Iraq: Association of Muslim Scholars Calls For Dialogue

In an exclusive statement to Ikhwanweb, Assistant Secretary General of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) in Iraq sheikh Al Kobaisy said that the occupation is mainly to blame for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, which he said could lead to a sectarian war in Iraq.


Al Kobaisy related counts on incidents of rape and killings at the hand of government- backed militia in Iraq, saying that people have come to associate these killings with forces affiliated with the Ministry of Interior and some army units, at a time when the officials are speaking of a reconciliation which is in fact a cosmetic one nonexistent on the ground.


Kobaisy related accounts of involvement of army forces in the killing of the innocents, citing Sheikh Gamal the imam and preacher of a mosque in al Khadra, who was kidnapped and killed by gangs  belonging to the Al Mahdi Army, as well as attacking a mosque and burning the Koran and killing about 30 persons.

The AMS official stated that some militias embark on killings on identity grounds in order to keep the number of Sunnis at 20% of the total population in Iraq according to a plan set forth by US administration and Iraqi government, Mr. Kobaisy added. 


Al Kobaisy also bitterly related accounts on demolishing houses and schools and government buildings in Ramadi, amid pathetic silence of the government and the MPs who represent the Anbar Governorate. He criticized the Arab League and Muslim world for their inaction toward such crimes.


On the security plan laid out by the Ministry of Interior, Kobaisy said that it was made to disarm certain groups so that Iraqi militias, and sometimes Iranians, are given free hand to kill as many people as they could, citing the arrest of two Iranians at the hand of the occupation forces in Mendally area .On the agenda of the AMS, Kobaisy said that the AMS does not represent militias or armed groups ” It has emerged mainly to achieve social, cultural and political reforms, as well as reconciliation between the Islamic schools of opinion, and does not seek power” he said.


Kobaisy reiterated the AMS rejection of the federal system proposed for Iraq saying that each federal state will seek to achieve its own interests, citing the fexample of parliament members who failed to achieve any services for the Iraqi nation for three years.


However, Kobaisy said that the AMS is ready to open a dialogue with whatever party or group” As regards the occupation, we also don’t mind opening a dialogue with it for the sake of Iraq”, he added.