Bombing of shrines…early war in Anbar?
Anbar, June 23, (VOI) – For many Iraqis, the bombing attacks that targeted two Shiite shrines in Samarra a few days ago were but a declaration of a war by the militias and armed groups on shrines and houses of worship in Iraq long time ago.
The Samarra bombings are actually seen as another phase in a war that has targeted sacred symbols and undermined religious tourism in Iraq.
Despite its long history of bombings, Anbar’s holy shrines did not attract the attention of the Iraqi media, which has been preoccupied with the wide-scale military operations launched by the U.S. forces against armed groups in the province.
Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Sunni province of Anbar has been a hotspot for attacks on sanctities.
In 2005, gunmen blew up many holy shrines in Hit, 180 km west of Baghdad, including the shrines of Sheikh Abdullah Bin al-Mubarak in al-Jerri area, Sheikh Ali Bin Nour al-Din in the western part of the old city, Sheikh Ahmed al-Soufi in Basayer neighborhood, Sheikh Ali al-Hiti in al-Bakr neighborhood, and al-Sayyid Abdul Mahmoud in al-Sikkala.
All these attacks were just a few weeks’ interval amid growing fears of violent reaction from armed groups.
In al-Bastamiya, 20 km west of Hit, unknown gunmen attacked the tomb of Sufi Sheikh Abu Yazid al-Bastami and the nearby shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Kilani, a renowned Sunni preacher.
In Haditha, 256 km west of Baghdad, unidentified armed men blew up the shrine of Sheikh Hadid and the ancient lighthouse of Aana city.
In Alous island neighborhood, gunmen bombed the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Wahed a-Tayyar, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through the line of Imam al-Hassan, the prophet’s grandson.
Al-Ramadi, one of the main cities in Anbar, witnessed several bombing attacks on shrines, the most notorious of which was the bombing of Sheikh Massoud’s tomb in the area between al-Ramadi and al-Khalediya, at a time when it was crowded with Sunni and Shiite visitors from all over Iraq.
English Source: Aswat Aliraq “Bombing of shrines…early war in Anbar? “ The Arabic Source for the article Is here: اصوات العراق - تفجير المراقد ..حرب بدأت في محافظة الانبار مبكرا
Indexed under: Al Anbar (Governorate), Aswat Al Iraq Features, Bombings, Briefings, Islam
I never needed much convincing that the Christian fundamentalists who play such a large part in the present American Government view this destruction of Islamic shrines as something that is good for their cause (how destruction can be good is beyond me.) In addition to the barbarian tactics of the military, this just fits into their 11th century Crusade mentality. If there ever are history books written, i.e. if the Israeli don’t spark a nuclear holocaust, I am sure that this insidious aspect of Bush’s policy will receive much more attention.