A Chance for Peace in Iraq - If U.S. Leaves

"We have to speak out and say that blood is precious. We will stand against those who have no value for human life and speak out against them openly."

- Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai


I reported on the forming of the Council of Ulama of Iraq a couple days ago and I see that it's gotten very little "play" in the blogosphere. [Other than a blogpost at National Journal.] I think (and hope) that this group will be an important key to finding a higher level of peace and cross-religious-faction respect among Iraqi citizens.

Last week in Iraq..

..a group of Sunni clerics, including some hard-line figures who fiercely oppose the American presence here, issued a statement Friday urging their fellow Sunnis to join the Iraqi Army and the police. The edict, signed by 64 imams and religious scholars, was a striking turnaround for the clerics, who have often lashed out in sermons at the fledgling army and police and branded them collaborators

For all we know (because it hasn't been widely reported), the female suicide bomber who killed 17 potential recruits (who were in line to BUY application forms to join the police?) may have been meant to be a statement of rebellion against such an edict. The antagonizing factor is clearly the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. If we were to remove those troops, I believe that Sunni clerics, who represent the minority population of Sunnis vs. Shia in Iraq, could convince Sunnis to end the civil violence.

American and Iraqi officials welcomed the edict as a sign that Iraq's Sunnis, who largely boycotted the January elections, are taking steps toward joining the political process.

"It is a positive step," said Saad Jawad Qindeel, a member of the Shiite alliance that won the largest bloc of seats in Iraq's new national assembly in January. "We are hoping the clerics will take an even more definite attitude in preventing terrorism."

Samarrai delivered the edict Friday at the mosque in western Baghdad that houses the headquarters of the influential Muslim Scholars Association. The signatories included Ahmed Hassan al Taha, a hard-line imam at Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque.

But the leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, Harith al Dari, did not sign the edict, and it was not clear whether he or the Association was offering some tacit support by hosting the announcement. The association, like some of the scholars who signed the edict, is widely believed to have some influence over the armed resistance, but it is impossible to say how much.

If you read this excerpt from the article, you will see that these Sunni clerics celarly seem to be offering their help under the condition that the U.S. troops leave the country and end the occupation of Iraq.

The edict, signed by 64 imams and religious scholars, was a striking turnaround for the clerics, who have often lashed out in sermons at the fledgling army and police and branded them collaborators.

Many if not most insurgent attacks in recent months have been aimed at the police and army, which are largely composed of Shiites.

The prominent cleric who announced the edict, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai, said he believed the new directive would undercut those attacks.

But Samarrai also made it clear that the edict was aimed at regaining some control over Iraq's new security forces, not saving Shiite lives.

Sunnis dominated the higher echelons of the military under Saddam Hussein, and many, enraged by the American decision to dissolve the army two years ago, joined the insurgency.

The edict contained a condition, seemingly aimed at sweetening the pill for resistant Sunnis: the new police and army recruits must agree "not to help the occupier against his compatriots."

American and Iraqi officials welcomed the edict as a sign that Iraq's Sunnis, who largely boycotted the January elections, are taking steps toward joining the political process.

"It is a positive step," said Saad Jawad Qindeel, a member of the Shiite alliance that won the largest bloc of seats in Iraq's new national assembly in January. "We are hoping the clerics will take an even more definite attitude in preventing terrorism."

Samarrai delivered the edict Friday at the mosque in western Baghdad that houses the headquarters of the influential Muslim Scholars Association. The signatories included Ahmed Hassan al Taha, a hard-line imam at Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque.

But the leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, Harith al Dari, did not sign the edict, and it was not clear whether he or the Association was offering some tacit support by hosting the announcement. The association, like some of the scholars who signed the edict, is widely believed to have some influence over the armed resistance, but it is impossible to say how much.

Religious groups in other nations, such as Indonesia, have taken it upon themselves to try to find a way to greater peace between Shiite and Sunni. Iran's involvement would have been important, but tensions over UN Resolution 1747 have caused the Iranians to turn their faces from the urgent necessity of peace. This is where the United States could have a hand in the peace process. To use all available tools of diplomacy, even with Iran, is our responsibility - and the absence of such diplomacy is our failure to help bring peace to the war-torn people of Iraq. The U.S. lack of interest in the recent Indonesia meeting is also a missed opportunity. War seems to be the first option in the decidedly dull minds of the Bush administration.

Note: Ulama, defined:

A lot of words in Arabic have both an older, religious meaning and a newer, secular one. Thus, `ilm means "science" in modern Arabic but can also still mean "religious branch of knowledge." Someone who specializes in `ilm is an `aalim, plural `ulama'.
- Juan Cole