By Cliff Kindy, Nov 26,2004

Christian Peacemaker Teams
Read Cliff’s blog from Iraq.

[Readers will understand that sources wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.]

November 19, two thousand people gathered for Friday prayers at the Abu Hanifa Shrine. As prayers ended, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Guards shot percussion grenades, or “sound bombs,” in the plaza outside the mosque. Within minutes they entered the doors of the mosque behind a barrage of 25 more sound bombs that blew out the glass.

U.S. and Iraqi troops moved the more than 80 women from their prayer room into the central prayer hall where the men were collected. The invaders fired shots in the outer hall of the mosque, killing four people and injuring nine. In the prayer hall some of those who had been praying grabbed shoes to throw at the soldiers to show the deep insult for bringing the guns and violence into the mosque

Abu Hanifa Shrine in Adhamiya District of Baghdad is the largest Sunni mosque in Iraq. Abu Hanifa was an Islamic reformer who revitalized Islam and is buried at this mosque. Sheik Moayad, the principle cleric at the mosque, was in prison for seven years under Saddam Hussein and anticipated a change in spirit with the US presence. U.S. forces have frequently attacked Adhamiya District since the U.S. invasion 20 months ago.

Two U.S. military bases are in the immediate area. Iraqi resistance groups often set up near the mosque because it is a strategic location for attacks. Storefronts around the huge intersection near the mosque show the signs of frequent shelling loosed on the area in response to the resistance presence. The mosque has been clear, though — no resistance fighters or soldiers are allowed in the mosque. It is a place of prayer, not of violence. Take off your shoes when you enter, be quiet, and keep the place clean.

U.S. troops detained forty Iraqis, including the guards from the mosque. Troops released the women from the temporary detention room in the mosque. Next, they moved the 100 children out and filed the men through single file to ask them name, age, and home address. Security forces moved the detainees to the nearby military base where guards held them with hands tied behind their backs for four hours. Iraqis grilled detainees in the presence of U.S. soldiers, even to the point of putting burning cigarettes on their flesh and demanding that they “Tell the truth.” Reportedly, detainees are now released. In addition to detaining Iraqis, the raiders took 50 million dinar ($35,000) from the school on the grounds of the mosque and computers from both the mosque and the school.

News reports indicate that the raid intended to apprehend resistance fighters who had moved out of Fallujah. Others speculate that it was to deter a rising resistance across Iraq. One suspicion is that a mortar attack reportedly killing nine U.S. soldiers at a nearby base sparked the raid.

Shi’a cleric Ayatollah Sistani condemned the raid and interim Prime Minister Allawi called for an investigation. One person present at the raid said, “This violent raid pushes people to fight – not politically, but with guns.”

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present in Iraq since October, 2002. To learn more about CPT, please visit http://www.cpt.org. Click here to see photos of CPT’s projects.