IRAQ: Iaqis pray for peace on first day of Eid

Record ID: 863084

  • Title: IRAQ: Iaqis pray for peace on first day of Eid
  • Date: 15th October 2013
  • Summary: WORSHIPPERS GATHERING AROUND MAN SLAUGHTERING COW
  • Embargoed: 30th October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • City:
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVABTB5TY62JX0HARL2KYIABRVGI
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Iraqi Sunni Muslims observed on Tuesday (October 15) the first day of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, or Eid al-Adha, gathering at mosques at dawn for prayers, praying to God for an end to the daily bombings and attacks that plague their country.
    The prayers were performed under heavy security with police guarding entrance to mosques, blocking roads and body-searching people entering.
    "My message to Aqll, officials and people who want good for this country and who want an end to the current ordeal and sedition is to be united and exploit such seasons and events to come closer, to show mutual affection and help each other," said Sheikh Ismaeil Ibrahim al-Jibouri, Imam of 17 Ramadan Mosque in Baghdad's central district of Karrada Iraqi people have been avoiding public places like cafes and busy markets, fearing bombs and suicide attacks. After an easing of violence in the past few years led places to reopen, many cafes have now closed again after losing customers.
    Iraqis have endured extreme violence for years, but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has dramatically increased, reversing a trend that had seen the country grow more peaceful.
    Attacks have spread to some of the few places left for public entertainment, turning Baghdad into a giant fortified prison of concrete blast walls, where once again few now dare to socialize in public.
    The attacks have raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict in a country where ruling Shi'ites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.
    A bomb exploded near a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, killing eight Sunni worshippers after Eid prayers. Fifteen people were wounded in the blast, said authorities.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register