religious leaders in iraq stand together for peace and unity: good model for southwestern mindanao

in the midst of violence in iraq, muslim and christian religious leaders are seeking to keep the lines of communication open for the sake of national unity and peace among their people.

al-jazeera published a statement by al-sistani:

in najaf, iraq's revered shia muslim spiritual leader on monday condemned the bomb attacks against churches and called for national unity to quash the violence.

"in the criminal campaign targeting iraq's unity, stability and independence, a number of churches were targeted in baghdad and mosul that resulted in scores of innocent casualties," said a statement from the office of ayat allah ali al-sistani.

"we denounce and condemn those terrible crimes... we should all be working together as a government and a people in order to put an end to the attacks against iraqis," it said.

"we stress the need to respect the rights of christians in iraq and those of other religious faiths and their right to live in their home, iraq, peacefully," it added.

the response of the leaders among iraqi christians were equally encouraging:

in baghdad, the patriarch of the chaldean church in iraq urged muslims and christians to stand shoulder to shoulder on monday, after orchestrated bombings against churches killed more than a dozen people and wounded 50.

"christians and muslims must stand together for the good of iraq because we are one family," emmanuel delly said.

he said he would address the same appeal in a letter to the caretaker iraqi government.

delly forgave the perpetrators of the attacks, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility. "the lord pardons them and illuminates their spirit for the good of the christians and muslims in iraq," he said.

this is a good model and a significant source of encouragement for local leaders of muslim mosques and christian churches in southwestern philippines.