By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The head of Iraq's most influential Sunni Muslim organization said Friday that the government's bid to arrest him was illegal, and his spokesman urged Sunni politicians to quit the parliament and government.
The brewing political crisis threatened the Shi'ite dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and could provoke an even more violent surge in sectarian conflict as Iraq teeters on the edge of civil war.
The new upheaval began late Thursday when Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, a Shi'ite, announced on state television that he had issued the arrest warrant against the leader of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, for allegedly inciting terrorism and violence.