Mecca Charter calls for end to Iraq’s sectarian conflict

On October 20th, Iraqi Shi’ite and Sunni religious leaders came together in the holy city of Mecca to sign a declaration calling for an end to the sectarian fighting that has plagued the country, according to international media. The meeting was sponsored by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The charter, said to be inspired by Islamic texts condemning internal conflict amongst Muslims, stresses the need to protect Iraqi national unity. Denouncements against kidnappings and attacks on holy sites are also included in the document, and the release of Iraqis detained unjustly is called for.

Representatives from Iraq’s leading Shi’ite and Sunni parties attended the event and approved of the declaration, with Sunni leader Sheik Ahman Abd al-Ghafour al-Samerrai saying, “The most important point in it is that the shedding of Sunni and Shia blood is forbidden.”

Although they were not represented at the conference, it was reported that Grand Allyotah Ali al-Sistani and radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr, two of the nation’s most influential Shia clerics, also supported the charter.

Organizers of the meeting would like to have the text circulated in the Iraqi media and displayed in mosques.

For full article by The Washington Post click here

For full article by BBC News click here