Jewish Landowners to be Killed

Ayatollah Kazem al-Husseini al-Haieri, a senior Iraqi cleric who is currently based in Iran, has issued a fatwa declaring that any Jews who buy or even try to buy land in Iraq should be killed outright. The presence of Jews in Iraq goes back around 2,500 years after Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and brought thousands of Jews back to Babylon with him.

Under Saddam Hussein, Jews were able to lead a quiet and safe life - but apparently they aren't going to be welcome anymore. Haieri is a widely respected cleric and Shi'ites will evidently welcome him as their senior religious leader when he returns from his self-imposed exile in Iran. Babylon was once a cultural center of Judaism. Some, however, seem to want to make Iraq a center of extremist repression under Islam. I don't think that will be an improvement.

Read More:

• Babylonian Captivity
• Religion in Iraq
• Islamic extremists
• Saddam Hussein