Iraq’s Sunni sheikhs suffer under insurgent rule
Early this year Sunni Arab worshippers in the Iraqi city of Fallujah were surprised to see an armed man in sunglasses, instead of the regular sheikh, ascend the mosque pulpit. The visibly agitated moderate sheikh stood aside, silenced by an Islamist militant preaching violence against Iraq’s security forces. “The man was wearing a dishdasha and […]Mohammad Abbas writes for the Daily Star:
Early this year Sunni Arab worshippers in the Iraqi city of Fallujah were surprised to see an armed man in sunglasses, instead of the regular sheikh, ascend the mosque pulpit. The visibly agitated moderate sheikh stood aside, silenced by an Islamist militant preaching violence against Iraq’s security forces.
“The man was wearing a dishdasha and on top of that, a shoulder holster containing a gun,” said one worshipper who asked not to be identified. “The sheikh appeared extremely agitated. When the man delivered the sermon the sheikh kept staring at the floor like he didn’t want to hear it.”
