Gunmen Kill Member of Sunni Clerics' Group

Yahoo News ^ | 11/22/04 | MARIAM FAM

[Pfesser]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen on Monday assassinated a member of an influential Sunni clerics' group that has called for a boycott of national elections, just a day after Iraqi officials announced the balloting would be held Jan. 30 in spite of rising violence in Iraq (news - web sites).

Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces recovered 12 bodies, including five decapitated ones, from an area south of Baghdad, police said Monday. One was identified as a member of the Iraqi National Guard. The bodies were found during a raid Sunday in Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Lt. Adnan Abdullah.

Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, was shot by gunmen at his home in northern Mosul — a sign of the continuing violence that wracks the country.

The slaying could further alienate Iraq's Sunni Arab minority ahead of the Jan. 30 election. The association is already calling for a boycott of the vote, and if many Sunni heed its call, the legitimacy of the election could be deeply undermined.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said his government was determined to hold the election as scheduled. He described those calling for a boycott as "the eventual losers" and "a small minority."

"The forces of darkness and terrorism will not benefit from this democratic experience and will fight it," Allawi said. "But we are determined that this experiment succeeds."

The vote for the 275-member National Assembly will be Iraq's first election since Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s fall and is seen as a major step toward building democracy.

But the ongoing violence, which escalated this month with the U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah, has also raised concerns that balloting could be nearly a practical impossibility in insurgency-torn regions. Iraqi authorities insist ballots will be cast even in volatile areas — including Fallujah, Mosul and other parts of the Sunni Triangle.

Twenty nations, including Iraq's neighbors and Western and Arab countries, gathered in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheik for a conference aimed at showing support for Iraq.

The delegates intended to call on Allawi's government to reach out to its opponents to encourage broad participation in the election. According to a draft of the conference's final statement, they were also to underline their condemnation of "terrorism" in Iraq — a boost to Allawi's and the U.S. military's crackdown on insurgents.

In a gesture to Sunnis, Allawi on Monday ordered an inquiry into a raid by U.S. and Iraqi forces on Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque, one of the holiest Sunni shrines in Iraq. The raid just after Friday prayers left three people dead and enraged many Sunnis.

It also brought a condemnation from Iraq's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Allawi, a Shiite Muslim, conferred Sunday with Sunni officials on several issues, including the Abu Hanifa raid. Allawi told them that "although there had been reports of terrorist activity around the mosque, mistakes appeared to have been made and that he had ordered a full investigation," a statement by Allawi's office said.

Allawi's government has warned that Sunni clerics who incite violence will be considered as "participating in terrorism." Some already have been arrested.

Elsewhere Monday, a U.S. patrol that came under attack returned fire, killing two attackers in Hawija, about 150 miles north of Baghdad, according to witnesses. The U.S. military had no immediate confirmation.

The military said Monday a U.S. soldier died after he was wounded in an attack the night before in Baghdad. At least 1,222 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count.

The former police chief of the northern city of Mosul was arrested after allegations that his force allowed insurgents to take over police stations during this month's uprising, Deputy Gov. Khasro Gouran said Monday.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Kheiri Barhawi was arrested Sunday by Kurdish militia in northern Irbil, where he fled after he was fired in the wake of the uprising

A rocket slammed into a residential district in the center of Baghdad on Monday, injuring five people including a child, witnesses said. The blast sent a giant cloud of black smoke rising over the eastern side of the Tigris River.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have been clearing the last of the resistance from Fallujah, the main rebel bastion stormed Nov. 8 in hopes of breaking the back of the insurgency before the election.

Allawi called the Fallujah assault was an unqualified success.

"We went to Fallujah and we broke their back," he told AP. "We found enough weapons there to destroy an entire country."

In Fallujah, Marine Maj. Jim West said Sunday that U.S. troops have found nearly 20 "atrocity sites" where insurgents imprisoned, tortured and murdered hostages. West said troops found rooms containing knives and black hoods, "many of them blood-covered."

