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| Iraq |
| Iraqi Shi'ite leaders urge restraint amidst violence |
| 2006-01-07 |
| Iraqis buried their dead on Friday from a day of bloodshed, which left some Shias calling for a backlash against the Sunni militants they blame for a suicide bombing in Kerbala. Senior Shia religious and political leaders urged restraint, telling followers to place their faith in the next government, slowly emerging from the Dec 15 election and set to be dominated by Shia Islamists. But some religious figures condemned the killers from the pulpit. In Baghdad, one imam held an AK-47 assault rifle aloft in his left hand and punched the air with his right as he addressed around 5,000 worshippers. âHow long can we remain silent? Terrorists are pampered in Iraq,â cried Imam Hazim Araji, standing in front of an ornately tiled facade of the Khadimiya mosque. In the western city of Ramadi, Sunnis buried scores of young police recruits who were blown to pieces by another suicide bomber on Thursday, one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. That attack killed 70. In Kerbala, where more than 50 were killed, grief was mixed with anger. âSunnis were behind this criminal act,â said shopkeeper Jabbar Nasr, surveying the debris from the bomb, which exploded yards from the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussein, spitting ball bearings across a busy shopping street. âI call on our religious Shia institutions to give us permission to fight back,â he said. It was also the deadliest day for US forces since Dec 1, taking US fatalities since the start of the invasion to 2,193. Eleven soldiers died, including two in the Ramadi attack and five when a roadside bomb hit their patrol in Baghdad. President George Bush faces growing pressure at home over the rising toll, but has said a troop cut depends on the situation on the ground and military decisions, not on him. However, Al Qaedaâs deputy leader Ayman al Zawahri said in a video Mr Bushâs plans for a possible withdrawal meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims. âBush, you must confess that you have been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan and you will be too in Palestine soon,â he said. Iraqâs more senior clergy were more restrained than ordinary people like the shopkeeper Nasr, urging worshippers not to rise to the bait of the bombers. âThe civil war they are looking for will not happen,â said Ali al Fatlawi, a representative of the countryâs most senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani. âIraqi people should be more careful, more vigilant and should shun anything that promotes strife,â he told thousands of worshippers inside the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussein. Hadi al Ameri, head of the Badr Brigades, the loosely organised Shia militia allied to one of the countryâs most powerful political parties, urged calm but questioned how long political leaders could keep their angry supporters in check. âPeople are about to explode,â he said. âWe have warned the British and American ambassadors in Iraq that if the Shias get out of control they should not blame us.â âShia popular opinion has remained obedient to the clergy and its leaders, but the question is, for how long?â he said. âPeople are not stupid. Theyâre telling us, âIf you canât protect us, then let us protect ourselvesâ.â |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 darn - b/i/s didn't work. apologies for muddiness |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-01-07 10:25 |
| #1 âPeople are about to explode,â he said. That would appear to be part of the problem, darlin'. one imam held an AK-47 assault rifle aloft in his left hand and punched the air with his right... So pious, so holy. Blow up in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere. âWe have warned the British and American ambassadors in Iraq that if the |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-01-07 10:24 |