Iraq: Israeli influence concerns Sunnis
Iraq’s most influential Arab Sunni scholar Dr Harith al-Dhari has said he is concerned over “shady rooms” in which the issues of Iraq are being discussed.
Dr al-Dhari who descends from a family well known for resisting the British occupation of Iraq early in the twentieth century, is the secretary-general of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the highest Sunni authority in Iraq, which wants “liberation before elections”.
He says “the UN team will achieve no success”. He believes elections and the transition of power are worthless as long as Iraq is under occupation.
He denies Iraqi Arab Sunnis do not want elections, fearing they would loose: “The Sunnis in Iraq are more than half of the population, and they might reach 60% of Iraqi people, that is according to the calculations we trust” he said, “the figures quoted for the Shia majority in Iraq are a lie that until now we have not disputed for the sake of national unity.”
Dr al-Dhari who lectured Islamic Sharia Law in Iraqi, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, says Israelis and Jews have a strong presence in after-war Iraq.
“Jews are in Iraq now. They are actively working with occupation forces, intelligence and companies allegedly in the country to rebuild Iraq” Dr al-Dhari said.
He says that Iraqi support for Palestinie provoked the Zionists and led them to push for the occupation of Iraq.
Dr Harith al-Dhari agrees with the Shia authority Ali al-Sistani on an Iraqi “free elected council”, but says that should be after the liberation of Iraq from foreign occupation.