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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Attacks make Iraq's Shia clerics waver over militancy |
| 2004-12-05 |
| A black-turbaned Shia cleric drove through the streets of the southern Baghdad district of al-Amel on Saturday, carrying a loudspeaker and mocking the insurgents who scrawled anti-election slogans on the neighbourhood's walls. "Let those who wrote this show their faces, if they are men," residents quoted him as saying, as two dozen armed supporters followed his motorcade on foot, painting over graffiti that threatened to "cut off the heads" of voters. "Come and vote," the cleric said to passers-by. "We will protect you." It was a rare display of militancy by one of the pro-establishment Shia clerics, who have so far strongly discouraged any action by their followers against predominantly Sunni insurgents, lest it trigger a civil war. However, with attacks against the Shia on the increase, and the strong likelihood that the Shia parties will dominate Iraq's first elected postwar government, clerical resistance against direct anti-insurgent action may be wavering. In the past, Shia-dominated parties and a few mosque-centred networks co-operated quietly with the US military in the gathering of intelligence, but the clergy kept its distance from the US military in the name of national unity. When bombers accused of being Sunni insurgents struck at Shia holy sites in August 2003 and February 2004, many Shia clerics saved their strongest criticism for the coalition authorities, who they said had failed to protect them from attack. However, insurgent threats against forthcoming elections, which have been strongly endorsed by senior Shia scholars such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, may be breaking down the clergy's resolve to stay aloof. Residents of al-Amel say the anti-election graffiti marked the first time that insurgents had directly threatened them personally as Iraqi citizens exercising their rights as opposed to threats against "collaborators" with the US military or the government. Religious Shia had already been split over violence in Latifiya, a Sunni enclave that lies on the main highway south of Baghdad leading to the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Dozens of Shia, from clergy to army and National Guard recruits, have been killed by Sunni ultra-puritans while driving through Latifiya, which along with two nearby towns has been labelled the "Triangle of Death". Two weeks ago, a delegation of tribesmen from Basra calling themselves the "Brigades of Anger" approached Mr Sistani, asking him for permission to launch reprisals in Latifiya, says Sheikh Musa al-Musawy, a representative of the Grand Ayatollah in Baghdad. Mr Sistani refused them his blessing. "The government will deal with this problem, and the law will take its course," he reportedly said. However, the Washington Post reported that the brigades had launched an attack on Latifiya on Saturday, clashing with Sunni insurgents in the town. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 I imagine at some point - the Shia majority will be happy to drive that point right straight into their numb skulls. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-12-05 11:57:19 PM |
| #4 2b,"The only thing that is protecting the Sunni's right now is the American presence", very good point. But how to implant that message into them sunni numbskulls is another matter. |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2004-12-05 11:54:16 PM |
| #3 It was a rare display of militancy by one of the pro-establishment Shia clerics, who have so far strongly discouraged any action by their followers against predominantly Sunni insurgents, lest it trigger a civil war. The only thing that is protecting the Sunni's right now is the American presence. Sheer numbers will dictate that the Shia will be able to win any "civil war" that breaks out between the Shia and Sunni's. It's really not a US problem. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-12-05 11:47:21 PM |
| #2 âLet those who wrote this show their faces, if they are menâ Is he calling them terrs 'girlie-men'???!!!! "...and since then, he was known as Abu Ahnuld" |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2004-12-05 11:30:02 PM |
| #1 Hmm. I'm thinking the "black-turbaned Shia cleric" in this article might deserve some patented RB respect. |
| Posted by: Mark Z. 2004-12-05 9:30:48 PM |