Word: risha
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...through a receiving line, hugging each of the Sunni sheiks, and then he made a speech: 'We are not Shi'ites. We are not Sunnis. We are all Iraqis, and we must reconcile.' It was a showstopper. He has a real presence. He and the host, Sheik Ahmed [Abu Risha], went and prayed together, which was a big deal symbolically. Then there was a 'goat grab'--a feast--and an agreement to keep meeting...
Tuesday's two-hour convoy - which wound through more than four miles of bullet- and bomb-ridden city decimated by the very worst of the war - celebrated the life of Ramadi's favorite son, Sheik Sattar Abu Risha, the romantic icon of the region's sudden turn against al-Qaeda and Islamic extremists. Though Sattar was killed by an insurgent's bomb on Sept. 13, his "Awakening" movement lives on and his image adorned police cars, armored vehicles and city walls for Tuesday's parade marking the end of 40 days of mourning. Hundreds of Iraqi police officers and soldiers...
...Rubaie hailed that spirit and pledged the central government would support it locally with funds, security forces and other assistance to develop the region and tie it more firmly with Baghdad. After the parade, al Rubaie sat comfortably as the head guest of Sattar's brother, Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, who took over the Awakening movement after Sattar's death. Older and rounder than his warrior brother, Ahmed seemed more like a middle-aged businessman. He and the other sheiks skipped over the talk of security and moved right on to the issues of reconstruction and governance - until someone asked...
When Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was assassinated Sept. 13 the culprits and the motive seemed clear. Sheik Sattar was leading the effort to rally Sunni tribes in Anbar Province to turn on the jihadists in their midst. Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) claimed responsibility for the killing, and jihadists gloated on their online message boards...
Whether or not the tribes who followed Sattar will remain working with the U.S. military in the wake of his death remains unclear. Sattar's brother, Ahmed Abu Risha, is poised to take over leadership of Sattar's movement. But his ability to hold tribal factions together is uncertain, and military officials may have to win loyalties all over again...