Senior Sunni Cleric Calls for Holy War against U.S. Forces in Iraq

Agence France Presse - 16 July 2004: Ramadi, Iraq - A senior Sunni cleric called on his followers to launch a holy war against the US forces in Iraq and threatened to turn the hotspot city of Ramadi into a "graveyard" for American troops.

"I ask US President (George W.) Bush to withdraw from Iraq or else Ramadi will become a graveyard for US soldiers," declared Sheikh Akram Ubayed Furaih at weekly prayers in the city, 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Baghdad.

"I call upon my brothers the Shiites and on all other religious groups to embark on a Jihad (holy war) against the US military to force them out of Iraq," said the cleric, who spent three months in a prison after being arrested by the US military and whose home was also raided last week.

"I urge all the Iraqi people to fight a holy war against the Americans," said the cleric, among the most respected figures in this Sunni rebel bastion in the heart of Al-Anbar province.

Using slightly more moderate tones, two other Sunni clerics from the Muslim Scholars' Association spoke out against conditions in military detention centres run by the US-led coalition.

"We have received messages from inmates at Um Qasr (detention centre on the border with Kuwait) describing their suffering during this hot weather," said Ahmed Abdel Gafur Samarrai, addressing a crowd at the Um al-Qura mosque in Baghdad.

He called on the United Nations to intervene on behalf of the detainees.

"The United Nations must do something because it granted a legitimacy to the occupation, but this legitimacy has been lost due to the actions that have taken place," said Samarrai in reference to the thousands of Iraqis locked away on suspicion of involvement in the persistent insurgency that dogged the 14-month US-led occupation.

In another Sunni mosque in the capital, Shiek Hassan Samarrai took the same line of criticism.

Both clerics made reference to a protest sit-in organised by the Iraqi Islamic Party at the doors of the detention centre in Um Qasr.

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Senior Sunni Cleric Calls for Holy War against U.S. Forces in Iraq Agence France Presse - 16 July 2004: Ramadi, Iraq - A senior Sunni cleric called on his followers to launch a holy war against the US forces in Iraq and threatened to turn the hotspot city of Ramadi into a "graveyard" for American troops. "I ask US President (George W.) Bush to withdraw from Iraq or else Ramadi will become a graveyard for US soldiers," declared Sheikh Akram Ubayed Furaih at weekly prayers in the city, 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Baghdad. "I call upon my brothers the Shiites and on all other religious groups to embark on a Jihad (holy war) against the US military to force them out of Iraq," said the cleric, who spent three months in a prison after being arrested by the US military and whose home was also raided last week. "I urge all the Iraqi people to fight a holy war against the Americans," said the cleric, among the most respected figures in this Sunni rebel bastion in the heart of Al-Anbar province. Using slightly more moderate tones, two other Sunni clerics from the Muslim Scholars' Association spoke out against conditions in military detention centres run by the US-led coalition. "We have received messages from inmates at Um Qasr (detention centre on the border with Kuwait) describing their suffering during this hot weather," said Ahmed Abdel Gafur Samarrai, addressing a crowd at the Um al-Qura mosque in Baghdad. He called on the United Nations to intervene on behalf of the detainees. "The United Nations must do something because it granted a legitimacy to the occupation, but this legitimacy has been lost due to the actions that have taken place," said Samarrai in reference to the thousands of Iraqis locked away on suspicion of involvement in the persistent insurgency that dogged the 14-month US-led occupation. In another Sunni mosque in the capital, Shiek Hassan Samarrai took the same line of criticism. Both clerics made reference to a protest sit-in organised by the Iraqi Islamic Party at the doors of the detention centre in Um Qasr. Comment on this and other MER articles in the MER FORUM © Please forward MER articles to others in their entirety with proper attribution. We welcome your comments and information in the new MER FORUM. MID-EAST REALITIES www.MiddleEast.Org Phone: (202) 362-5266 Fax: (815) 366-0800 Copyright © 2004 Mid-East Realities, All rights reserved

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