Association of Moslem Scholars

The Association of Muslim Scholars (Arabic: هيئة علماء المسلمين Hayat Al-Ulama Al-Muslimin) is a group of religious leaders in Iraq. It was formed on the April 14, 2003, four days after the U.S.-led invasion demolished the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein, by a group of scholars who aimed to represent Sunnis in Iraq. Though not a political party, the association is considered to be politically influential. It also administers a charitable fund set up for the upkeep of religious buildings.

Prominent members include Harith Sulayman al-Dhari (Chairman), Muthanna Harith al-Dhari (Chairman's son and spokesman), Abdel-Salam al-Kubaisi, Abdel-Sattar Abdel-Jabbar, Dr. Muhammad Bashar al-Faithi, Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai, Mahdi Ibrahim, Abu Bashir al-Tarousi, Rached Ghannouchi and Umar Raghib.

The AMS has not joined the newly formed government because it believes the political process to be illegitimate whilst Iraq remains under occupation. The group believes that: "True democracy is impossible under occupation.”

According to the association's spokesman in 2005 Muhammad al-Kubaysi, Iraq's problems can be attributed to "the presence of a foreign power that occupies this country and refuses even the mere scheduling of the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq." Members of the AMS met a senior US embassy official in January 2005 and asked for a timetable for US troop withdrawal. When this was refused, the group called for a boycott of the elections.

The AMS has been the group most critical of the occupation since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, the Chairman of the group, has said: "Iraq’s ordeal will not end unless the occupation ends. We must get rid of the occupation which is the cause of Iraq’s misery and pain. It acts as a cover and fuel for outsiders to meddle."

The association has been called an important force in giving the anti-occupation Sunni insurgency religious sanction in Iraq, with some of its leaders, such as Ayyash al-Kubaisi, openly endorsing the Sunni resistance as legitimate. However, they have consistently condemned all indiscriminate attacks on civilians, distinguishing between 'terrorism' and 'honorable resistance' and have negotiated for the release of Western hostages, as well as helping to arrange aid convoys to the city of Falluja when it was under siege.

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Wikipedia