RIYADH, Oct 20: An appeal signed by Iraq’s Sunni and Shia scholars in Makkah on Friday called upon their compatriots not to shed the blood of Muslims in Ramazan.

“Spilling the blood of Muslims is Haram (forbidden),” the Makkah declaration said.

The draft document was approved on Thursday in at the royal palace overlooking the holy Ka’aba by about 50 religious leaders — mostly Iraqis — seeking to stop the ongoing sectarian killings in Iraq.

Mosques in the world will be asked to use the document to remind Muslims of their obligations in this regard.

The document was drawn up during a meeting convened by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and was approved by the Iraq’s highest religious authority, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and radical Shia leader Moqtada Al Sadr. Among other things the 10-point Makkah Document urges Iraqis to shed sectarian differences ‘for the good of the country’. It stresses the need for safeguarding religious places of both communities in Iraq.

The OIC initiative was regarded by analysts as an attempt to secure the integrity and the character of Iraq. This comes at a moment while think thanks in the US have been suggesting dividing Iraq into three distinct zones on sectarian basis.

The federal structure for the country under discussion in the Iraqi parliament is being viewed with scepticism throughout the Arab world. The majority sees it as a means of dividing Iraq into three distinct entities – a recipe for disaster for the entire region. The Saudi government has also spoken out against efforts to chalk out a federal structure for Iraq.