NCRI – A senior Iraqi cleric has said that the government of Nouri al-Maliki is feeding sectarianism to ‘marginalize and exclude’ different religious and tribal groups.
Leading cleric Abdoulmalik al-Saadi said al-Maliki’s administration was guilty of sending out negative messages to confront ‘moderation’.
And he said the government would rather pursue its own divisive agenda than represent any religion in the country.
In a statement obtained by al-Shafaq News, Al Saadi said: “We have not used harsh language in our statements about the government. But our tone changed when we were confronted by the harsh language they use. The government uses negative sectarian messages to confront our message of moderation.
“The current government of Iraq, with all its factions and ministries, not only propagates and encourages sectarianism but it actively engages in promoting it. We believe they do not represent the Sunnis, Shiites or any other religions, they only follow their own agenda.”
Al Saadi called on all Iraqis Arabs – Turkmens, Kurds, Shiites and Sunni Muslims, and non-Muslims – to unite to halt the spread of sectarianism, and for the promotion of ‘the balance between the rights of Iraqi citizens without differentiation or marginalization and exclusion’.
He told them: “You the people of Iraq will remain and the governments and individuals will perish.”
Al-Saadi issued a statement in March in which he also accused the Iraqi government of being behind bombings in Baghdad and other provinces which had left dozens killed and wounded.
His latest statement also comes as many Shiites and Sunni clerics have been criticizing the government in Friday prayer services and calling for al-Maliki to resign.