The storming of Fallujah has heightened tensions throughout Sunni Arab areas, triggering a surge of clashes in Mosul, Beiji, Samarra, Ramadi and elsewhere.

The government's announcement Sunday that elections were set for Jan. 30 reflected Iraqi and U.S. determination to hold the vote despite the persistent violence.

Iraq's Shiites, believed to comprise about 60 percent of Iraq's nearly 26 million people, have been clamoring for an election, and voting is expected to go smoothly in northern areas ruled by the Kurds. But Sunni Arabs, estimated at about 20 percent of the population, fear domination by the Shiites.

During the January election, Iraqis will choose a National Assembly to draft a new constitution. If it's ratified, another election will be held in December 2005. Voters will also select 18 provincial councils and in Kurdish-ruled areas a regional assembly.

[stefanbc]

Those who claim "there are no moderate Muslims" are ignorant and need to educate themselves:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16030

[Stopislamnow]

Read the koran.

Get a clue. And calling someone ignorant does nothing for you cause.

I can sit and post thousands of articles about islamic violence against every single religious denomination that is not islam. And some against other muslims.

Islam has no redeeming qualities. None. And there is no such thing as moderate islam. Your view of islam is what's going to get more people killed in the future.

Islam is about one thing. And it isn't peace.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The media is spinning as fast as they know how!

[nothernlights]

I read this as a good news piece.

[timbuck2]

Does anybody else get the sense that the MSM must get terribly frustrated when there is no significant violence in Iraq to report? The Guardian is recycling an old AP report today to try and keep up the perception that chaos reigns in Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4630332,00.html

Pretty pathetic. There is more violence in Los Angeles County on a QUIET day.

Welcome to the world of the distorted lens and "progressive" thought.

-T

[nothernlights]

The media are truly insane,when Iraqui National Guards are assassinated by the terrorists that is a deterrent to Iraquis voting,however when an avowed supporter of the terrorist gets gunned down that is also a deterrent to voting????
IMHO,I think Alawi and his guys are taking contol more and more and they are starting to deal with the terrorists in an Iraqui fashiom not shackled by sensitivities. Mosques are being raided,clerics arrested, I think things are looking up.

[stefanbc]

Since you have already made up your mind we have nothing to discuss. Have a whole lot of fun with you plan to kill a billion Muslims, sir

[timbuck2]

They are awfully quiet and have let their religion of peace be co-opted by the crazies.

You cannot dispute that fact. Look around the globe. Where this is Islam, there is violence and political unrest. Why is that? Any idea?

-T

[EricT.]

" The association is already calling for a boycott of the vote, and if many Sunni heed its call, the legitimacy of the election could be deeply undermined.

How does a bunch of soreheads sitting out an election de-legitimize it? That is just assinine.

[SunkenCiv]

I wholeheartedly agree. OTOH, I never thought things were quite as bad as the media tried to portray it.

[eureka!]

Regarding #25 Yep. When US Marines don't die, they lead with "Four Killed In Escalating Violence". Four Iraqis killed by bad guys on a given day in the whole country. Meanwhile, as you note, LA (Detroit, New York etc.) will suffer dozens on a weekend. I spit on the presstitutes, traitors to the Fourth Estate...

[stefanbc]

They are awfully quiet and have let their religion of peace be co-opted by the crazies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are right on both counts and that is why the perversion of Islam by political and cultural opportunists (which goes back almost to the generation after it was founded) has resulted in the current situation. However that does not mean Islam IS evil or that there are no moderate Muslims. It does mean Muslims must speak up against the jihadists and against the perversion of Islam for evil political ends. The alternative is to accept the idea that all Muslims must be killed.

[wildbill]

I read this as a good news piece"

It's good in one respect. The 'insurgents' are getting a taste of their own medicine. They will soon understand they won't get away with terror unscathed by some retribution.

