IRAQ’S RELIGIOUS LEADERS MEET IN UK, URGE FORMATION OF STRONG GOVERNMENT, ARMY
Al-Quds al-Arabi website, London
30 Mar 06
Text of report by Samir Nasif in London entitled “Meeting in London
for Iraqi religious leaders: unity of Iraqis condition for defeating
occupation. Prince Al-Hasan: Arab and Muslim forces can replace
international forces” published on London-based newspaper Al-Quds
al-Arabi website on 30 March; subheadings inserted editorially
The conference of religious leaders in Iraq, which was held in
London between 26 and 29 March under the supervision and with the
participation of Jordan’s former Crown Prince Al-Hasan Bin-Talal,
in addition to a large number of clerics from various communities
in Iraq, has stressed that what pains the participants is that the
world has not become safer or more stable in the past three years as
a result of what happened in Iraq and other parts of the world.
The participants called for speeding up the formation of a strong
government and a strong balanced army capable of providing full
sovereignty for the country and for not confusing between the acts of
terrorism, murder, sabotage and forced displacement and the legitimate
resistance under international laws against any occupation. They
stressed that Iraq belongs to all the Iraqis and that the points of
agreement are many more than points of disagreement.
Arab-Muslim peacekeepers, departure of US, UK forces
In reply to a question about the effectiveness of sending an Arab and
Muslim peacekeeping force to Iraq to ease the escalating violence which
might lead to a civil war, or whether the US and British plan includes
the deployment of NATO forces in Iraq as it does now in Afghanistan,
and whether the United States and Britain intend to withdraw from Iraq
in the future, Prince Al-Hasan said: A security vacuum could happen
if the US-British coalition forces decided to adopt the strategy of
quick withdrawal. It is possible to rely on the Muslim-Arab forces
in this case. But it appears from the statements of President Bush
and US leaders that the United States will not withdraw from Iraq
during his term and that any withdrawal, if it does happen, might
take place after 2009, that is the end of his presidential term.
According to the prince, British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s statements
point to the same approach after Blair focused again on the difficult
decisions that should be taken in Iraq in the future and on the
correctness, in his view, of the military option that Britain took
in Iraq.
The US and British leaderships are saying that the coalition commanders
are doing everything that their responsibilities require them to do
in Iraq despite the fragility of the situation and dangers.
Prince Al-Hasan added: I believe that if the Sunni and Shi’i jihadists
unite their stands, the security situation will worsen and the matter
of the fragmentation of Iraq and the region’s countries will become a
dangerous reality that we should be cautious of. He added however that
it is difficult to ask Arab and Muslim forces to help spread security
in Iraq if the Iraqi parties themselves do not want this. In his view,
what is required now is not military power but the power of persuasion
and bolstering the desire to negotiate.
Terrorism and “resistance”
Salih al-Haydari, the Shi’i awqaf affairs minister in the Iraqi
government, commented on the same question and said: It is terrorism
that is stirring the security issue in the country. It is fighting all
the Iraqis and its aims are to label all its adversaries infidels,
though everyone is demanding an end to the occupation in Iraq. To
reach this aim, we the Iraqis should agree on a course that brings
all Iraqis together.
He queried the identity of those manipulating the fingers of sabotage
in Iraq and the foreigners who have come to Iraq and urged the Iraqis
to stand against them. He also stressed that the Iraqis want to rely
on the Iraqi force and a strong Iraqi army and hope that they will
not get to a situation where they will need Arab-Muslim forces.
Dr Shaykh Ahmad Abd-al-Ghafur al-Samarra’i, the Sunni awqaf affairs
minister in the Iraqi government, said: There were no sectarian and
doctrinal conflicts and revenges for three months after the occupation
entered Iraq. The occupation is now thinking of leaving when Iraq,
as you can see, is rife with conflicts. We believe there are secret
hands manipulated by foreign and hidden hands and funds.
