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Iraq rushes to guard its mosques
Six of the most important Shiite and Sunni mosques and shrines have been attacked over the past month. Now, politicians are vying for the title of religious protector.
By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the June 28, 2007 edition
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Baghdad - In front of a crush of Friday worshipers in one of this city's most historic Shiite mosques, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi stoked the already strong sectarian fervor.
Sunni extremists "want to strike your religion, sect, and faith. They trespass on the shrines of our Imams," he told the rapt audience that cheered in response. "We can only apologize to our people because … these grave and stunning acts continue to occur."
As Sunni insurgents blow up Shiite shrines and Shiite militiamen burn Sunni mosques, leaders from both sides are rushing to be seen as this country's protectors of the religious sites. Protecting the mosque now appears to be one of the few tools for politicians to gain support among a populace that has seen little progress.
Mr. Abdul-Mahdi's fiery address was delivered last week at the Khulani mosque, soon after it was hit by a deadly bomb attack. That explosion followed the second strike on the revered Shiite shrine in Samarra. Now, the US military is warning that Al Qaeda will probably target other mosques in the coming weeks to further inflame sectarian passion.
Greater US military pressure on Al Qaeda south of Baghdad and in Diyala Province may be one cause of the increase, says one commander. "We are taking the fight to the enemy," and the response from Al Qaeda is to inflame sectarianism by attacking Shiite holy places, says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Multi-National Forces in Babel, Karbala, and Najaf provinces, home to some of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines.
Over the past 30 days, six of Iraq's most important Shiite and Sunni mosques and shrines have been severely damaged in bombings. Numerous other smaller sites have been attacked as well.
"They have failed in everything. They have failed in building a nation. They have no program and they have nothing to offer people," says Faleh Jabar, a Beirut-based Iraqi scholar and analyst, referring to Iraqi officials. "The only thing left is for them to prove their ability in defending the sect, whether it's Sunni or Shiite."
At a rally last week in Najaf, Ammar al-Hakim, the son of the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) party to which Abdul-Mahdi belongs, charged government negligence in protecting the Samarra shrine.
In an interview Sunday at his party's headquarters, Mr. Hakim said the government failed to act on intelligence that indicated the shrine was going to be attacked again. "There was official correspondence regarding this matter but nonetheless nothing was done to prevent the attack."
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