Harith al-Obeidi
Encyclopedia
Dr. Harith Mohey Al Deen Abd al-Obeidi (1961? 64?- 12 June 2009) was an Iraq
i politician and cleric and member of Parliament for the Iraqi Accord Front
. He was assassinated on 12 June 2009.
family. He studied Islamic jurisprudence at Mustansiriyya University in Najaf
and at the Faculty of Islamic Sharia. He obtained a doctorate in Comparative Jurisprudence from Baghdad University and worked as a writer, academic and lecturer until the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since the invasion he regularly gave sermons at Sunni-majority mosques.
Although he called for the disarmament of all Iraqi militias, United States troops raided his home in September 2005 after receiving a false tip that he was linked to insurgents.
In January 2006 he called on kidnappers to release the American journalist, Jill Carroll
, saying the "abduction and killing of foreigners harms the interest of the people". He also condemned the 5 January 2006 Iraq bombings
in Karbala, but blamed the United States, saying "the occupation was responsible for every crime and the death of every citizen in Iraq. If the occupier would leave, Iraqis would live as brothers."
electoral list, which won 44 out of 275 seats. Obeidi became the deputy chairman of the Parliament's Human Rights Committee, where he campaigned against abuses in Iraqi prisons. He criticised the Ministry of Human Rights for not holding an inquiry into the treatment of prisoners. He led a parliamentary delegation that visited Justice Ministry prisons, and publicised prisoners' claims of arbitrary arrest, torture and rape. He called for the Defense and Interior Ministers to be summoned before parliament to answer complaints about prison conditions and also sectarian violence. He also called for a general amnesty
towards captured Iraqi insurgents
. He promoted the repatriation of 130 Algerian citizens who were held in Iraqi jails, accused of involvement in the Iraqi insurgency
.
He criticised the Iraqi government over the siege of Sadr City in March 2008, saying the district's residents had suffered enough. He also called on US President Barack Obama
to release the blocked photographs of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
, saying Obama's overtures to the Islamic World in his Cairo speech
would fail if he continued with secrecy over detainees or didn't hold abusers accountable. In April 2009 he denounced US troops for killing two Iraqis during a raid on alleged Shiite militias in Kut
, saying it was a violation of human rights and their families should be compensated.
should relate to the Muslim world
. These included "living up to the values for which it [America] is admired" and "back off its heavy-handed approach to democratisation in the region"
parliamentary bloc in May 2009 when the previous leader, Ayad al-Samarrai
, became the speaker of the Council of Representatives of Iraq.
and Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr
, and by the Arab League
. A previously unknown Sahwa leader calling himself Abu Issam claimed responsibility for the killing, saying al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia had left arms there for him to use. Days later Iraqi police arrested Ahmed Abed Oweiyed in nearby Ghazaliyah
, who they said was a deputy commander of the military wing of Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
He was given a state funeral
- the first for any Iraq since the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. He left two wives and eight children.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i politician and cleric and member of Parliament for the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
. He was assassinated on 12 June 2009.
Background
Obeidi (also transliterated as ʻUbaydī, Ubaidi or Obaidi) was born in Baghdad into a Sunni ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
family. He studied Islamic jurisprudence at Mustansiriyya University in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
and at the Faculty of Islamic Sharia. He obtained a doctorate in Comparative Jurisprudence from Baghdad University and worked as a writer, academic and lecturer until the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since the invasion he regularly gave sermons at Sunni-majority mosques.
Political activity
After the invasion of Iraq, Obeidi became an active member of the General Council for the People of Iraq political group.Although he called for the disarmament of all Iraqi militias, United States troops raided his home in September 2005 after receiving a false tip that he was linked to insurgents.
In January 2006 he called on kidnappers to release the American journalist, Jill Carroll
Jill Carroll
Jill Carroll is an American former journalist who was kidnapped and ultimately released in Iraq. Carroll was a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor at the time of her kidnapping...
, saying the "abduction and killing of foreigners harms the interest of the people". He also condemned the 5 January 2006 Iraq bombings
5 January 2006 Iraq bombings
The 5 January 2006 Iraq bombings were a series of suicide attacks that occurred on 5 January 2006, in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and in central city of Ramadi, each claiming about 60 or more lives....
in Karbala, but blamed the United States, saying "the occupation was responsible for every crime and the death of every citizen in Iraq. If the occupier would leave, Iraqis would live as brothers."
Human rights
Obeidi was elected to the Council of Representatives of Iraq in the December 2005 general election. His party, the General Council for the People of Iraq, was one of the three components of the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
electoral list, which won 44 out of 275 seats. Obeidi became the deputy chairman of the Parliament's Human Rights Committee, where he campaigned against abuses in Iraqi prisons. He criticised the Ministry of Human Rights for not holding an inquiry into the treatment of prisoners. He led a parliamentary delegation that visited Justice Ministry prisons, and publicised prisoners' claims of arbitrary arrest, torture and rape. He called for the Defense and Interior Ministers to be summoned before parliament to answer complaints about prison conditions and also sectarian violence. He also called for a general amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
towards captured Iraqi insurgents
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
. He promoted the repatriation of 130 Algerian citizens who were held in Iraqi jails, accused of involvement in the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
.
He criticised the Iraqi government over the siege of Sadr City in March 2008, saying the district's residents had suffered enough. He also called on US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to release the blocked photographs of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...
, saying Obama's overtures to the Islamic World in his Cairo speech
A New Beginning
"A New Beginning" is the name of a speech delivered by United States President Barack Obama on June 4, 2009, from the Major Reception Hall at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar University co-hosted the event...
would fail if he continued with secrecy over detainees or didn't hold abusers accountable. In April 2009 he denounced US troops for killing two Iraqis during a raid on alleged Shiite militias in Kut
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
, saying it was a violation of human rights and their families should be compensated.
Relations between the Islamic World and the West
In October 2008, he was one of the signatories to the Doha Compact, a series of recommendations for how the successor to US President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
should relate to the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. These included "living up to the values for which it [America] is admired" and "back off its heavy-handed approach to democratisation in the region"
Parliamentary leader
Obeidi became the leader of the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
parliamentary bloc in May 2009 when the previous leader, Ayad al-Samarrai
Ayad al-Samarrai
Ayad al-Samarrai is a Sunni Arab Iraqi politician, who was the chairman of the Iraqi Accord Front parliamentary group, and since July 2011 is the secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party...
, became the speaker of the Council of Representatives of Iraq.
Assassination
Obeidi was shot twice in the head and killed on 12 June 2009 by a teenage gunman, later named as Ahmad Jassem Ibrahim, whilst in the Al-Shawaf mosque in Yarmouk, western Baghdad. At least five other people died in the attack, including the gunman who was shot by the mosque's security guards. Al Obeidi's killing was condemned by political opponents in the parliament including the Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
and Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...
, and by the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
. A previously unknown Sahwa leader calling himself Abu Issam claimed responsibility for the killing, saying al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia had left arms there for him to use. Days later Iraqi police arrested Ahmed Abed Oweiyed in nearby Ghazaliyah
Ghazaliyah
Ghazaliyah is a region that taking a place in the northwest of Baghdad City, the capital of Iraq.Ghazaliyah consist mainly of six major streets that all end into the farms that formerly belonged to Odai Hussain, the son of Saddam Hussain....
, who they said was a deputy commander of the military wing of Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
He was given a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
- the first for any Iraq since the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. He left two wives and eight children.