IRAQ - Sunni & Shi'ite Clerics Meet In Makkah.

Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite religious leaders are set to meet in the holy city of Makkah on Oct. 19-20 to endorse a call for an end to all sectarian bloodshed. The meeting, to be convened by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and backed by Saudi Arabia, comes amid rising concern over a spill-over of Sunni-Shi'ite violence into other parts of the Middle East.

Tensions between the two main branches of Islam have been fanned by the Iraq conflict - where sectarian killings leave about 100 people dead every day - and by Sunni Arab regimes' alarm at the growing political influence of the Shi'ite theocracy of Iran. But the engagement of religious leaders is unlikely to have an impact on the ground, unless the meeting becomes a regular forum for a peace process. The influence of religious figures, particularly on the Sunni side, is limited. Among Iraq's majority Shi'ites, Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani, the highest ranking religious figure, played an instrumental role in containing Shi'ite frustrations with the US after the 2003 invasion. But he has become increasingly distant in recent months, as the sectarian violence has intensified.

Some Iraqi officials say the lack of active containment by clerics has exacerbated the violence. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was on April 13 quoted as saying: "Sectarian killings won't happen if you don't sanction them - so to contain [the violence] let's have religious leaders agree on some common foundations of Islam. The idea is not to heal the Shi'te-Sunni rift in Makkah. But if influential leaders come together in calling on supporters to stop shedding Muslim blood, and it's done during Ramadam and in Makkah [birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad], it could have an impact".

A group of influential clerics, including the Shi'ites' Jalal al-Deen al-Saghir, and the Sunni's Mahmoud al-Sumaida'i, have already prepared a document which is expected to be signed in Makkah. However, the list of participants has yet to be finalised and there have been reports of Saudi frustration because Shi'ite ayatullahs have decided not to travel abroad and are expected to send representatives.

The US has been looking to Saudi Arabia to help stabilise Iraq. The kingdom faces its own domestic problems with a disgruntled Ja'fari Shi'ite minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province which has long been treated by Wahabi clerics as heretic. Saudi Arabia recently announced plans to build an 814-km security fence along its border with Iraq to protect itself against a spread of violence. Riyadh is anxious about deteriorating relations between Sunni and Shi'ite leaders in Lebanon after the summer war between Israel and Hizbullah, the Shi'ite militant group sponsored by Iran and backed by Syria. Sunni political leaders in Lebanon have been critical of Hizbullah and are seeking to counter the Shi'ite party's efforts to change the existing Beirut government.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Oct. 8 agreed to reject continued Iranian intervention in Iraqi affairs and warned that such interference would harm the future of the country. This was during the meeting between Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah in Jeddah. Gulf News on Oct. 9 quoted an "official source at the Turkish delegation accompanying Erdogan" as saying the two leaders focused mainly on Iraq, adding: "Erdogan briefed King Abdullah on the outcome of consultations he had held with a group of Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite scholars in London on Oct. 3. Before flying to London, Erdogan had visited the US and met with President Bush at the White House. In London Erdogan sought the opinions of scholars with regard to returning political stability and security to the strife-torn country and the position to be taken at the forthcoming [Iraqi] reconciliation conference in Makkah to end the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict".

According to the official, Erdogan pledged Turkey's full support to the Saudi initiative to end fighting between Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs. Gulf News quoted the same Turkish source as saying: "Saudi-Turkish talks also focused on the Iranian nuclear issue. Both sides underlined the need for finding a solution to the issue through diplomatic means" - adding that the two leaders urged the US to hold talks with Iran.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice toured the Middle East on Oct. 2-6, including a visit to Iraq on Oct. 5-6. She visited Kurdistan on Oct. 6 and had talks with Kurdistan's President Mas'oud Barzani, urging the latter to work on Iraq's unity and sharing of Iraq's wealth among all the Iraqis (see rim4-IraqN-SalafiTargetOct9-06 and ood3-IraqOilSep25-06). In Saudi Arabia on Oct. 3, Ms Rice said failing to win Iranian agreement left the UNSC with sanctions as the only choice. But Rice on Oct. 3 reached agreement with King Abdullah for the kingdom to lead parallel peace initiatives for Iraq and Lebanon. For Lebanon there will be a new round of dialogue between the heads of the main Lebanese communities (see news16-LebanonRegional-Oct16-06).