Muqtada al-Sadr denounces normalization with Israel as a crime.
The remarks of Louis Raphael Sako, the leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, during a ceremony to mark the birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH) at the Mary Joseph Church in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and other Iraqi political and religious leaders, have drawn strong reactions.
He said: “Mr. Prime Minister, I want to clarify the normalization of relations, and we hope that this will happen in the new Iraqi government. Iraq is the land of the prophets and the Talmud (the Jewish holy book) was written in Babylon, a place near here. The world should come to Iraq and not elsewhere.”
Muqtada al-Sadr reacted sharply to these remarks, saying: Normalizing relations with Israel is a crime for which Iraqi law provides punishment.
He called on the relevant authorities and institutions to immediately fulfill their duty regarding any request to normalize relations with Israel.
The leader of the Sadrist movement clarified: Normalization and legitimization have no place in Iraq.
Iraqi Immigration Minister Efan Faiq Jabro also strongly rejected any statement or stance calling for the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime or justifying it in any way.
He, who is a Christian, said: These statements and views do not represent the position of the Iraqi nation and do not include the true will of the religious and national spectrums of Iraq.
He wrote on his Facebook page: The Iraqi government and nation are steadfast in their position in supporting the Palestinian issue and oppose any occupation and aggression against Palestine based on national and humanitarian principles and historical commitment to just and just issues.
The Iraqi Immigration Minister praised the stance of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani in rejecting the call for normalization.
This is while the Iraqi Prime Minister emphasized in a ceremony at the Mary Joseph Church in Baghdad: We do not need normalization of relations, but rather brotherhood, love, coexistence, and adherence to Sharia and the constitution.
He added: “The words normalization and reconciliation have no place in the Iraqi dictionary because this is related to the occupation regime, which violates the sanctity of the land and human beings, and all heavenly values and religions oppose it.”