Iraq’s religious leaders join hands to promote peaceful coexistence
Leaders of various religious groupings in Iraq have been holding meetings in places such as Lalish, Karbala, and Baghdad to join hands for peace.
KARBALA, Iraq — A high-ranking Shiite cleric delegation from Najaf visited the holy Yazidi temple in Lalish northern Iraq on March 17. Yazidis witnessed a horrible genocide by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The visit is a part of a campaign carried out by Shiite clerics to gather religious leaders in different parts of Iraq in order to promote coexistence and tolerance.
On March 7, high-level Christian, Muslim and Yazidi religious leaders met in the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, southern Iraq. The shrine is one of the holiest places for Shiite Muslims.
The participants toured the holy place to send a message to the people of Karbala and to the Iraqi people that they seek to join hands for peace and a shared coexistence between Iraqis of all religious denominations.
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest religious authority in the country, received the religious leaders and representatives and was briefed on the outcome of the previous high-level meetings.
