UN’s Ban Ki Moom Seeks Advice on Iraq Crisis From Ayatollah Sistani

Local Editor

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Iraqi top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani have held an unprecedented meeting regarding the crisis in Iraq on Thursday.

The Grand Ayatollah has traditionally refused to meet with representatives from the United States or Europe. For that reason, the Thursday meeting with the United Nations signals a major decision on the part of Sayyed Sistani.

The topic that dominated the conversation was the activities of the "ISIL" militants in Iraq. According to reports, the two leaders discussed not only Iraq though, but a variety of worldwide humanitarian disasters.

Sources state that the Grand Ayatollah called upon the United Nations to pay serious attention to human rights deprivations in Pakistan. Several media outlets have announced a new campaign of targeted "Shia killings" in the country, where militants specifically target religious leaders and respected professionals in the Shia Muslim populace in order to demoralize the entire community.

The get-together lasted nearly 55 minutes, and took place at the home of Sayyed Sistani in Najaf.

Following the meeting, Ban Ki Moon said, "I am extremely honored to have met His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani today for the first time. He is a man of the deepest wisdom and tolerance. He is an inspiration and a role model for his many followers in Iraq and beyond. We reviewed the current crisis in Iraq and the necessary humanitarian response. I expressed the United Nations' gratitude for His Eminence's support for all efforts to protect civilians in the current conflict."

A spokesman for Secretary Ban Ki Moon told Reuters the leader of the United Nations was meeting with Sayyed Sistani in the city of Najaf to seek his wisdom on the crisis in Iraq.

The UN Secretary General expressed his support of the Grand Ayatollah, saying that, "I expressed to His Eminence how deeply moved I was by his consistent calls for all sides to refrain from sectarian or ethnic rhetoric. I strongly welcome his crucially important appeal for all citizens to exercise the highest degree of restraint, to work on strengthening the bonds between each other and avoid any kind of behaviour that may affect the unity of Iraq."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team