Iraq has had its trouble with religious violence over the past couple of decades. That’s mostly centered around the traditional Sunni-Shi’ite divide. However, the latest tensions are built on internal disputes within Shi’a Islam, and controversial scholar Mahmoud al-Sarkhi.
Sarkhi is a former student of hugely important Iraqi scholar Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, the father of current cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sarkhi has been pushing the position that building structures on graves is haram in Islam.
The position is built around admonitions from the Prophet Mohammad for simple graves, and against using graves as a special site for prayer. This is a controversial stance is Iraq particularly, as the nation has many important Shi’ite shrines. Sarkhi’s aide, during a sermon in April, called on the demolition of the shrines over the graves of Shi’ite imams.
Most dismissed the calls, and followers of Moqtada al-Sadr attacked offices and buildings run by Sarkhi around the country. Sadr issued a warning about legal action to Sarkhi, and Iraq’s security forces arrested a number of Sarkhi’s supporters.
The crackdown is seen as trying to tamp down the controversy, but in moving against Sarkhi so aggressively, there is concern they’re going to provoke a blowback.
“Iraq has had its trouble with religious violence over the past couple of decades.”
Indeed. Brought on by the US. They coexisted and lived in the same neighborhoods until the US brought them “freedom’.
Right on…!
“If you see at the bottom of an ocean two fishes fighting, it is because there is an Ebglishmen nearby”.
Mahatma Ghandi.
Today it applies to US, it is also the ssd fact of life that wars bring poverty, lack of education and opportunities.
So people are vulnerable to being used. They fight with their own countrymen and tgeir neighbors. So, the exceltional beings can come and “solve” it for them,