Two suspected members of Al-Alaahiyah cult arrested in Muthanna

MUTHANNA – Security forces in Al-Warka district, north of Samawah, arrested two suspected members of the extremist Shia group “Al-Alaahiyah,” also known as “Al-Qurban,” on Monday night. “The movement has been rapidly spreading in Al-Warka district, and intelligence efforts are closely monitoring their activities,” a local security source informed 964media.

Al-Alaahiyah advocates for radical beliefs and practices such as committing suicide during religious observances and venerates Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib as divine, a stance considered heretical by mainstream Shia Islam. Imam Ali, cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, was the fourth Rashidun caliph and is revered as the first Shia Imam.

According to the security source, “One is a prominent member of the group, who has been encouraging young people to adopt the group’s ideas through suicide, communicating with them via Messenger.” Meanwhile, another individual involved, a 16-year-old boy, was preparing to commit suicide by hanging at his home but was saved by his father and taken to Al-Warka Hospital.

The young man is under investigation, with initial evidence showing he had been in contact with group members. “Messages on Messenger from individuals in Baghdad were promoting the group and inviting him to join and offer himself as a sacrifice,” according to the investigation.

Recent arrests include several group members across Iraq. On Saturday evening, authorities detained a member in Al-Warka who attempted suicide by ingesting poison in an orchard. Over the past days, more than 15 other members have been detained.

The Iraqi National Security Service also apprehended four young men from the group during an Ashura procession in the Numaniyah district of Wasit governorate, who were allegedly planning to sacrifice one of their members to God.

A high-ranking security source in Basra also has confirmed that six followers of the “Al-Alaahiyah” cult have committed suicide. Recently, the group’s leader in Basra, known as “Al-Mukhlis,” took his own life after being selected in a ritualistic death lottery, part of their practices. His name is withheld for security reasons.

According to security sources, the group, which began in Dhi Qar in 2020, has since spread to Basra, Diwaniya, and Muthanna governorates. While security agencies are reluctant to divulge detailed information about the group’s structure, 964media has learned that there is a hierarchy among followers, with the highest rank being “Al-Mukhlis,” followed by “Al-Muhtam.”

Investigations into the movement have been ongoing since it arrived in Basra, with 17 members arrested so far, the source  added. They are active in various parts of Basra, including Al-Hussein district, Abu Al-Khasib in the south, and Al-Zubair district in the west.

Security forces across various governorates, including Muthanna, are actively pursuing Al-Qurban due to their dangerous suicide rituals, which have intensified during religious observances like Ashura and are expected to increase approaching the Arbaeen pilgrimage.

A security officer emphasized, “Intelligence efforts are intensifying to capture these groups and prevent them from engaging in dangerous and criminal practices.”

While Iraqi law is tolerant of new religious movements, it requires that they not insult other religions or threaten social security. “These conditions are not met by the Al-Qurban movement,” added the source.

The rise of Al-Alaahiyah has alarmed Iraqi religious leaders and security forces, who accuse the group of deviating from accepted religious practices and threatening societal cohesion. “Members of the movement periodically select an individual to commit suicide through a ‘lottery’ system, with the chosen person executing the act themselves,” 964media reported after speaking with several experts.

Ali Al-Hijimi, a religious scholar, told 964media, “The ‘Al-Qurban’ movement is one of the deviant movements that have recently emerged. This movement convinces the simple-minded, the weak-willed, and the young, emotionally manipulating them.” He elaborated on the group’s misuse of religious texts: “The leaders of this movement refer to the blessed verse, ‘And We called out to him, “O Abraham, you have fulfilled the vision”’, interpreting that the ram was Imam Hussein and that a sacrifice must be made in a ‘mysterious relationship’ with Imam Ali. They kill themselves within this context.”

The group attributes divine qualities to Imam Ali based on weak or unauthentic narrations and a sermon purportedly by Imam Ali, stating: “I am the creator of the heavens and the earth by my Lord’s command… I am the yellow wind, I am the destroyer of the people of Aad and Thamud.”

Tribal leaders are advocating for severe penalties for anyone encouraging suicide among the youth, urging community members to report such activities to help curb their spread.