Iraqis rally to under-fire Sunni
leader By Dahr Jamail and Ali
al-Fadhily
BAGHDAD - The arrest warrant
issued last week by the Iraqi government for Sunni
leader Dr Harith al-Dhari has sent shock waves
through the government, and galvanized much of the
Sunni population.
Minister for the
Interior Jawad al-Bolani said Dhari was wanted for
inciting terrorism and violence. At the same time,
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said the warrant
was "destructive to the national-reconciliation
plan".
Dhari, 65, heads the influential
Association of Muslim Scholars
(AMS), the leading Sunni
religious leadership of Iraq. Dhari is currently
in Jordan; he left Iraq five months ago for fear
of his safety. The AMS is known to have contacts
with the Iraqi resistance, and has been opposed to
the US occupation and the US-backed Iraqi
government.
The AMS has refused to
participate in any political activity under the
occupation and has insisted on withdrawal of US
forces from Iraq so that elections and other
activities would be "honest and transparent".
Dhari denounced the warrant for his arrest
as "proof of the failure and confusion of the
Iraqi government", and suggested that Shi'ite
ministers were trying to divert attention from
security scandals that showed links between the
militias and police.
The Shi'ite-dominated
government is seen by Sunnis as responsible for
widespread killing of Sunnis through death squads.
Shi'ites, the second-largest denomination among
Muslims, believe that the Prophet Mohammed's
teachings were best propagated by his cousin Ali
rather than a caliphate, as believed by Sunnis. In
Iraq, Shi'ites form about 60% of the population of
25 million. The minority Sunnis had been dominant
under the regime of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni
Muslim.
Dhari called on Iraqis to be
patient and not get dragged into such
"conspiracies". He said he would attend a court if
government officials also came before the same
court to be questioned for crimes against the
Iraqi people. But Sunni parties are now
threatening to withdraw from the unstable
government.
The move by the Iraqi
government has angered many Shi'ites as well. The
Shi'ite movement al-Khalissiya, led by Sheikh
Jawad al-Khalissi in Baghdad, has opposed the
arrest warrant. The group is also opposed to the
occupation, together with the AMS and other
leaders who are a part of the Iraqi Foundation
Conference.
"It was a silly warrant that
will only increase anger against a corrupt
government," Khalissi stated on Al-Sharqiya
satellite channel. Khalissi went on to praise
Dhari for defending Iraqis regardless of their
sect or religion.
Other groups are also
supportive of the Sunni leader. "Al-Dhari is the
main Sunni figure, and his association is
considered the main Sunni representative in the
region," Talal Saied, a member of the Communist
Party, said in Baghdad. "He was officially invited
by most governments in the region to visit their
countries as a recognized leader, although he did
not represent any government office. He never
talked for the Sunni sect alone and always forbade
sectarian killings against all Iraqis."
Dhari inherited some of his reputation
from his grandfather, Sheikh Dhari, who led the
resistance against the British occupation of Iraq
in the early 20th century. Sheikh Dhari killed
Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Leachman of the British
army who was sent to Fallujah to quell rising
resistance.
Dhari's continuous opposition
to the occupation has made him the enemy of the
United States and its Iraqi collaborators, while
earning him widespread respect from most Sunni and
many Shi'ite political and religious leaders.
Former Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad
Allawi, who has known ties to the US Central
Intelligence Agency, has also condemned the
warrant against Dhari.
Sheikh Ali
Karbalaai, spokesman for Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, severely criticized the warrant
and called on the government to recognize the
dangers of such acts against the solidarity and
security of the Iraqi people.
On the other
hand, the Shi'ite parties in power and their
officials who have often been accused of being
loyal to Iran have led a harsh attack on Dhari,
accusing him of provoking sectarian problems.
These groups have been supported by President
Jalal Talabani and the Kurdish parties.