The bad part is that this leads down the road to civil-war.I'd rather the Iraqis supporting the government arrest these guys and put them on trial for subversion, but the country probably isn't civilized enough for that to work right now.

[Dog]

Los Pepes.....yep.

[BJClinton]

Update from AP via Yahoo!

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim prime minister said Monday he's confident only a small number of people will boycott the Jan. 30 elections despite anger among many Sunni Muslims over the Fallujah offensive and a deadly U.S.-Iraqi raid on a Baghdad mosque.

AP Photo

Latest headlines:

·	Iraq and US hail debt forgiveness deal AFP - 15 minutes ago

·	Malnutrition Rising Among Iraq's Children AP - 18 minutes ago

·	Allawi Confident About Iraq Elections AP - 25 minutes ago

Special Coverage

"The forces of darkness and terrorism will not benefit from this democratic experience and will fight it," Ayad Allawi told The Associated Press. "But we are determined that this experiment succeeds."

Allawi spoke as violence raged in the capital and other cities, and U.S. officials said a bomb was discovered on a commercial flight inside Iraq. Gunmen in the north assassinated a prominent election opponent, and five decapitated bodies were discovered south of the capital. Insurgents ambushed a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad, but there were no reports of casualties.

A U.S. soldier died Monday of wounds suffered in an attack in Baghdad the night before. The Pentagon (news - web sites) also announced Monday that three Marines wounded in Fallujah have died, raising the U.S. death toll in the offensive to at least 54. At least 1,227 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count.

Despite the violence, the Iraqi government Sunday set Jan. 30 as the date for parliamentary elections, the first since the collapse of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s dictatorship. Officials said the balloting would be held even in areas still plagued by insurgency and despite calls by militant Sunni clerics for a boycott.

However, Allawi, a secular Shiite hand-picked by the Americans last June, said he believed that only "a very small minority" would abstain during the election "for one reason or another."

"Their reason will be political, and not sectarian, and they will not be more than 5, 6 or 7 percent," Allawi said in his office in the U.S.-guarded Green Zone. "They are the eventual losers."

Allawi is expected to run for a seat in the assembly, which would then choose the government.

The United States is anxious that the election go ahead as planned, hoping that an elected government widely accepted by the Iraqi people will take the steam out of the insurgency still raging in Sunni areas of central, western and northern Iraq as well as the capital.

As the election approaches, U.S. commanders in Iraq probably will expand their troops by several thousand. Army units slated to depart are also being held back until after the election.

U.S. officials are concerned that a boycott could deprive the new government of legitimacy in the eyes of the Sunni Arabs, who make up an estimated 20 percent of the nearly 26 million population. The majority Shiites, believed to form 60 percent of the population, strongly support elections.

Spearheading the boycott call is the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni clerical group with suspected links to insurgent groups. The association called for a boycott to protest this month's U.S.-led assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and the continued U.S. military presence five months after the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty.

Allegations by Fallujah residents that U.S. troops defaced mosques and the large-scale devastation of the city have further stoked the anger of Sunnis, who were further enraged Friday when Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops raided Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque, Iraq's most revered Sunni site.

Witnesses said three worshippers were shot dead and at least 40 others were detained in the raid. In a gesture to the Sunnis, Allawi has ordered an investigation.

On Monday, an Iraqi Red Crescent convoy carried blankets, water and first-aid kits into Fallujah, the first time an independent organization has been able to visit the city since U.S.-led forces invaded two weeks ago.

Allawi was defiant in his defense of the Fallujah operation, describing it as an unqualified success.

"We went to Fallujah and we broke their back," he said. "We found enough weapons there to destroy an entire country."

He said that because of the success in Fallujah, "those who will try to obstruct democracy and election are finished. ... They don't have a safe haven anymore."

Allawi also criticized the Sunni association, accusing some of its members of inciting violence.

