Iraqi Cleric Condemns Mutilation of Four Slain U.S. CiviliansBy JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Lynsey Addario/ Corbis, for The New York Times
Marines circled Falluja today as
Iraqi religious leaders condemned
the mutilation of the bodies of
the four U.S. civilians.Published: April 2, 2004
FALLUJA, Iraq, April 2 — Religious leaders in this violent, restive town issued an edict today condemning the mutilation of the bodies of the four American civilians killed this week, but they stayed silent about the attack itself.
At Friday prayers, which attracted several thousands of people to Falluja's mosques, the imams said that it was "haram," the Arabic word for forbidden, for people to tear apart bodies as they had after the Americans were ambushed in downtown Falluja.
Sheik Ghazi Al Abid, a tribal leader, said he appreciated the message and that what happened was "really bad for our city and gives a bad name to the resistance."
More at the
New York Times