Al-Monitor learned about the obstacles that the Iraqi Council for Interfaith Dialogue has faced in its attempts to open a window for ongoing communication between Shiite and Sunni clerics, despite the efforts of the council.
Amina al-Zahabi, a media relations officer for the council, told Al-Monitor, “It is easy to gather Shiites or Sunnis with people from other religions, but it is hard to put them together, although they both descend from Islam. As a matter of fact, they do not feel threatened by Christian clerics or Mandeans, but they take a defensive attitude as soon as they meet a cleric from the opposing Islamic sect.”
Despite this animosity, the council managed to bring Sunni and Shiite clerics together in consecutive sessions. The imam of the Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Gilani Mosque, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Issawi, an influential Sunni figure in the Sunni-Sufi community, officially joined the council. The council members recently visited the Al-Azamiya neighborhood, the most important Sunni hub in Baghdad, to meet with the imam of Abu Hanifa mosque, Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abdul Jabbar. It is noteworthy that last October, this region witnessed a provocative march staged by an extremist group that insulted holy historic Sunni figures, fueling the sectarian strife there. The arrest of Sheikh Abdel Sattar, shortly after the march, exacerbated the situation.
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