"Those who call for violence will be dealt with by force. The judicial system also will deal with those who allow themselves to stoke hatreds," he warned. "I hope that those who call themselves the Association of Muslim Scholars rise to the standards set by Islam as a religion of love and tolerance."

In the northern city of Mosul, a prominent member of the association, Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, was shot and killed Monday by gunmen at his home. He was the brother of the association's national spokesman, and his killing was likely to anger Sunnis in the city, where insurgents launched an uprising earlier in the month in support of the militants in Fallujah.

Near Mosul, U.S. forces Monday uncovered a weapons stockpile that included anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles and a building filled with explosive materials, the U.S. military said. The haul included one anti-aircraft gun, 15,000 anti-aircraft rounds, 4,600 hand grenades, 144 grenade launchers, 25 surface-to-air missiles, 21 mortar rounds, 10 rockets and artillery rounds.

Elsewhere, Iraqi security forces recovered 12 bodies, including five decapitated ones, from an area south of Baghdad, police said Monday. One was identified as a member of the Iraqi National Guard.

The bodies were found during a raid Sunday in Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Lt. Adnan Abdullah. The area has a mixed Sunni and Shiite population and has been described as the "triangle of death" because of the large number of fatal attacks against Shiites and foreigners there.

U.S. officials gave no details on the bomb that was found Monday on the flight inside Iraq, but said authorities were installing additional screening measures at Baghdad International Airport.

During the interview, Allawi also complained that some of Iraq's neighbors have not done enough to help stabilize his country.

"Certainly, some brothers and leaders in some neighboring nations did not do enough," he said. "They should have tried to help us at a time when we needed help," he said.

However, Allawi added that he looked forward to "positive and balanced ties with all our neighbors without exception."

"And we expect these nations and their leaders to do the same," he said.

Allawi's remarks came as an international conference on Iraq convened Monday at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik, where delegates expressed support for his government and the January vote. The conference, which brings together 20 nations including the United States and Iraq's neighbors, is designed to muster support for Iraq's government.

[justshutupandtakeit]

There is plenty of evidence from the history of Islam as to its evil. Its founder was evil and nothing can change the absurd and foul message of the Koran. Read it then come back and tell us it is not the worst piece of writing for a major religion you have ever seen. It can't even compare with those of thousands of years B.M. (before Mohammed) in beauty, profundity and spirituality.

Islam is a totalitarian political sect based upon militarism and misery for women. It cannot co-exist with the modern world. Look at the attacks by muslims on muslims in Algeria if you don't believe it.

[Fred Nerks]

"(which goes back almost to the generation after it was founded)"

By that one statement alone you have done nothing but prove to me you have read nothing about the crazy psychopath to whom the founding of this cult is attributed. The 'prophet' was a schizophrenic who also suffered numerous epileptic episodes. This information is attested by his own followers and exists in ancient arabic texts, which you will find in the footnotes of the profoundly researched works of Edward, Canon Sell, a Fellow of the University of Madras, who wrote numerous books on the subject of islam.
See tagline for Link to THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD.

[shawnlaw]

Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, was shot by gunmen at his home in northern Mosul — a sign of the continuing violence that wracks the country.

The slaying could further alienate Iraq's Sunni Arab minority ahead of the Jan. 30 election. The association is already calling for a boycott of the vote, and if many Sunni heed its call, the legitimacy of the election could be deeply undermined.

Is someone keeping track of how "alienated" each of the factions is or how legitimate the election will be?

How much more alienated can these guys get? It seems to me that we have to be pretty close to total alienation, I mean really, we have taken control of the country, deposed their president and jailed his butt among other things?

Is there some sort of alienation meter we can use to measure this?

Is the alienation meter similar to a BULL$HIT METER?

Is there a legitimacy meter?

If so, where does "deeply undermined" lie on the meter?

[sheik yerbouty]

Sunna or later, Shi'ite happens..

[johnb838]

Israel has done a nice job of this in the past year or so as well. Wonder if that was their model?