Ayatollah Sistani says Iraq situation is painful, calls for unity

The religious authority Ali al-Sistani said that “what is happening in Iraq in particular and the Arab and Islamic nation in general is painful for all of us,” calling all Muslims to unite and reject sectarianism.

The Jordanian Minister of al-Awqaf Mohammed Noah al-Kodat met with the religious authority, Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, where they discussed the local and regional situation.

After the end of the Conference on Islamic Unity which was held in Baghdad and attended by more than 300 scientists from the Islamic world, Al-Kodat told reporters after returning to his country that scientists from the Sunni and Shiites agreed and signed on several outputs including “Referring to the Holy Quran when there is disagreement” and “the correct Biography of the Prophet should be the authoring approach between the sects” as well as “an emphasis on respecting the Companions of the Prophet and the sanctity of Muslim blood”.

According to al-Kodat, the agreement was concluded that “the definition of a Muslim is the articulation of al-Shahaadatayn”, and that Muslims appreciate the House of the Prophet.

Al-Kodat said, “The statement was signed by a group of Al-Azhar scholars and Jordanian scholars from the Department of Fatwa, as well as Jordanian, Kuwaiti and Tunisian scholars, and religious authorities in both Iraq and Iran.” He stressed that the agreement “is a win-win situation for the Sunnis and the Shiites because it sets everything straight between members of the two communities.”

Iraq has been witnessing security tensions after the events of Hawija which was soon spreading to other cities because protest arenas got out of control and and gunmen attacked the army and took over police stations in the areas of Sulaiman Bek, al-Mosul and Fallujah.