A senior Iraqi cleric has urged the Iraqi army and volunteers fighting against the ISIL militants to respect the rights of all Iraqis.
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai speaking on behalf of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said the rights of Iraqis should be respected regardless of their ethnicity or political affiliation.
Al-Karbalai is a representative of top Shia cleric Ayatollah al-Sistani.
At a Friday prayer sermon, Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai called on Iraqis to unite in the face of terrorist attacks against the country.
Ayatollah Sistani has recently called on all Iraqi people and political factions to unite and support the government and army in their battle against the terrorists.
Iraqi men from all walks of life are flocking to recruitment centers to join the army in its fight against the ISIL militants.
Al-Karbalai also urged political blocs to adopt a brave, patriotic and honest stance to select a new speaker, president and prime minister when parliament convenes on Sunday.
Last week, Iraqi parliamentarians failed to pick a new speaker. The first assembly session ended when Kurdish and Sunni lawmakers failed to show up after a break.
Under a de facto agreement among communities in Iraq, the prime minister is a Shia Arab, the president a Kurd, and the parliament speaker a Sunni Arab.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has rejected recent calls by the United States and its allies to form an emergency administration or a so-called national salvation government.
The Iraqi premier has said that a salvation government would amount to a coup against the country’s constitution and would undermine the results of parliamentary elections held on April 30.
Al-Maliki has also vowed that the country’s security forces would confront the Takfiri terrorists.
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