Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
May 1, 2008
Pg. 9
By Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
WASHINGTON — High-ranking Shiite and Sunni leaders are preparing to issue a religious decree condemning suicide bombings and other forms of violence, according to an Anglican minister who has led efforts to bring the two Muslim sects closer.
The draft decree, also called a fatwa, cites Quranic verses and says, "The prophet Mohammed prevents the spilling of blood, Muslim against Muslim, and thus suicide bombings are totally prohibited," the Rev. Canon Andrew White said during a dinner Monday with Pentagon officials. The draft calls on Iraqis "to reject and forsake all violence, forsake all killing and provocation," White said.
"What is new is that this will be a fatwa from Shiite and Sunni," White said in an interview. "It's not going to solve all of our problems, but it's the beginning of the process toward the reduction of violence."
The fatwa would come at a time of renewed violence. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive in southern Iraq in March against Shiite militias, primarily elements of the Mahdi Army loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The fighting has settled down in southern Iraq, but Shiite militias continue battling U.S. and Iraqi troops in the Sadr City area of Baghdad and firing rockets at the Green Zone, where most U.S. officials and diplomats in Iraq live.
The result has been an increase in Iraqi and U.S. casualties, reversing a decline that followed President Bush's decision last year to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq to help provide greater security.
Shiite and Sunni leaders negotiated the fatwa over several months in Cairo and Denmark, White said. Those leaders included representatives of Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and al-Sadr.
Iraqi religious leaders could issue the fatwa in the next few days, White said. Representatives of both groups contacted by USA TODAY differed on the timing.
Sheik Safa Al-Lami, a Shiite cleric who said he was involved in the negotiations, predicted that the edict would not be issued because of Sadr City fighting. Mohamed Al-Haydari, a Sunni cleric, said he expects the fatwa to be issued soon.
Four years of Pentagon financial support made the fatwa possible, White said. The Pentagon paid for the meetings in various locations, spokesman Bryan Whitman said. He said White "believes he is very close to getting Sunni and (Shiite) religious leaders to sign on to this fatwa. It has the potential to be very positive."
Monday, Jerry Jones, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called the draft fatwa a "tour de force."
White has worked for more than 10 years in Baghdad, where he leads St. George's Anglican Church. He was Middle East envoy for the Anglican Church from 1997-2000.
May 1, 2008
Pg. 9
By Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
WASHINGTON — High-ranking Shiite and Sunni leaders are preparing to issue a religious decree condemning suicide bombings and other forms of violence, according to an Anglican minister who has led efforts to bring the two Muslim sects closer.
The draft decree, also called a fatwa, cites Quranic verses and says, "The prophet Mohammed prevents the spilling of blood, Muslim against Muslim, and thus suicide bombings are totally prohibited," the Rev. Canon Andrew White said during a dinner Monday with Pentagon officials. The draft calls on Iraqis "to reject and forsake all violence, forsake all killing and provocation," White said.
"What is new is that this will be a fatwa from Shiite and Sunni," White said in an interview. "It's not going to solve all of our problems, but it's the beginning of the process toward the reduction of violence."
The fatwa would come at a time of renewed violence. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive in southern Iraq in March against Shiite militias, primarily elements of the Mahdi Army loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The fighting has settled down in southern Iraq, but Shiite militias continue battling U.S. and Iraqi troops in the Sadr City area of Baghdad and firing rockets at the Green Zone, where most U.S. officials and diplomats in Iraq live.
The result has been an increase in Iraqi and U.S. casualties, reversing a decline that followed President Bush's decision last year to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq to help provide greater security.
Shiite and Sunni leaders negotiated the fatwa over several months in Cairo and Denmark, White said. Those leaders included representatives of Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and al-Sadr.
Iraqi religious leaders could issue the fatwa in the next few days, White said. Representatives of both groups contacted by USA TODAY differed on the timing.
Sheik Safa Al-Lami, a Shiite cleric who said he was involved in the negotiations, predicted that the edict would not be issued because of Sadr City fighting. Mohamed Al-Haydari, a Sunni cleric, said he expects the fatwa to be issued soon.
Four years of Pentagon financial support made the fatwa possible, White said. The Pentagon paid for the meetings in various locations, spokesman Bryan Whitman said. He said White "believes he is very close to getting Sunni and (Shiite) religious leaders to sign on to this fatwa. It has the potential to be very positive."
Monday, Jerry Jones, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called the draft fatwa a "tour de force."
White has worked for more than 10 years in Baghdad, where he leads St. George's Anglican Church. He was Middle East envoy for the Anglican Church from 1997-2000.