This hand is like cancer. One does not see it with one’s eyes but
discovers it. When you ask all the Iraqi spectrums, they tell you:
We do not want a civil war. So who wants the civil war? The answer
is these hands. A total withdrawal of the occupation forces now will
be a disaster. We want the Iraqis to agree among themselves and have
the occupation forces leave not according to their timetable but
according to the Iraqis’ timetable and after the Iraqi people have
come together and united.
He added: Terrorism in all its forms is feeding the sectarian
conflicts, whether by the foreign-backed bombing, the random shelling
of civilian areas, or the donning of the Interior Ministry’s uniforms
and exercising ugly sectarian killings. He concluded by saying:
The nation will be all right if the ulemas become reconciled.
Al-Samarra’i thanked Prince Al-Hasan for his participation in
the conference and said the Iraqis welcome any hand that comes to
reconcile and Prince Al-Hasan has accustomed us to bringing closer
the views of warring parties all over the world and this work has a
big reward from God.
Shaykh Majid al-Hafid, representative of the Kurdish Muslim ulema,
said Iraq was an indivisible whole and the ulema’s stands were very
important, even if they stayed away from power. If they agree that the
occupation forces should leave, then these forces will leave within
weeks. In his view, Iraq’s history is rich in examples of successful
resistance to occupiers with the religious leaders’ backing. He also
stressed that the British and US forces were occupation forces and
the Security Council has not said yet that they have stopped being
occupation forces.
Ties with Iran
In reply to a question about Iran’s interference in the Iraqi affairs,
as the United States is accusing it, Shaykh Al-Haydari said: If
you meant bad Iranian interference, then ask the US government. As
Iraqis, we reject bad interference by Iran or any neighbouring or
far away country. But there are many ties that bind the Iraqis and
Iranians and there are things that bind Iraq to the Arab countries
and Turkey. We welcome good relations with all countries that help
Iraq build itself technologically, economically and humanely.
As for differentiating between the concepts of resistance and
terrorism, Al-Samarra’i said: Resistance is a means and not an end.
If its aim is to liberate the country, then this is what is required.
But the killing of innocent people should not be the aim. The aim
might be achieved through dialogue, negotiations and treaties. But if
this is impossible, then one will be compelled to resist in order to
liberate one’s country. Terrorism is seeking to destroy the country
so that the occupation remains, while the resistance is seeking to
liberate the country and the occupier’s departure.
When the ulema were asked about defining the identity of terrorists,
Al-Haydari answered: They announce themselves, Al-Zarqawi and Saddam’s
henchmen. Al-Samarra’i answered: There are elements that wear the
Interior Ministry’s uniforms and commit crimes that are worse than
others. Then there are the ordinary thieves and criminals.
Recommendations
The other issues approved by the conference included the importance of
continuing the dialogue between the clerics and religious creeds in
Iraq by holding periodic conferences; extensive exchange of visits;
forming peace teams to visit the hot spots; concentrating in the
religious message on the spirit of tolerance and forgiveness;
establishing the culture of recognizing the other; standing firm
against all who try to sow sedition; deepening the religious spirit
in the development of civil society; underlining the importance of
the national economy’s fair and balanced role.
The participants recommended preparations for an enlarged conference
inside Iraq that includes all the religious leaders, the activation of
the Iraqi Interreligious Council-Religions for Peace, and confirmation
of the sanctity of sacred places and the need to protect them.
The conference underlined Iraq’s historic role as the cradle of
civilizations and point of their convergence and urged adherence to the
noble moral values and the dissemination of the spirit of brotherhood,
love and coexistence.
Other prominent participants included Hasan Bahr-al-Ulum, Ja’far
Abd-al-Sahib al-Hakim, Adil al-Yasiri, Fadil al-Milani, Shaykh Abbas
Rahimah Fadil al-Zaydi, Shaykh Harith al-Ubaydi, Shaykh Abd-al-Salam
al-Kubaysi, Shaykh Tahsin Shams-al-Din, Shaykh Mahmud Jarad, Senior
Chaldean Bishop Andrawus Abuna; Senior Greek Armenian Bishop Avak
Asadouryan, Dr Nabil Yasin, Jawad al-Khu’i, and Dr William Findley.