“When politicians fail to save the country from being torn apart and become a part of the conflict, attention is instinctively diverted toward social and religious leaders in order to achieve this goal.” This [unspoken] adage may not be conclusive, but the people always find solutions to their crises, which do not necessarily comply with the wishes of politicians. The current events that are marking the Iraqi scene 10 years after the ousting of the totalitarian regime, however, elicit a flashback to the starting point where “social and religious consensus imposes societal harmonization.”

The first objection will arise from the fact that religious figures and tribes are themselves a catalyst of political, religious and social rifts. In truth, both religious groups and tribes have merely been used as a scapegoat. Post-2003, a rigid political settlement was established between the politicians who used religions to protect their political interests, following the widely espoused principle that states: “If you wish to control the ignorant, disguise your actions with a religious coating.”

Religions have always served political interests, as demonstrated in the first letters sent by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden about the Shiite rule in Iraq and the necessity to defend the Sunnis, as well as in the current speeches by the political elite that make liberal use of  the term of “sectarian strife.” Iraqi politicians — whether Shiites, Sunnis or Kurds — have sown the seeds of fear of “the other” in order to maintain their representative power.

Amid security and social turbulence that augur an impending civil war, Iraqis are once again holding the role of clerics in high esteem. Some religious figures are attempting to take on patriarchal roles that religion represents in society. In fact, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has drawn a roadmap to solve the crisis through dialogue and a civil state. On the other hand, prominent Sunni Sheikh Abdul Malak al-Saadi has called on protesters to adopt a moderate discourse and maintain societal peace.