Several senior Iraqi clerics in the southern holy city of Najaf issued a fatwa (religious decree) for boycotting Saudi products in retribution for the execution of prominent Shiite Cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr.
Dozens of Iraqi clerics poured to Najaf streets to condemn Saudi Arabia for killing Sheikh Nimr, and urged the Iraqi government to show a serious reaction to the crime.
Also, hundreds of followers of Sadr movement held a protest rally near al-Khadra neighborhood in Baghdad and called for the closure of the Saudi embassy and expulsion of the country's ambassador.
An Iraqi source said that the protestors tried to enter al-Khadra region but were prevented by the Iraqi security forces.
After the Saudi interior ministry announced on Saturday that it has executed Sheikh Nimr and 46 others, Sadr movement leader, influential cleric Muqtada Sadr, called for holding protest rallies against ale-Saud, and urged the Iraqi government to close the Saudi embassy.
Earlier, in a statement issued on Sunday, Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani expressed regret over Sheikh Nimr’s killing, and offered condolences to the families of all those executed unjustly along with the top Shiite figure.
EA
source : irib
