Sunnis Warm to Democracy
It seems that the Sunni Iraqis are rethinking their “boycott democracy” stance.
Sunni Muslim political and religious leaders who led a boycott of Sunday’s Iraqi national election are signaling a desire to engage in the political process.
The new stance may represent a turning point in efforts to involve Iraq’s Sunni minority, which dominated the country during Saddam Hussein’s regime and whose opposition to the new political order has fueled the violent insurgency and threatened prolonged instability.
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After yesterday’s prayers at Baghdad’s Umm al Qura Mosque, headquarters of the hard-line Association of Muslim Scholars, a government official was permitted to issue a call for Sunni participation in future electoral rounds.
“We ask you to participate in the next elections,” said Adnan Mohammed Salman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Endowments, which oversees the country’s mosques. “We must prepare and unite our ranks.”
By allowing such a statement to be issued from the mosque, Sunni leaders apparently are acknowledging that the best way to protect their community’s interests is through participation in the political process.
Seattle Times: Sunni boycotters try softening approach
Several Sunni leaders have been claiming the vote is illegitimate, because of low Sunni turnout. Maybe they are realizing that they can’t have it both ways, and the best way to make their voices heard is to (cautiously) embrace democracy. Amazing thing, democracy.
