Ali Mamouri - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Ali Mamouri

Ali Mamouri was the Associate Editor of Iraq at Al-Monitor.

Shi'ite Muslims listen to Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Al-Karbala'i speak as he delivers the text of a sermon by Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, during Friday prayers at the Imam Hussein shrine in the holy city of Kerbala July 11, 2014. Sistani urged fighters on Friday to respect the rights of all Iraqis, regardless of sect or politics, after an escalation in apparent sectarian killings in recent weeks. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR3Y5N8

Shiite leaders forbid insults against Sunnis

Ali Mamouri

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars

Who are the Kharijites and what do they have to do with IS?

Ali Mamouri

People read books during the launch of a reading initiative in Baghdad September 29, 2012. The "I am Iraqi... I read" initiative was launched by activists on Saturday in Baghdad to encourage Iraqis to read in a country that had suffered decades of war and internal struggle. Picture taken September 29, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY EDUCATION) - RTR38M7Q

Islamic State book burnings target minorities

Ali Mamouri

Basra moving toward independence

Ali Mamouri

Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims walk to the holy city of Kerbala, ahead of the holy Shi'ite ritual of Arbaeen, in Najaf, December 8, 2014. Arbaeen falls 40 days after the holy day of Ashura. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SOCIETY) - RTR4H650

Iraqi Shiite pilgrimage takes political turn

Ali Mamouri

Clerics speak on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72L

Qom, Najaf call for improved relations with Saudi Arabia

Ali Mamouri

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) arrives with the Islamic republic's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the opening session of a two-day conference on combatting extremism on December 9, 2014 in Tehran. Delegations from 40 countries, including Syria and Iraq, are attending the meetings. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Shiites, Sunnis unite to denounce and condemn extremists

Ali Mamouri

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), carry a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf, August 16, 2014. School is out, but northern Baghdad's classrooms are packed - not with students, but with people who have travelled further than most to escape the Sunni militant onslaught splitting Iraq. REUTERS/Alaa Al

Sistani denies supporting Soleiman's involvement in Iraq

Ali Mamouri

To promote wins against IS, Iran's Soleimani emerges

Ali Mamouri

Iraqi security forces pull down a flag belonging to Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a patrol in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 30, 2014. The leader of the al Qaeda offshoot now calling itself the Islamic State has called on Muslims worldwide to take up arms and flock to the "caliphate" it has declared on captured Syrian and Iraqi soil. Picture taken June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) -

The Islamic State is here to stay

Ali Mamouri

Shi'ite volunteers, from Abbas Unit who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), parade down a street in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad August 14, 2014. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the Islamist militant siege of Iraq's Mount Sinjar had been broken and most of the U.S. military personnel sent to assess the situation would be pulled out of Iraq in the coming days. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhamme

Iraqi Shiites join Sunnis to fight Islamic State

Ali Mamouri

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stands guard with his weapon by the side of a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held crisis talks with leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday urging them to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country. Picture taken June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3VIH0

Islamic State tightens noose around Iraq, Syria

Ali Mamouri