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The violence in Iraq threatens to plunge the entire region into a bloody sectarian conflict. Most importantly, it threatens the territorial integrity of the country itself. Instability leads to fragmentation. Hence, it is important that all Arab countries extend full support to the Saudi initiative to gather Iraqi religious leaders in the holy city of Makkah to denounce violence and intra-Islamic fighting. The meeting is being held under the auspices of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
It might be premature to predict the outcome and it is naïve to expect that violence would stop tomorrow. But the Saudi role is encouraging taking into account past experiences of the kingdom in similar circumstances. For example, the long and bloody civil war in Lebanon stopped in 1990 following the mediation of Riyadh, which led to the signing of the historic Taif Accord.
Secondly, Iraq has yet to reach the point of no return. Unlike Lebanon during the 1975-1990 war, most of Iraq in fact is quiet. The sectarian attacks seem to take place in few areas, mainly Baghdad and its surroundings, and a couple of towns in the north and west of the country. Therefore, there is big hope Iraqi leaders can reach an agreement before things get really bad.
Saudi Arabia and other states have expressed their willingness to help the Iraqis. They can help with money to finance reconstruction projects that would give the people hope in a better future. They can help by monitoring their borders to stop militant infiltration into Iraq. And they can help by cracking down on provocative media reports in their countries that incite violence in Iraq in the name of religion.
However, Iraqi leaders need to help themselves first. They all must commit to a unified democratic Iraq. Those who tout divisive ideas fuel the violence and indirectly justify terrorism.
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