Iraq
The following articles represent the views of their authors, and not necessarily those of the Islamic Supreme Council of America. ISCA is posting them for informational purposes only.
Sunni Disposition: These moderates should be our friends
5/7/2004
Sunni traditionalists in Iraq are fighting desperately for self-preservation in a nation flooded with Wahabist radicals. Without US support, these traditionally peace-loving, hard-working and progressive elements will become more and more alienated and tend towards a fight, if for no other reason than to save their own way of life.
Special Report
Read the latest U.S. Department of Defense updates on the situation on the ground in Iraq:
Note: These reports are presented in Microsoft PowerPoint format. If you do not have PowerPoint, you can download the PowerPoint viewer from Microsoft.
Reading Najaf: What the Shia reaction to the bombing means
9/3/2003
Numerous Westerners theorized that the blast was caused by rivalries among Shias, by the intrigues of Iranian hard-liners or by followers of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Strangely enough, Iraqi Shias and Shia leaders in the United States pointed fingers in a different direction: at the Wahhabi sect, which is the official religion of Iraq's southern neighbor, Saudi Arabia.
Dinner With the Sayyids
8/10/2003
The progressives have to take on both the religious totalitarians, like Osama bin Laden, and the secular totalitarians who exploit Islam as a cover, like Saddam Hussein. We cannot defeat their extremists, only they can. This war of ideas needs two things: a secure space for people to tell the truth and people with the courage to tell it.
Anti-U.S. Group in Iraq Claims al-Qaeda Link
7/14/2003
A group claiming links to the al Qaeda network has released a tape saying it, not Saddam Hussein loyalists, was behind attacks on U.S. forces, but offered no evidence to back up the claims.
Rebuilding the Law
4/21/2003
With the fall of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is confronted with the challenge of rebuilding its constitutional and legal order. Having suffered the experience of living under some of the most draconian laws known to the modern age, Iraqis are uniquely positioned to turn a new page in the annals of Middle Eastern law.
Exile Group Leaders Fault U.S. Plan for Postwar Iraq
2/12/2003
Iraqi exile leaders complained today that a U.S. plan to install a military governor for up to a year in postwar Iraq, as outlined by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, risks leaving in place an Iraqi administration dominated by the country's Sunni Muslim minority and veterans of President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
Jihadi Tomb Raiders: They're not Islam
12/13/2002 - National Review
Under the false pretenses of implementing "Islamic" law, Ansar al-Islam, a radical Islamist group of the Salafi/Wahhabi strain, recently moved into the rugged mountains of northern Iraq and has taken control of the region. These jihadists have forcefully imposed their harsh Wahhabi version of Islamic law on villages in the Hawraman Mountain region, along the border with Iran. As part of this campaign, Ansar al-Islam vandalized the graves of classical Islamic scholars who are revered throughout the region as spiritual guides who promoted traditional Islam and Islamic mysticism.
Up to 30 Kurds Killed in Battle with Islamic Militia
12/4/2002
Iraqi Kurd Islamist guerrillas said to be linked to al-Qaida killed as many as 30 Kurdish fighters in a dawn attack Wednesday on two peaks in the mountains of northern Iraq.
Islamists Escalate Fight in N. Iraq
11/22/2002
Al Qaeda-backed 'Soldiers of God' are gaining strength and tying up Kurdish forces, potential US allies in Iraq.
An Open Letter from the Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE)
8/2002
Reports from the Kurdish region of Iraq indicate that the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam is desecrating the graves of Naqshbandi Sufi saints as part of its campaign to destroy traditional Islam and promote its own extremist ideology. Kurdish Naqshbandis are urging action to stop these and other atrocities being committed by these extremists.
Letter from the Naqshbandi Shaykh Mohammad Masum to Ayatollah Khamenei
8/2002
An eloquent plea from the leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in Kurdistan to the supreme spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran asking for his help in stopping the atrocities being committed by Ansar Al-Islam and other Iranian-backed militant groups in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Interview with Michael Rubin
8/20/2002 - CNN Live
There are some new indications that al Qaeda has been at work inside of Iraq, but not necessarily with the cooperation of Saddam Hussein. CNN has learned that in recent weeks the U.S. has been monitoring a suspected chemical weapons factory that has been linked to al Qaeda.
Kurdish Leader Calls for the Elimination of Ladenite Ansar Al-Islam
7/23/2002
Qala Chwalan, July 21-The Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani received a delegation of Sheikhs and spiritual leaders of the Naqshabandi Sufi order, headed by Sheikh Thabit Aladdin who presented Mr. Talabani with a memorandum, on behalf of the Naqshabandi Tarika, which strongly condemns the crimes committed by the terrorist rogue group, Ansar Al-Islam, against the Naqshabandi holy shrines, places of worship and breaching the sanctity of the Naqshabandi farms in Bakhi Kon, Hawraman area.
PUK Forces Reportedly Repulse a Major Attack by Ansar al-Islam Forces
7/5/2002 - Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch
Forces of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, repulsed an attack by Ansar al-Islam group forces, a Kurdish Islamic armed group, said a PUK military statement, broadcast by PUK satellite channel, KurdSat yesterday, 4 July.
"Ansar Al-Islam" in Northern Iraq: New Terrorist Organization that Ties Saddam Hussein to Al-Qaida and Bin Laden
4/21/2002
The Turkish newspaper Radikal reported that Kurdish military sources claimed a new organization called Ansar Al-Islam [Supporters of Islam] with links to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qa'ida was established in northern Iraq. The organization, which also has ties to Saddam Hussein, controls about 10 villages with 4,000 inhabitants near the Iranian border.
US Says Iraq Linked to al-Qaeda
3/19/2002 - BBC
Iraq has had contact with al-Qaeda and may be working with the group, the head of the CIA has told the US Senate.
Jund Al-Islam Poisoning Kurdistan with Usama Bin Laden's Ideology
9/14/2001 - KurdishMedia.com
Usama Bin Laden's hand has reached the mountains of Kurdistan. Jund Al-Islam, or the Soldiers of Islam, is an armed offshoot of ultra-fanatic remnants of the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan's spring fall-out. Members of this newly formed organization have taken control of territories extending across the Hawraman Mountain stretches of Twela-u-Biyara, in the district of Halabja.
