Fallujah’s biggest mosque.

By Samir Haddad & Mazen Ghazi, IOL Correspondents

BAGHDAD , October 19 (IslamOnline.net) - With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, mosques of Fallujah have been unusually deserted as people fled their city to avoid a reported US massive onslaught, under the pretext of arresting Abu Mosaab Al-Zarqawi and his followers.

Eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net Monday, October 18, that thousands of Fallujah residents have left the town to spend Ramadan with their relatives in other neighboring cities and villages or in Baghdad to avoid US constant raids and air strikes.

Omar Ragheb, who arrived with his family to Baghdad to stay with some relatives there, described the situation in Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad , saying, “The town seems empty. When we left last Friday, the first day of Ramadan, US troops had encompassed all roads leading to Fallujah and held checkpoints on the road to Baghdad .”

“All shops and markets were closed down and Fallujah looked like a ghostly town,” he added.

No Ramadan Features

A mosque, hit by US fire.

Other eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net that the familiar scenes of Ramadan disappeared, citing only few worshippers remained to be seen in every mosque.

In a phone call with IOL, Sheikh Gamil Ibrahim, Imam of Iyad Al-Aany mosque in Fallujah said, “There have been no familiar rituals of Ramadan. Around a dozen of people performed the Taraweeh prayers (special Ramadan prayers after the Evening Prayers) with me tonight.”

“Ramadan lectures no longer exist in Fallujah and are replaced with some sermons just to lift morals and remind Muslims of the Islamic heroic epics,” he added.

People used to shout in invocation through loudspeakers of mosques with every US incursion or bombardment in order to encourage fighters and improve morale; a matter that led the US troops to hit a number of mosques in some Iraqi Sunni cities.

Another eyewitness from Fallujah, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “a limited number of armed people remained to defend the town against the expected US attacks.”

“Armed youths defending the town spread at all crossroads following each prayer to guard the houses of those who had to flee,” he elaborated.

Allawi’s Legal Cover

Houses also bore the brunt of attacks.

On the political front, Dr. Ahmed Hardan, member of the Fallujah delegation holding negotiations with the Iraqi interim government, underlined that “the residents of the town refuse all proposals of the interim government, particularly the one related to driving Abu Mosaab Al-Zarqawi out of town in return for stopping US military operations.”

Hardan said that such a proposal can not be materialized as Al-Zarqawi is not in Fallujah in the first place.

Hardan regarded it as the reason behind the failure of negotiations between the Fallujah delegation and the government on October 14, 2004 .

Hardan further denounced the government reaction saying, “Do you imagine that a senior official like Iyad Allawi would ask the US troops to bombard his own people?”

Meanwhile, Iraqi sources told IOL that Sheikh Khaled Al-Gamili, head of Fallujah negotiating delegation, who had been released on October 17, withdrew from negotiations to resolve Fallujah crisis. No more details were available.

Iraqi Islamic Party Assistant secretary general Iyad Al-Samarraei and Muslim Scholar Authority spokesman Mohamed Bashar Al-Faidhy believe that “negotiations will resume between Fallujah delegation and the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.”

Dr. Al-Faidhy attributed this to the “approaching US presidential elections, as the US administration fears of casualties among US soldiers in Fallujah.”

Yet, he expressed his fears of reelecting Bush, saying “In case Bush wins, he will demolish Fallujah and all towns that witness resistance against the US occupation.”