Iraqi Sunni and Shiite clerics denounced divisions along religious and ethnic lines and emphasised the country’s unity at a meeting intended to find common ground between Islam’s two main sects in the war-torn nation.
The meeting on Wednesday was organised by the Muslim World League in Islam’s holiest city, Makkah, and brought together a group of clerics from the two sects to help bridge the gap between them.
The League's secretary general, Mohammed Al Issa, said the meeting was exceptional and was held in a "brotherly and understanding" atmosphere.
However, the meeting was not attended by any of Iraq's senior and influential religious leaders with considerable sway over the country's many political and paramilitary groups, or their representatives.
After the meeting, the clerics issued a statement on the need to activate what is known as the Charter of Makkah, which was signed in 2006 by Iraqi religious leaders and meant to end the bloodshed in the country.
The 10-point charter calls for an end to sectarian violence and attacks on places of worship, to safeguard the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq, the release of innocent detainees and to allow displaced people to return to their homes.
The 2006 meeting was organised by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, but the document did not affect the security situation in Iraq and retaliatory killings between Sunni and Shiite extremists groups persisted.
The latest statement stressed the need to preserve Iraq’s “unity, stability and prosperity to contribute to regional and world stability and prosperity”.
The participants agreed to denounce sectarianism and urged coexistence, moderation, mutual respect and tolerance.
They also called for “opening constructive dialogue channels” among the clerics to deal with various issues.
“The priority in our religious and media messages must focus on unity, preserve the country’s identity, make sure to build it, reject terrorism and violence in all forms,” the statement said.
Iraqis have faced sectarian violence since 2004 when Al Qaeda in Iraq declared Shiites as renegades, launching attacks against them and their places of worship, including the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine north of Baghdad in 2006.
That attack spurred Shiite militias to fight back, plunging the country into a bloody civil war.
Death squads from the two communities singled out people from rival sects in Baghdad from 2006 to 2008, kidnapping, killing and dumping bodies in the streets. Many neighbourhoods in the capital became off limits to people depending on their sect membership.
The civil war ended only after Shiite militia leader Moqtada Al Sadr announced a ceasefire, along with a Sunni revolt against Al Qaeda during a series of US-Iraqi offensives that helped to stop the fighting.
In June, a radical Shiite group called for the shrine of a revered Sunni cleric in Baghdad to be demolished, prompting fears of renewed sectarian tensions in Iraq.
In response, the government stationed security forces around the Abu Hanifa Al Numan shrine and mosque.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
