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Al-Hakim kid succeeds pop in family business
[Al Arabiya Latest] One of Iraq's main Shiite Muslim parties on Tuesday appointed the son of its leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim as his successor after his death last week, averting a potentially damaging public power struggle.Ammar al-Hakim had been groomed for some time to take over the influential Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (ISCI) from his father, who died in Tehran where he had been receiving treatment for lung cancer. The cleric was buried over the weekend in the holy Iraqi Shiite city of Najaf. His death cast fresh uncertainty over Iraqi politics at a time when alliances among Iraq's majority Shiites are shifting ahead of a parliamentary election in January, and when recent progress toward stability has been rocked by bomb attacks. "Voting for Ammar al-Hakim is normal because of the symbolism of his family name and the sacrifices that the family made," said ISCI lawmaker Nabil Ismail, who said Ammar al-Hakim had been picked by the party's advisory council. Posted by: Fred 2009-09-02 |
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