitals, and the burning or attacking of dozens of mosques between 30 and 90, according to some sources and offices of Sunni political groups. The largest Iraqi Sunni party, the Accord Front, today announced it will not take part in a meeting called by President Jalal Talabani to see how to stop clashes sparked by yesterday's destruction of the golden dome of the Samarra mosque, the fourth holy site for Shi'ite Muslims and a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. The absence of the Sunnis, according to a government spokesman was motivated by the fact that the "government did not worry about guaranteeing the security of our places of worship and our offices".
The fear that extremists may drag the country into civil war was expressly evoked by Talabani. The head of state has launched a plea to the people to "keep their blood cool" and called for unity "to block the plan of the takfiri (Sunni extremists). Meanwhile, the head of the government, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, urged the population to "prevent terrorists from wrecking national unity". Even the spiritual leader of the Iraqi Shi'ites, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, made a rare, even if silent, television appearance. In a statement, he called for protest, but "forbade" attacks on mosques. The press is also echoing fears of civil war: the international daily newspaper, Sharq Al Awsat, blazed a front-page headline: "Iraq: denominational fire with mosques as fuel"; the Lebanese paper, Al Mustaqbal, reported that "denominational insurrection is appearing in Iraq" while another international Arab daily, Al Hayat, upheld the need to "cut the serpent's head before it spreads its denominational venom across the entire country".
And while the National Security Secretary, Mouaffak al-Roubai has accused Al Qaeda of organising the attack on the mosque, Sunni and Shi'ite extremists have been heavily critical of the security forces who, for their part, have claimed that they captured 10 people wearing police uniforms in Samarra. The Sunnis allege that among the police ranks are death squads targeting and killing them; the Shi'ite, Moqtada al Sadr, rushed back from a visit to Lebanon and sent his men to patrol the streets of Baghdad, promising "revenge" against Sunni activists. Shi'ite fury also targeted and killed 10 Egyptians and Saudis who were in prison in Basra, accused of terrorism. "We will not be content with condemnation and protests," said Al Sadr. "We will react against these activists; if the government does not do its work, to protect the Iraqi people, we are ready to do it."
The government has announced three days of national mourning and Al Sistani has called for seven, as has done the supreme Iranian leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The latter has talked about a "political crime" and called on Iraqi Shi'ites not to attack Sunni mosques, so as "not to help the enemies of Islam". The accusation leveled by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the USA and Israel are responsible for the Samarra attack has been discounted.
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13/06/2007
