More on the closure of Iraq's Umm al Qura Mosque

We talked last week about the closure of Iraq's Umm al Qura mosque here.

Now, Bill Roggio over at the Long War journal fills in the backstory for us and he's right - it just keeps getting better and better.


Sunni Clerics turn on association of Muslim scholars.


Wednesday's closure of the headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars at the Umm al Quraa mosque marks a dramatic shift in the Sunni religious establishment. Prominent Sunni clerics, who once supported, justified, or remained silent about al Qaeda's terror tactics, have now turned on the leading Sunni religious establishment that supports al Qaeda in Iraq.

On November 14, Iraqi soldiers surrounded the headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars after Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al Samarrai, the leader of the Sunni Religious Endowments, or Waqf, ordered the mosque's closure. "The association has always justified killing and assassinations carried out by al Qaeda," Samarrai said the day the troops shut down the Umm al Quraa mosque.Samarrai's criticism of the Association of Muslim Scholars was pointed. He accused the Association of collusion with al Qaeda in Iraq and held the group responsible for the murder of Iraqi Sunni and Shia alike. Iraqslogger excerpted portions of Samarrai's statements, which were originally reported on Voices of Iraq in Arabic:


Do read it all.