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The Shiite Buratha mosque in Baghdad was bombed after the Friday prayer. (Reuters)
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BAGHDAD — Raging sectarian violence in war-torn Iraq is increasingly taking its toll on mosques and worshipers, while religious teachers and students are doffing their distinguished uniforms not to get caught up in the sectarian hell.
"Some imams are calling on worshipers to perform the Fajr (Dawn) and `Isha’ (Night) prayers at home," a mosque imam in Baghdad told IslamOnline.net on Monday, June 19, requesting anonymity.
He noted that the two prayers falls within the government declared curfew in the capital.
The defense ministry has announced an extension of the nighttime curfew in Baghdad as part of a new security plan involving will involve more than 40,000 US and Iraqi troops on the ground to ensure stability in the violence-torn capital.
The curfew now runs from 8:30 pm to 6:00 am (1630 GMT to 0200 GMT). The curfew previously began at 11 pm (1900 GMT).
But the curfew element is not the only security concern for mosques and worshippers.
Many people lost their lives in bombing attacks targeting Sunni and Shiite mosques across the country.
Buratha mosque, one of Baghdad's most important Shiite mosques, was recently attacked, leaving at least 10 people killed and 20 others wounded.
Combine Prayers
The imam further said that worshipers were encouraged to combine the Maghrib (Sunset) and `Isha’ prayers to be able to return home before the night curfew.
"We are telling worshipers this is permissible under the deteriorating security conditions."
Islam allows Muslims to combinetwo prayers on account of some reasons, including travel, rain, need or fear.
The Sunni Endowment, which is in charge of Sunni mosques in Iraq, has decided to close until further notice mosques in the southern city of Basra in protest at the killing of an imam in the Shiite-dominated city.
Unknown gunmen had gunned down imam Yusif al-Hassan near the mosque where he led prayers in Basra, 550km south of Baghdad.
Hassan, a senior member of the influential Association of Muslim Scholars, was the second Sunni religious figure killed in Basra in less than two months.
Last month, gunmen shot dead senior scholar Khalil Jaber after he left a mosque following Friday prayers.
Sunni Arabs accuse pro-government Shiite militias of targeting their scholars and imams.
Uniform
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Sunnis closed all their mosques in Basra after a senior scholar was gunned down. (Reuters)
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The sectarian hell has also forced Sunni religious teachers and students to doff their uniforms to escape death.
"Wearing the religious uniform poses a threat to personal safety," Sheikh Mohamed of al-Imam al-Azam school for imams and preachers told IOL.
He said schools used to be very strict as to students attending classes and exams in uniform.
"This is no more the case," he maintains.
"Now school officials ask teachers and students to doff their uniforms and wear casual as a security precaution."
Sheikh Mohamed said many Sunni teachers have been killed, obviously for on sectarian basis.
"Scores of students have also been murdered and others received death threats, forcing many to stop attending classes in religious schools," he added.
Some Sunni schools in predominantly Shiite areas and in the capital have been seized by Shiite militias, he charged.
"Students were threatened to pay their lives as a price if they continued to attend classes," he added.
With about 60,000 forced to flee their homes under the yoke of sectarian violence, many Iraqis have opted for name changing as the best protection.
The sectarian bloodshed has also prompted a redrawing of some neighborhoods, with minorities moving out and going to places where they are part of the majority community.
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