http://musliminsuffer.wordpress.com/
bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiem
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
=== News Update ===
Iraqi Sunnis Rebuild Destroyed Shiite Shrine
By Mazen Ghazi and Nada Omran, IOL Correspondents
* BAGHDAD, February 26, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – In a gesture of
goodwill, Iraqi Sunnis in the northern city of Samarra are
working tirelessly to rebuild the Golden Mosque, one of the
holiest Shiite shrines which was devastated in an odious
explosion last week.
"The initiative came soon after the explosion in solidarity with our
Shiite brothers," Abu Oqba Al-Samarrai told IslamOnline.net Monday,
February 27, after collecting golden pieces of the mosque's destroyed
dome.
He said people of different age groups have volunteered to remove the
ruble in a love demonstration.
"Elderly, women, children and men of [predominantly Sunni] Samarra rush
to the tomb to remove the debris, using shovels and manual carriages,"
he explained.
Women provided food and water to exhausted men after a long day of hard
work to get the job done as soon as possible.
"The men chant in unison Islamic songs to kill time," Samarrai said.
More than 200 people have been killed since Wednesday, February 22, when
the Golden Mosque was destroyed in a bombing that sparked a wave of tit-
for-tat killings and led the defense minister to warn of the danger of
"endless civil war."
The main Sunni political coalition announced on Thursday, February 23,
boycotting talks on government formation after the sectarian attacks,
while Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr ordered protection for Sunni mosques
in predominantly Shiites areas.
On Saturday, February 25, Shiite scholars from the Sadr and Khalsi
schools met with Sunni leaders in Baghdad's premier Sunni mosque Abu
Hanifa, where they both prayed under the leadership of prominent Sunni
imam Abdel Salam Al-Qubaissi.
The meeting also announced the formation of a commission to "determine
the reasons for the crisis with a view to solving it," while also
calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops.
Donations
Chairman of the Sunni Waqfs Ahmad Abdul Ghaffor Al-Samarrai has declared
that his body will donate two billion Iraqi dinars ($1,350 million) to
reconstruct the shrine..
The Shiite shrine contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams, Ali Al-
Hadi, who died in 868 A.D., and his son Hassan Al-Askari, who died in
874 A.D.
Tradition says the shrine, which draws Shiite pilgrims from around the
world, is near the place where the last of the 12 Shiite imams, Muhammad
Al-Mahdi, disappeared.
Shiites believe he is still alive and will return to restore justice to
humanity.
Shiite scholar Jawad Al-Khalsi has said the shrine bombing was a planned
and a specialist work.
The Iraqi capital returned to relative normality on Monday with the end
of an extended curfew that had seen a traffic ban to reduce the threat
of further violence.
Residents were moving freely, with cars back on the roads under the
direction of traffic police.
source:
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-02/27/article01.shtml
Also read:
* Sunnis & Shiites: Overlooking Differences
* Iraqi Sunnis Battle To Defend Shiites
===
-muslim voice-
______________________________________
BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
