Iraqi prime minister forbids state bodies from classifying Iraqis by sect
Mustafa al-Kadhimi's decision was prompted by an outcry over the Iraqi Military College listing new students by sectarian classification.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered state institutions to stop classifying Iraqis by religious sect following a social media outcry on Wednesday.
“The blood that was spilled for Iraqi soil was all the color of martyrdom and heroism,” said Kadhimi’s office in a tweet. “Their classification was not asked."
On Wednesday, the Iraqi Military College posted a list of newly accepted students into the official military training institution on Facebook. One column pertaining to the students’ personal information was whited out. An earlier version of the list had included the religious sect of each student, prompting an outcry in the comments section. “The people of Iraq are one and not classified by sect,” wrote one commenter.
The earlier list of mostly Shiite students with some Sunnis was widely shared on social media and criticized by young Iraqis.
