No One Inside the Ali Mosque Is Armed
Phillip Robertson / Islam Online
(August 22, 2004) -- Reporter Phillip Robertson has covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Salon.com, the BBC, Radio New Zealand, and NPR. During the past three years, he has written more than 50 eyewitness accounts of fighting that did not appear in mainstream Western media. He hosted a global online Q&A session via IslamOnline. Here are some excerpts:
"I lived in the Imam Ali Mosque for three days, taking shelter with Muslims from around Iraq. It is a sacred place, one of the most moving places I have ever been to. I received only kindness and hospitality while I was there and never feared for my safety. It is vital that the war in Najaf end immediately, and that US attacks on the area near the Shrine cease. There are no weapons in the Shrine. It is a place of refuge, not a military encampment. Mehdi Army officials are in the Shrine, but they are unarmed, like everyone else inside. All reporters who have been to the Shrine want to make this clear."
http://mailhost.groundspring.org/cgi-bin/t.pl?id=86418:740526
(August 22, 2004) -- Reporter Phillip Robertson has covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Salon.com, the BBC, Radio New Zealand, and NPR. During the past three years, he has written more than 50 eyewitness accounts of fighting that did not appear in mainstream Western media. He hosted a global online Q&A session via IslamOnline. Here are some excerpts:
"I lived in the Imam Ali Mosque for three days, taking shelter with Muslims from around Iraq. It is a sacred place, one of the most moving places I have ever been to. I received only kindness and hospitality while I was there and never feared for my safety. It is vital that the war in Najaf end immediately, and that US attacks on the area near the Shrine cease. There are no weapons in the Shrine. It is a place of refuge, not a military encampment. Mehdi Army officials are in the Shrine, but they are unarmed, like everyone else inside. All reporters who have been to the Shrine want to make this clear."
http://mailhost.groundspring.org/cgi-bin/t.pl?id=86418:740526
Starmail - 23. Aug, 10:47
