Religious group calls on Iraqis to support rebels

The chairperson of the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq (AMSI), an influential group of Sunni religious leaders, has called upon Iraqis to work by all means possible to end the current corruption of the political process, which has been fuelling all the problems and crises experienced by Iraq since its brutal occupation in 2003.

The group’s chairperson Harith Sulayman Al-Dhari stressed, in an open letter to the Iraqi people on the 94th anniversary of the 1920 revolution, the need to unite the efforts of all Iraqis in order to correct the intolerable situation in Iraq after politicians have escalated their corruption, crimes and disregard for the blood and dignity of the Iraqi people.

Dhari pointed out that the law guarantees the right of the people to refuse injustice by any government. “All Iraqis who truly care about their religion, homeland and dignity must support the rebels who revolted to lift injustice for all the oppressed in Iraq and to restore their legitimate rights that were stolen, and to stand by them and not let them down or question their intentions,” Pls48.net quotes Dhari as saying.

He renewed his assertion that the current struggle is a revolution of the oppressed and vulnerable in Iraq against an unjust ruler who has been blinded by hatred and false pride and is not directed against any group or entity of the Iraqi people.

The AMSI chairperson stressed that the oppression and injustice suffered by Iraqis for more than ten years since the American occupation and during the successive governments, particularly Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s government, have exceeded all limits.

Dhari expressed disappointment with the extreme “sectarian, inflammatory and irresponsible” opinions issued by some grand clerics that fuel strife between the Iraqi people.

He noted that the current government and its allies use sectarianism as a pretext to ignite the fire of sedition among Iraqis and to eliminate coexistence.

Dhari praised the courage and responsible attitudes by several authorities, including both political and tribal figures who criticised extreme opinions inciting for sedition and valued the positions of those who did not respond to them in south and central Iraq.

And finally, Dhari called upon the Iraqi people to protect Iraq’s unity and appealed to the rebels to act with tolerance and to release all government forces and treat them properly.