The tension began when the representative of Al-Sarkhi in the province of Babil demanded the demolition of the graves of Shiite imams, considering their existence contrary to the Islamic religion, which angered religious parties and popular circles there.
And quickly, the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr broke into this controversy, where he gave Al-Sarkhi, three days to repudiate his representative in Friday prayers in the province of Babylon, Ali Al-Masoudi, and vowed that if Al-Sarkhi did not disavow his representative, he would resort to legal, legal and customary methods.
Al-Sadr said in his letter: “Some of those who belong to the Sarkhi tradition are trying to introduce some deviant beliefs into the sect, the latest of which was the imam of an argument for them in the province of Babylon, who demanded the demolition of graves.”
Following that message, the Iraqi security forces arrested the cleric Al-Masoudi, the imam of Al-Fath Al-Mubin Husseiniya, while dozens of Al-Sadr’s supporters demonstrated, on Monday evening, in front of Al-Hussainiya, in protest against Al-Masoudi’s sermon.
In turn, the Babylon Governorate police issued a decision to close all Al-Sarkhi headquarters in the city, in anticipation of a “security breakdown.”
Matters did not stop there, but a sound bomb, which was placed near the Al-Mujtaba Husseiniya of the Sarkhiyin in the city of Al-Musayyab in the same governorate, exploded, without causing any casualties, which raised concern about clashes between the two parties, or an armed conflict.
Angry protesters, supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, in the city of Al-Qasim in Babylon, burned one of the Husseiniyas belonging to Al-Sarkhi.
A video clip showed that dozens of al-Sadr’s supporters stormed the Husseiniya, while its yard and its courtyard were set on fire.
This is not the first time that skirmishes and prosecutions have taken place against the Sarkhi Marjaiya and his supporters, as similar incidents have occurred over the past years, often reaching armed clashes.
These developments come in light of confused political conditions, due to the delay in forming the Iraqi government, and the intensification of political differences between the large blocs, as well as the security challenges facing Iraq, such as the dangers of ISIS and armed groups.
Simultaneously, the Iraqi security forces launched a wide campaign to track down Al-Sarkhi’s followers in several provinces in the country.
And the Ministry of Interior said in a statement: “The intelligence agency has embarked on a wide campaign to pursue members of an extremist religious movement that is trying to offend religious symbols and Islamic rituals and demolish sanctified shrines.”
She added, “According to accurate intelligence information, the intelligence agency’s men were able to arrest 6 suspects from this extremist movement that is trying to sow discord among our one Iraqi people in the governorates of Basra, Karbala, and Maysan.”
Al-Sarkhi has a history of confrontations with the Iraqi security forces and members of armed groups. In 2014, the Karbala governorate witnessed bloody confrontations, due to Al-Sarkhi’s position on the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces to confront ISIS, as he considered it an Iranian militia.
Al-Sarkhi also sharply criticized the Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, and considered it one of the aspects of Iranian expansion in the country. He also refused to issue a fatwa from al-Sistani, regarding the entry of the United States of America into Iraq.
The fighting continued for several days in Karbala province, during which Iraqi forces used heavy weapons and helicopters and brought in additional forces from the capital, Baghdad. A number of members of the Iraqi security forces, and about 30 members of the “Al-Hussein Army”, were victims of these confrontations.
Media reports indicate that Al-Sarkhi’s followers and supporters are concentrated in the governorates of Diwaniyah, Najaf, Karbala, Nasiriyah and Basra, and their number reaches about 30,000 people, including members of the “Hussein Army”.
Al-Sarkhi is one of the Shiite clerics who are described as moderate, but many Shiites describe him as a “deviant.”
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