Association of Muslim Scholars refutes 'terrorism' charge

On Thursday, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq condemned the inclusion of its secretary general Muthanna Harith Al-Dari in the new blacklist of terrorism on the pretext of “supporting terrorism”. The Association of Muslim Scholars called this accusation an example of “sectarian policy”.

The Blacklist was issued by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in Iraq on Tuesday. It includes 16 people; one of them is the leader of the terrorist group Daesh, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“The vast majority of decrees issued by Iraqi successive governments since the occupation of Iraq (2003) are political decisions based on sectarian principles, and many independent international organisations have proven so,” said Abdel Hamid Al-Ani, Culture and Information Official of the Association of Muslim Scholars.

He continued: “Thus, these organisations do not seriously deal with government reports. Even the Interpol no longer deals with the memorandums that are issued by the Iraqi security authorities, and there is much evidence that of many of the judiciary’s decree are political.”

The Association’s leader carried on saying that “terrorism is a cover which the US has been using to attack its opponents and implement its occupation project in Iraq. Then, those who have been engaged in the project of political occupation, have followed its steps, to an extent that they used this method in the political dichotomy of their partners in the political process, just because of sectarian differences.”

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He stressed that “written and visual documents prove how keen Sheikh Harith, may God have mercy on him, was and after him, Sheikh Muthanna to end the violence, and to liberate Iraq from terrorism,” as he put it.

In addition, “The relations between Sheikh Harith and his son with all the Iraqi national forces in all their affiliations are evidences of their departure from the abhorrent sectarianism, which is concealed by the enemies of the Iraqi people. Their projects are also the best evidence of their eagerness to rid Iraqis of corrupters, who commit the most heinous crimes against human rights,” according to Al-Ani.

He concluded that the statements about the Secretary General of the Association of Muslim Scholars and his father “are part of the rivalry between the parties involved in the political process. the Iraqis are accustomed to the same situation at every electoral stage, which does not deviate from the sectarian approach that they adopt in order to trench the Iraqi people and hide their corruption and crimes against Iraq and the Iraqis.”

The blacklist of wanted people has been issued two days after a similar blacklist was issued by the Iraqi judiciary, which includes 60 names, including Raghad Saddam Hussein, daughter of the deceased president (1979-2003).

Muthanna Al-Dari has been the secretary general of the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq since 2015, succeeding his deceased father.

The Association of Muslim Scholars has been one of the most hostile to the US occupation of Iraq. Its officials say it had supported the Iraqi resistance against the occupation forces, but deny any link between the Association and Al-Qaeda in Iraq.