Shafaq News- Baghdad

Lawmakers from Iraq’s Sunni Al-Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna Al-Samarrai, submitted a request to Parliament on Wednesday for legislation criminalizing “insults against religious figures,” amid renewed controversy over sectarian rhetoric.

At a press conference inside Parliament, MP Raad Al-Dahlaki urged the judiciary to curb a “malicious phenomenon” that could fuel sectarian strife. “There are acts rejected by society, including insults against religious figures and the wives of the Prophet [Muhammad],” he noted, adding that the proposed measure would apply across sectarian lines to figures revered by Muslims.

Earlier Wednesday, Iraq’s Sunni Endowment filed a criminal complaint against Shiite religious reciter Faqid Al-Mousawi, accusing him of insulting companions of the Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives. Its legal department submitted video clips attributed to Al-Mousawi to Baghdad’s Third Karkh Investigation Court.

Iraqi fact-checking platform Tech 4 Peace traced the footage to a June 15, 2025 event, disputing claims that it was recent. Al-Mousawi likewise argued that the clips were old and had previously been reviewed by the courts, denying any intent to target a particular community.

Sectarian rhetoric remains particularly sensitive in Iraq after years of Sunni-Shiite violence following 2003. The February 2006 bombing of the Shiite Al-Askari shrine in Samarra sharply intensified the conflict, triggering widespread retaliatory attacks and displacement. More than 1.1 million Iraqis were internally displaced during the 2006–2008 sectarian conflict, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Read more: Religion in Iraq: Heritage of civilization or a catalyst for conflict?