BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A new religious Sunni organization has been announced in Iraq that calls for cooperation with the government to restore stability and unity.
The organization is calling itself the "Jamaat Ulema al-Janoub," which translates from Arabic to "Scholars Group of the South," according to its chief, Sheikh Khaled al-Mulla.
Al-Mulla, who is also a mosque cleric, said Thursday the group calls for "moderate political rhetoric, confronts terrorism and stands with the central government to achieve security, stability and unity."
He made his announcement in the first conference launching the group in the predominantly Shiite southern port city of Basra.
Al-Mulla said the organization consists of 500 Sunni scholars and clerics from across the country and has the approval of the Baghdad government and the Shiite religious authorities "to change the Iraqi reality and end this ordeal."
It was not immediately clear whether the formation of this government-backed group constitutes a split from the Islamic Scholars Association, Iraq's only and highest Sunni religious authority that has been a major opposition player against the political process since the U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
Al-Mulla, however, said his organization was formed after intensive consultations with Sunni scholars to "close the gaps and divisions among the Sunni authorities."
He added Basra was chosen as the launching pad for his group to send a message of "tolerance, love and peace among the Iraqi people and we will seek -- through our national and regional relations -- to achieve that purpose."
Iraq has been in a state of sectarian strife and virtual civil war between Shiites and Sunnis for the past two years.
