OIC Convenes Iraqi Clerics in Mecca to Draft Pact Against Sectarian Fighting

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is bringing together Iraqi Sunni and Shiite religious leaders in Mecca to produce a joint covenant barring Muslims from fighting one another, the OIC announced Saturday.

Four delegates from the two communities opened preparatory talks in the holy city that day to finalize the document's text. A wider gathering of Iraqi clerics is planned before the close of Ramadan later this month.

OIC undersecretary for political affairs Izzat Mufti framed the effort as a direct attempt to halt the cycle of killings and bombings in Iraq and prevent a full civil war. The organization initiated the process, he said.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric, has expressed strong backing for the talks. The OIC did not identify which Iraqi figures would attend the Mecca meeting.

Sunni Arabs, the dominant group under former president Saddam Hussein, are broadly regarded as the backbone of the insurgency against Iraq's Shiite-led, US-backed government.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.