Iraq’s most influential Shi’ite Muslim leader, Muqtada al-Sadr,
visited a Catholic Church in Baghdad on January 4, expressing sorrow
over anti-Christian violence.
Al-Sadr told parishioners at Our Lady of Salvation church that he hoped
to strengthen ties between Christians and Muslims.
The Shi’ite leader
condemned the massacres carried out by Sunni extremists at the church in
2010.
Al-Sadr also visited a Sunni mosque in Baghdad.
The militant Islamic
leader is crossing religious boundaries as he attempts to rally
opposition to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.