Former Iraqi MP: Iraqi Shiites No Longer Buy into Notions that Iran Is Holy

Ayad Jamal Al-Din, a Shiite who has previously served as a member of Iraq’s parliament, said in a December 10, 2019 interview on ANB TV (Iraq) that Iran has been brainwashing Shiites with its “industry of holiness” and the notion of its sanctity, but that these notions, which he described as Iran’s most important weapon, have collapsed among Iraqi Shiites for good. He said that this is evidenced by the fact that people in Najaf, Iraq destroyed pictures of Khomeini and burned down the Iranian consulate. He encouraged people to curse Iran and applauded the destruction of the Iranian embassy, saying that its destruction should be celebrated annually the same way Iran celebrates the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In addition, Al-Din predicted that Iraq’s corrupt government will not fall until the Iranian regime falls. He added that shari’a law governs personal matters and that Iraq should be ruled by man-made laws that respect every religion like legal systems in the West do.