Top cleric asks Iraqis not to join anti-Qaeda fight
05 Oct 2007 20:07:01 GMT
Source: Reuters


Background
Iraq in turmoil
More DUBAI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A top Iraqi Sunni cleric urged Iraqis on Friday not to join U.S.-led forces in fighting al Qaeda, saying they would be helping occupiers against compatriots.

"We reject the actions of al Qaeda but they are still part of us ... Ninety percent of al Qaeda are Iraqis," Sheikh Harith al-Dari told Al Jazeera television. "It may be possible to hold a dialogue with them ... and God may help them return to reason."

"From a national, Islamic and rational point of view, it is not allowed to fight alongside occupation forces," said Dari, who heads Iraq's Muslim Clerics Association