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UN denies inspecting Iraqi mosque
The United Nations has insisted that members of its weapons inspection team in Iraq who visited a mosque earlier this week did so as tourists and not as part of their disarmament mission. The imam of the al-Nidaa mosque in Baghdad, Sheikh Qutaiba Ammash, had described the visit as an inspection and angrily denounced it as a "provocation for Muslims".
But UN spokesman Hiro Ueki said: "It was a private visit. They just wanted to visit a mosque. They had no intention to enter, but they were invited to see it. They took pictures only after they asked. Everyone at the mosque was very cordial to them."
He said they had asked questions about the mosque, including about its age, but not others the imam had claimed were asked, such as whether there was an underground shelter. Sheikh Ammash said on Wednesday that five inspectors had arrived at his mosque in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The cleric said they were unaccompanied by Iraqi minders, as is normally the case when inspections take place. He added that the inspectors agreed to remove their shoes before entering the mosque, in line with Muslim tradition, and toured it for about half an hour.
"This is a provocation for Muslims in Iraq and their right to worship," he said. "We thank God that it was not a time of prayer when they came, because their lives would have been in danger if they had.
"Are they looking for weapons of mass destruction or are they gauging the faith in our hearts?" Touchy, aren't they? Seems like a lot of noise over nothing. Think they are working up the nerve to toss the inspectors? I know that would be the stupidest thing they could do, but if they come to the conclusion Bush is going to attack anyway, maybe they try to save a little face on the way down? Posted by: Steve 2003-01-23 |
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