BAGHDAD—A coalition of sectarian leaders from the approximately 185 separate political and insurgent groups vying for dominance in Iraq called for a nationwide moment of violence, to be held shortly before noon Friday in the remaining days of Ramadan.
"All of us fighting for control of this land, whether Baathists, Sunni militants, al-Qaeda sympathizers, al-Sadrites, or just plain street criminals, have one thing in common," read a statement released Monday by the ad-hoc group. "We all share a deep abiding commitment to the indiscriminate use of murder, mayhem, and massacre as a means of achieving our various ends."
"Therefore," the statement continued, "this Ramadan, we shall take time to see past the things that separate us, and celebrate, together, a moment of horrifying brutality for the citizens of Iraq."
According to Monday's statement, leaders deemed Ramadan—the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, in which fasting, prayer, acts of charity, and most importantly, rigorous self-examination and purification are required of the devout—"the perfect time to put others first, whether in the path of an SA-7 anti-aircraft rocket or the blast radius of an improvised explosive device."
