Iraqi Shiite opposition objects to coalition's searching of women

TEHRAN (AFP) Apr 03, 2003
Iraq's Shiite opposition group said Thursday it objected to the body searching of Iraqi women by coalition troops on religious grounds.

"We object and criticize the methods employed by the coalition forces in dealing with Iraqis, especially when searching women," Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir Hakim, head of the Supreme Assembly of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, told the British Ambassador to Tehran, Richard Dalton.

These methods "dangerously violate" traditions and religious sentiments, the leader of the Iran-based group said in a statement.

Around 97 percent of the Iraqi population is Muslim, of whom 65 percent follow the Shiite branch of Islam.

SPACE.WIRE