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| Iraq |
| Iraqi state TV shows live prayers from Sunni mosque |
| 2007-11-02 |
| Prayers from a Sunni mosque in Baghdad were broadcast live on Iraqi state television on Friday for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 in an effort to promote national reconciliation. Nawfal Abd Dahash, manager of the state-run Iraqiya television channel, said they had decided to broadcast Friday prayers from the Umm al-Qura mosque in the Baghdad district of Ghazaliya with no government interference. "We will start doing live broadcasts from mosques from both sects. This is to enhance national unity and to prove that there is no difference between Shi'ites and Sunnis," he told Reuters. Prayers from Shi'ite mosques have been broadcast by Shi'ite television channels regularly over the past four years. A Sunni Arab channel has also shown live prayers. But Dahash said the state channel had not shown Friday prayers live from any mosque since Saddam Hussein was in power. Improvements in security were also a factor in the decision to broadcast live on Friday. A few months ago Ghazaliya was a stronghold for al Qaeda Sunni Islamists and one of the most dangerous parts of the capital. However, Ghazaliya and other Sunni neighbourhoods in western Baghdad were targeted by some of the extra U.S. troops brought in this year and violence there has since declined. "The security situation is now much better than in previous times and we can go to these neighbourhoods and do live broadcasts," said Dahash. The broadcast also comes at a time when Sunni Arab communities in many parts of Iraq, angered by the extreme tactics used by al Qaeda, are taking up arms to drive the Islamists out of their communities. "Now is the time to heal the deep wounds made by this seditiousness and the conflicts that stemmed from this sedition. It is a time for forgiveness," said Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour al-Samarrai, a Sunni Muslim cleric who led the Friday prayers. "The time of revenge has gone. I call on each Iraqi person to be a like a doctor and heal the wounds of others because the wounds are deep and the pain is huge and the blood is still flowing," he said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 Jeeeebus luvs teh litter chilruns All teh chilrun of 'da 'burg Hippies, freepers, Naderites Theyre all Joooish in his site Jeeebus luvs da chillrun of 'da burg |
| Posted by: Thomas Woof 2007-11-02 17:42 |
| #2 While the intentions may be honorable, i fear that this will not last, and i keep having this mental image of the off screen SNL announcer doing the intro voice over: "..Live from...." Hope i am wrong. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2007-11-02 16:36 |
| #1 Progress. I guess. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-11-02 10:05 |