A new organization of 500 Sunni scholars and clerics have vowed to stand with Iraqi officials and Shiites to “close the gaps and divisions among the Sunni authorities,” according to United Press International.
The move puts them in potential conflict with the Sunni Islamic Scholars Association, Iraq’s highest Sunni authority and a dedicated opponent of the government and the political process.
In Lebanon, a tax to privatize key industries and secure new loans for debt relief drew opposition from a coalition of Hizbollah, Christian, Druze, Sunni and leftist partisans. They say the tax will harm already-impoverished Lebanese, and neglects development and agricultural needs.
Sources:
“New religious Sunni group declared in Iraq”
United Press International, January 19, 2007
“Lebanon’s new battleground”
Al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt), January 18-24, 2007
“Donors promise generosity in Paris despite turmoil in Beirut”
The Daily Star (Lebanon), January 25, 2006