photo:
Al-Da'wa party’s website

By Imam El-Liethy, IOL Iraq Correspondent

BAGHDAD, May 3 (IslamOnline.net) - After more than 20 years of banned and underground activities, al-Da'wa (Islamic Call) Party has come to light after the downfall of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, calling for the establishment of an Islamic government that represents all ethnic and religious Iraqi communities and rejecting the U.S. occupation.

The party's platform, however, calls for resisting the occupation by "word", not by arms.

"We are, no doubt against the U.S.-Anglo occupation and our advice to the U.S. troops is to withdraw (form Iraq) to avoid being bogged down in a quagmire. The Iraqis are sensitive to the occupation and their backlash would be violent….The U.S. troops should put that in mind," the spokesman for the Shiite party, Abdul Kareem al-Enezi told IslamOnline.net Saturday, May 3.

"We are part and parcel of this nation…we cannot fail it. And although we urge the Iraqis to resist the occupation by word for the time being and eschew violence but we cannot put a curb on their (anti-U.S.) feelings and reactions," said Enezi.

On the party's platform, he said the party calls for "the establishment of an Islamic government that adopts Islam as a way of life."

"We divide our action into four categories: first, laying the stepping stone of the party and enticing Iraqis into our party; second, playing a leading role in Iraq's political landscape; third, establishing an Islamic government and fourth enjoining good and forbidding evil," he added.

Enezi further said the party's broad guidelines are expected to be put forth within one or two days, noting that the party would press for "establishing an independent Iraqi state by its own people in a way that dose not conflict with Islamic Sharia law.

"We enhance political plurality and the participation of Iraqi ethnic and religious communities. We are also keen on protecting human rights and call for an Iraq based on a constitution."

A Mammoth Task

Enezi, however, said the establishment of an Islamic government is not an easy task in the current juncture.

"We have no alternative but to call for a country that bolsters justice, equality, freedom and Islamic Shariaa law," he said.

"We will try to stand on a common ground with all Iraqi national powers to draw up a joint platform capable of defending all (Iraqi) Muslims."

"We are neither a political nor a military Jihadist party, albeit politics is an integral part of our interest...Our party is based on entrenching Islam and enjoining good and forbidding evil," Entezi asserted.

"It is an Islamic party that places all Muslims on equal footing. There is no difference whatsoever between Sunnis and Shiites Arabs or Kurds…We all like the teeth of a comb," he said.

"The party has a politburo that helps promulgate its platform and form a national coalition with other Iraqi powers …Although it is understaffed but they are shouldered with such responsibility," he said.

Asked whether or not the party had some cadres working inside Iraq during the era of Saddam, Enezi said the party resorted to clandestine meetings after the then Iraqi regime had tightened the noose around its members.

"We were working in tandem with the Iraqi (opposition) exiles and enjoyed great popularity inside…people were coming in droves to join our part and we could not contain all of them," he said.

Enezi further said the party shares identical viewpoints with some of Iraqi parties, noting that it was communicating with most of Iraqi parties on a regular basis.

Al-Da'wa party was established by Sheikh Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr in 1957. It was forced to go under ground after Saddam had issued a decree in 1981 sentencing the party's members and their banner carriers to death in retrospect.

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