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| Iraq | ||
| Backers Flock to See Returned Iraqi Cleric | ||
| 2011-01-07 | ||
[Asharq al-Aswat] Hundreds of supporters
Tateral-Sadr, ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010... who has returned to Iraq after nearly four years in self-imposed exile in Iran. The firebrand populist whose bully boyz battled American and Iraqi forces left Iraq in 2007 seen more as a powerful but unpredictable leader of a street-fighting organization but returned Wednesday as a legitimate political figure heading an organized movement that is a key partner in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's new government. A swarm of al-Sadr's bodyguards -- dressed in black clothes and flak jackets and toting automatic rifles -- deployed around his house in the al-Hanana neighborhood in central Najaf where followers were waiting to meet him. One of the youngest among those gathered outside al-Sadr's house was nine-year-old Mohammed Sadiq, who was accompanied by his uncle. "I'd like to kiss his hands and tell him: I miss you and don't leave us again," said Sadiq. Supporters hung banners on nearby buildings, one of which read: "Yes, Yes to our leader. Here we are at your service our Master Moqtada." Another banner said: "We renew our allegiance to our leader Moqtada al-Sadr." The holy man was believed to be meeting with Iraq's most revered Shiite figure, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on Thursday but the meeting could not be confirmed. Al-Sadr has legions of followers
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 The same people that cut the scalps of their kids and have them bleed during the religious wing dings. Sorry to be so culturallllllly insennnnnnnnnnsitive. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-01-07 11:20 |