Iraqi scholars and tribal leaders discuss protests

Around 200 religious scholars and tribal leaders representing demonstrators held a conference in Samarra, Salah al-Din province, to discuss their decision to go to Baghdad for prayers at the shrine of Abu Hanifa in Adhamiyah. The attendees were from six Iraqi provinces: Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Diyala, Baghdad, Nineveh and Anbar. The conference was led by Sheikh Ahmed Hassan al-Taha, a representative of Iraqi Grand Mufti Rafie Rifai, and the clergy of Salah al-Din province Sheikh Mohammed Hamdoun. In his concluding statement, Sheikh Hamadoun said that all rights being claimed by the demonstrators are "legitimate," and the government must deliver. He added that taking part in demonstrations and sit-ins is "an Islamic duty," and urged protesters to remain peaceful. He appealed to Iraqi People's Committees to postpone the unified prayer in Baghdad due to "government arbitrariness, its closure of roads and arrests." The conference statement read that "all six provinces will hold Friday prayers and continue to claim their rights." It warned against the arbitrary arrest of scholars and tribal leaders, adding that such a move would "increases tension" and show that the government "does not want a solution to the crisis." Hamdoun emphasised the importance of Iraqi unity, saying: "Iraq will not survive with this clear marginalisation."