Adel Fakhir - Baghdad
A wide controversy was raised in the religious, cultural and political circles in Iraq against the backdrop of the opening ceremony of the ninth West Asian Championship Tuesday in the stadium of the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.
The concert, which was performed by a Lebanese specialized company, included a musical performance that welcomed the participating Arab teams. A non-veiled girl played the violin while the Iraqi national anthem played with cheers supported by the large audience attending the opening ceremony. It was rejected by some politicians and clerics. Considering Karbala a city they call holy and that the operetta included dancing performances.
Activists of social networking sites circulated a number of pictures of the fans who attended the match between Iraq and Palestine last night. They carried signs containing words implicitly to those who criticized the opening ceremony.
The most prominent objectors
The former Iraqi prime minister, secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party Nuri al-Maliki, the most prominent critics of the celebration, and considered it a violation of the sanctity of the city of Karbala, and called on the government to open an urgent investigation to account for the defaulters and those behind this excess.
| Maliki calls on the government to open an investigation with officials of the celebration (European) |
Prior to that, the local government of Karbala province announced its reservation on some of the opening ceremony, because it does not conform to the nature and traditions of this city.
"Our reservation to some paragraphs and wrote to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as the Iraqi Football Federation, that the local government of Karbala will not allow any program to any party except in coordination with the local government in the province, to avoid such errors in the coming stages.
The Shiite Waqf Bureau (a religious body linked to the Council of Ministers) objected to the celebration because it did not conform to what it described as the sanctity of the city, which includes the sheikhs of Imam Hussein bin Ali and his brother Abbas, and announced that he filed a lawsuit against the Iraqi Football Federation because of its opening organization. Holy, morality and public morality ", but later returned and withdrew the lawsuit.
In contrast, the religious reference Jawad al-Khalisi in the Friday sermon in the city of Kadhimiya this opening of what is happening in the Arabian Peninsula from the establishment of parties and invite singers, pointing out that some of the objectors forgot that such concerts were held in his era and under the auspices of a heinous, When he was prime minister).
| Signs raised yesterday at the Karbala stadium to respond to critics of the opening ceremony (networking sites) |
In turn, the Iraqi Football Federation issued a statement confirming that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has contracted with a Lebanese company specialized in the opening ceremony, and that the reactions of respectable for us, whether supporting or rejecting, and that the Union apologizes strongly, pointing out that "what An event that was not intended at all, as long as everyone works for the good of the country from the maximum to the maximum. "
Director of Relations in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Ahmed al-Moussawi told Al-Jazeera Net that "the ministry confirmed its keenness to show the city of Karbala in the best form, in line with the desire of the Iraqi sports masses to achieve the desired goal of lifting the total ban on Iraqi stadiums, it undertook to provide logistical support to the Iraqi Football Federation and West Asia ".
As for the closing ceremony, Moussawi said that "the sponsor of the competition (Asia Telecom) will only be crowned."
War Tweets
"I feel ashamed of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, for what happened at the Karbala International Stadium," he told the provincial council, calling on the provincial council to hold the party accountable under the Karbala Holy Law.
I feel ashamed of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) for what happened in the international football stadium. |
"You feel ashamed of a girl who played the national anthem in the Karbala stadium, but you are not ashamed to steal the money of Allah and his slaves under the pretext of legitimate rights, and when you disbelieve people and get them out of the religion," Sheikh Ali Ali, a member of the civil coalition, told Reuters on his Twitter account.
He is ashamed because she played the national anthem in the Karbala stadium! |
Independent politician Sadeq al-Moussawi said in a tweet: "I asked the cleric Hadi al-Masdar what you see in Iraq, and he answered me with two words that political Islam in Iraq is over, and after what happened in Karbala stadium, it proved true."
Al-Hattab said, "Are you tired of Islamizing everything according to your size? People are happy that their province is witnessing, and people are coming to them. Why do you get angry with them all because of the immorality and immorality?"
As for the "Islamization" of everything according to your size, people are happy that their governorate is witnessing the opening of an international tournament and the influx of people to them, why do you get angry at them all on the pretext of immorality and immorality. |
It was expected that Sheikh Mahdi Karbalai - approved Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani - in a Friday sermon on the subject, but did not address him from the basis, which was considered supporters of the ceremony came in contrast to the statements made by some clerics and politicians.
Iraq hosts the West Asian Championship from July 30 to August 14, where the first group matches (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Yemen) are held in Karbala, south of the capital, and Group B matches in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.