Al-Safi: Al-Maliki Must be PM for All Iraqis

The USG Open Source Center summarizes broadcasts of Friday prayers sermons in Iraq last Friday. Note that a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani upbraided Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of the Da'wa Party for his tendency to speak mainly of the welfare of the Shiites, urging himm to be prime minister of all Iraqis. In contrast, he praises Adil Abdul Mahdi, the Shiite vice president, who comes from the rival Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. It is a remarkable and telling rebuke, and I think a sign of Sistani's growing impatience with the narrow concerns of the more sectarian leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance.

Iraqi Friday Sermons for 27 Apr Discuss Security, Political Issues Iraq -- OSC Summary Sunday, April 29, 2007 Major Iraqi television channels - Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah, Baghdad Baghdad Satellite Channel, Baghdad Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad Al-Furat, Cairo Al-Baghdadiyah, and Baghdad Al-Diyar - are observed on 27 April to carry the following reports on Friday sermons: Al-Iraqiyah: Within its 1700 GMT newscast, Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah Television in Arabic - government-sponsored television station, run by the Iraqi Media Network - carries the following report on today's Friday sermons: "Shaykh Ahmad al-Safi, representative of Grand Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Ali al-Sistani has warned politicians of using the extremist religious rhetoric. In a Friday sermon at the Al-Husayn Shrine, Al-Sayyid Al-Safi stressed the importance of putting an end to the security deterioration in some of the Diyala areas." "Al-Safi classified terrorism as two kinds, the external terrorism and the official terrorism, stressing that the latter is more dangerous than the external terrorism, especially since it contains political dimensions that affect Iraq's progress and development." Al-Safi is then shown saying: "I say that the prime minister should not talk about the right of Shiites only. This is not right, taking into consideration that he is the prime minister of Iraq. He should speak about Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and all sects. When the vice president travels abroad he speaks about Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis, and all sects. However, anyone who speaks harshly to the point of causing moral destruction to others is not an official." At a Friday sermon attended by Shiites and Sunnis, Shaykh Ahmad Abd-al-Razzaq, imam and preacher of the Falih Pasha Mosque in Al-Nasiriyah, says: "We want an Arab position that pleases our hearts, removes our tears, and saves our blood." . . Baghdad Al-Furat Television Channel in Arabic - television channel affiliated with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) led by Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim, carries within its 1700 GMT newscast a report on today's Friday sermons, as follows: Shaykh Muhammad al-Haydari, imam and preacher of Al-Khillani Mosque, says: "There are operations now, but they are not as they should be. Therefore, aid should be extended to some areas and a quick action should be carried out to purge these areas from the takfiris (holding other Muslims to be infidel), terrorists, and Saddamists." Shaykh Hamid al-Sa'idi, imam and preacher of the Buratha Mosque, says: "I stress to you that there are no peoples in the world who have seen an ordeal like the current one in Iraq. We have been bleeding for four years now. Our houses are being demolished, our nerves are being destroyed, and our sanctities are being attacked. However, we are still continuing the march and we are still ready to make sacrifices in order to achieve our aspirations." Shaykh Talal al-Sa'di, imam and preacher of Friday sermon at Al-Kazimiyah mosque, says: "We are with the security plan and with every step they make. They are aware of the policy of the Al-Sadr Trend and the Al-Mahdi Army." The channel carries an episode of its weekly "Friday Sermons" program at 2008 GMT, as follows: Shaykh Muhammad al-Haydari, imam and preacher of Al-Khillani Mosque, says: "Our people and brothers in the Diyala Governorate have been experiencing an ordeal for a long time. The Al-Anbar Governorate has also experienced an ordeal by the takfiris and the criminal gangs, but, all praise is due to God, thanks to the efforts of its sons and tribes and support from the government and the army and police forces, the people there have managed to liberate many areas in the Al-Anbar Governorate. However, the Diyala Governorate is still suffering major problems." Al-Haydari stresses the "displacement" issue and highlights the suffering of the displaced citizens. He urges the government to solve the problems of these citizens. Speaking about the Congress debate on the issue of withdrawal from Iraq, Al-Haydari says: "What counts is the position of the Iraqi people. Certainly, more than 99 percent of the people do not want the occupation." Shaykh Hamid al-Sa'idi, imam and preacher of the Buratha Mosque, discusses the security situation and the daily "booby-trapped cars" in Iraq. He says: "We pinned great hopes on the Law Enforcement Plan, and the government has made serious efforts in this regard." Assessing this plan, he says: "We can say that it is a plan that has managed to achieve something, but regrettably, it has failed to achieve all the desired objectives. However, the plan can be considered one of the signs of hope." Iyad al-Zamili, imam and preacher of the Al-Diwaniyah Mosque, says: "The higher religious authority is now worried about what is taking place in Iraq. It calls for a quick action. (Terrorist) elements and groups move in the governorates to foment seditions. There is sedition in a certain governorate every day with the aim of disrupting the situation. This is a part of the conspiratorial plan of destroying the entire political process and all the achievements that have been made over the past period."