Angry protesters set fire to the office of Shiite religious authority Mahmoud al-Sarkhi in Babil province in central Iraq, against the backdrop of a call to demolish religious shrines in the country.

According to eyewitnesses, dozens of demonstrators rejecting the statements of the preacher of the "Hussainiya Al-Fateh Al-Mubin" preacher of Al-Sarkhi, in Babylon, set his office in the province on fire.

Witnesses explained that the demonstrators demanded that the security forces pursue all those who abuse religious symbols.

For its part, the Babil Governorate Police Command decided to close all the headquarters and Husseiniyas of Al-Sarkhi, according to a statement issued by the command.

This comes at a time when the National Security Agency (linked to the Prime Minister) announced, late on Monday evening, the arrest of a person who called for the demolition of religious shrines, through a video posted on social media.

#Now: The people of Al-Qasim, south of Babylon, are burning down the Al-Sarkiya office.

pic.twitter.com/HqPoVAdNqy

— Mustafa al-Musawi (@mstfyalmwswy1) April 11, 2022

A statement by the National Security Apparatus stated that, based on what was mentioned in a video clip circulated through the communication sites and monitored by the security, and based on a judicial warrant, a force from the agency in Babil Governorate arrested a person belonging to "extremist religious movements calling for abuse of Religious symbols and rituals, as well as the call for the demolition of holy shrines.

Al-Sadr demands accountability

And yesterday, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called not to overlook the spread of corrupt beliefs in Iraqi society.

Al-Sadr said in a statement that "we should not overlook what is happening in Iraqi society from the spread of corrupt beliefs from here and there."

And he said in his statement, "Some of those who belong by tradition to al-Sarkhi, and I do not know whether he is aware of that or not, are trying to introduce some deviant beliefs into the honorable sect and the Ja`fari creed, the last of which is what was issued by a Friday imam for them in the province of Babylon by demanding the demolition of graves."

Al-Sadr continued, "From here, I am waiting for Al-Sarkhi to disavow this criminal...within a maximum period of 3 days. Otherwise, I find myself obligated to deal with them and his likes in the manner dictated by my conscience, religion and sect and in accordance with Sharia, law and reasonable social custom."

Al-Sarkhi is one of the moderate Shiite religious scholars and has opinions on rejecting sectarianism (communication sites)

Who is the screamer?

Al-Sarkhi, who has supporters in the southern governorates, is known for his critical views of the parties that ruled after 2003, and he has positions rejecting all the positions of the supreme Shiite religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, who is the first religious authority for Iraqi Shiites, especially the declaration of jihad against the Islamic State in 2014.

Al-Sarkhi was born in the city of Kadhimiya in Baghdad in 1964 and studied in his hometown, and graduated from the College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad in 1987, and did not enter the seminary in Najaf until 1994.

Sarkhi is considered one of the prominent investigators in Shiite religious circles, and he has written dozens of books and letters on various religious topics.

His followers are not in large numbers, but they are estimated at tens of thousands and reside in different Iraqi governorates, most notably Karbala, Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah and Basra.

Al-Sarkhi is considered one of the moderate Shiite religious scholars and has opinions in rejecting sectarianism, and calls for a state in which everyone lives, regardless of their sect, religion or nationality.

Al-Sarkhi believes that the concept of "the most knowledgeable" must be proven through ijtihad.

He adopts opinions that differ from the positions of other religious scholars, and says about himself that he follows the regenerative scientific school, that is, the Al-Sadreen school (Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, who was executed in 1980 and Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999).