Thursday, February 23, 2006
UMMAH DISTRACTED
The bombing of the Askariya shrine? It’s just a wily ploy to distract everybody from the far more crucial issue of those Danish cartoons:
A leading Shiite Muslim leader in Pakistan on Thursday condemned the attacks on the mausoleums of Hazrat Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari in Samarra as a ploy to divert the ummah’s attention from the crisis over the blasphemous caricatures.
The president of Millat-e-Jafria Pakistan, Allama Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi, said that the explosion in the shrine was carried out by the same people who supported the derogatory cartoons published in European newspapers.
"The strike is a continuation of the blasphemy on the holy family members of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and a ploy to divert the attention of the Muslim world from the imperialist forces’ diabolical designs against Islam,” the cleric maintained.
The explosion was carried out by the same people who supported the cartoons? Interesting theory. Omar at Iraq the Model lists developments, some desperately worrying, following yesterday’s attack:
- President Talabani promises to make rebuilding the shrine his personal responsibility and to donate the required money from his own.
- Head of the Sunni endowment sheikh Ahmed al-Samarra’I announces that he will allocate 2 billion dinars (~1.4 million $) for the rebuilding of the shrine from the treasury of the Sunni endowment.
- Huge demonstrations in many of Iraq’s provinces including Samarra and Mosul where thousands of people condemned the attack.
- The top 4 Shia Ayatollahs hold a meeting at Sistani’s home to discuss the situation.
- The Association of Muslim scholars and the Islamic Party condemn the “criminal act”.
- Retaliatory attacks on reportedly 29 Sunni mosques and the Accord Front warns from the consequences of such violent reactions.
- Jafari in a press conference calls for national unity and the leaders of the UIA hold a meeting. A press release is expected to come soon.
- The Iraqi TV opened the phone lines to receive the reactions of the audience to the attack and hosts Sunni clerics and politicians in an attempt to relieve the tension.
- Baghdad is in undeclared emergency situation, shops closed and streets nearly empty.
- Tight security around the shrine of Abu Haneefa in Aazamiya district of Baghdad, this is considered the top shrine/mosque for Sunni Muslims in Iraq.
- Masked gunmen attack Shia protestors in at least one neighborhood in western Baghdad and armed clashes in Ghazaliya and Hay al-A’amil.
- People exchange phones calls with their relatives and friends to check on them and discourage them from leaving their homes.