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Sunnis Step Off Political Sidelines
New Bloc in Iraq Ends Boycott of Government
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Naseer Nouri
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, May 22, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, May 21 -- More than 1,000 Sunni Arab clerics, political leaders and tribal heads ended their two-year boycott of politics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq on Saturday, uniting in a Sunni bloc that they said would help draft the country's new constitution and compete in elections.
Formation of the group comes during escalating violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that has raised the threat of sectarian war. The bloc represents moderate and hard-line members of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the Iraqi Islamic Party and other main groups of the disgruntled Sunni minority toppled from dominance when U.S.-led troops routed Hussein in April 2003.
Sunnis have remained on the sidelines of the Iraqi government since then. Most Sunnis boycotted national elections in January that put the long-suppressed Shiite majority in charge. Meanwhile, a Sunni-led insurgency appears to have become increasingly unpopular among ordinary Iraqis as the death toll from bombings and other attacks climbs.
"The country needs Sunnis to join politics," Adnand Dulaimi, a government-appointed overseer of Sunni religious sites and a leader of the drive to draw Sunnis into the rebuilding of Iraq, declared at the conference Saturday where the bloc was assembled. "The Sunnis are now ready to participate."
"The last elections brought a major turnaround in the political representation of Sunnis,'' Dulaimi said. "We think it's time to take steps to save Iraq's identity, and its unity and independence. . . . Iraq is for all, and Iraq is not sectarian.''
"I call on Sunnis to unite their voices and get ready to take part in the next election,'' said Ahmed Abdul Ghafur Samarrai, a moderate in the Association of Muslim Scholars, the most vocal Sunni opposition group.
Shiites in Iraq Laud End of Sunni Boycott
Radical Cleric Steps in As Unlikely Mediator
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Omar Fekeiki
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 23, 2005; Page A12
BAGHDAD, May 22 -- Iraq's new Shiite-dominated government on Sunday welcomed the end of a Sunni Arab boycott of politics, encouraging a newly formed Sunni bloc to distance itself from insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces.
The radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, meanwhile, took up the unlikely role of mediator between Shiite and Sunni factions, circulating a message that called for all sides to renounce the killing of all Iraqis, a Sunni official said.
The overtures by opponents of the new Iraqi government emerged as violence in Iraq has increasingly involved blood-for-blood attacks on Sunni and Shiite clerics.
An influential Sunni group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, has blamed Shiite-led security forces for the killings of Sunni preachers, saying on its Web site Sunday that one cleric was tortured with an electric drill before he was killed.
On Saturday, more than 1,000 Sunnis from the association and other groups, joined by other Sunni religious and tribal leaders, said they wanted to help write Iraq's new constitution and compete in elections. The announcement broke a de facto political boycott by most Sunnis that had held since U.S.-led forces routed former president Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-led government in April 2003.
Is there enough of a carrot that the Sunnis will stay in?
Is Sadr's role legitimate, or is he the Al Sharpton of Iraqi politics?
New Bloc in Iraq Ends Boycott of Government
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Naseer Nouri
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, May 22, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, May 21 -- More than 1,000 Sunni Arab clerics, political leaders and tribal heads ended their two-year boycott of politics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq on Saturday, uniting in a Sunni bloc that they said would help draft the country's new constitution and compete in elections.
Formation of the group comes during escalating violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that has raised the threat of sectarian war. The bloc represents moderate and hard-line members of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the Iraqi Islamic Party and other main groups of the disgruntled Sunni minority toppled from dominance when U.S.-led troops routed Hussein in April 2003.
Sunnis have remained on the sidelines of the Iraqi government since then. Most Sunnis boycotted national elections in January that put the long-suppressed Shiite majority in charge. Meanwhile, a Sunni-led insurgency appears to have become increasingly unpopular among ordinary Iraqis as the death toll from bombings and other attacks climbs.
"The country needs Sunnis to join politics," Adnand Dulaimi, a government-appointed overseer of Sunni religious sites and a leader of the drive to draw Sunnis into the rebuilding of Iraq, declared at the conference Saturday where the bloc was assembled. "The Sunnis are now ready to participate."
"The last elections brought a major turnaround in the political representation of Sunnis,'' Dulaimi said. "We think it's time to take steps to save Iraq's identity, and its unity and independence. . . . Iraq is for all, and Iraq is not sectarian.''
"I call on Sunnis to unite their voices and get ready to take part in the next election,'' said Ahmed Abdul Ghafur Samarrai, a moderate in the Association of Muslim Scholars, the most vocal Sunni opposition group.
Shiites in Iraq Laud End of Sunni Boycott
Radical Cleric Steps in As Unlikely Mediator
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Omar Fekeiki
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 23, 2005; Page A12
BAGHDAD, May 22 -- Iraq's new Shiite-dominated government on Sunday welcomed the end of a Sunni Arab boycott of politics, encouraging a newly formed Sunni bloc to distance itself from insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces.
The radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, meanwhile, took up the unlikely role of mediator between Shiite and Sunni factions, circulating a message that called for all sides to renounce the killing of all Iraqis, a Sunni official said.
The overtures by opponents of the new Iraqi government emerged as violence in Iraq has increasingly involved blood-for-blood attacks on Sunni and Shiite clerics.
An influential Sunni group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, has blamed Shiite-led security forces for the killings of Sunni preachers, saying on its Web site Sunday that one cleric was tortured with an electric drill before he was killed.
On Saturday, more than 1,000 Sunnis from the association and other groups, joined by other Sunni religious and tribal leaders, said they wanted to help write Iraq's new constitution and compete in elections. The announcement broke a de facto political boycott by most Sunnis that had held since U.S.-led forces routed former president Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-led government in April 2003.
Is there enough of a carrot that the Sunnis will stay in?
Is Sadr's role legitimate, or is he the Al Sharpton of Iraqi politics?
Winning the peace 
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