Fifth Sistani Aide Assasinated In Three Months
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the most revered and powerful Shiite leader in Iraq. He is credited with being the man who has allowed Muqtada Al Sadr to remain alive, although he is known to not particulary like Al Sadr, believing the young cleric to be not only dangerous but insane. It is believed he has protected Al Sadr mostly out of a sense of loyalty to Al Sadr’s deceased father, Mohammed Sadek Al-Sadr, an almost equally radical but widely respected Shiite leader. On Feb.18, 1999, the car carrying Sadek al-Sadr home to Najaf was riddled with bullets in an ambush, and he was killed along with two of his four sons. Most of his supporters believe Sadr survived the initial attack and was later finished off at a Najaf hospital.
With regards to this stunning wave of assasinations of Sistani’s aides, rumors sway back and forth between “He’s being killed by Al Sadr’s rivals” to “Al Sadr is targeting him in a grab at supremacy.” Sistani has been very ill of late, at times travelling to Tehran for treatment.
Basra, Sept 1, (VOI) – Unidentified gunmen assassinated an aide of Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday night in Basra, police said.
“The gunmen shot down Moslem al-Battat, the imam and preacher of al-Urwa mosque, in al-Farsi area (central Basra), minutes after he finished his night prayers,” an official source in the Basra police, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Saturday.
The source did not reveal further details about the assassination or the organization behind it.
Three gunmen in a vehicle shot dead Sheikh Fadel al-Aqel, a deputy of Sistani, in the neighborhood of al-Milad in Najaf City on August 8. That incident was the fourth of such kind in two months.
Two weeks prior, Sheikh Abdullah Falak, an aide of Sistani, who was in charge of financial duties in the cleric’s office, was stabbed to death inside his office in Najaf.
Falak’s assassination set off questions among Iraqis as the place where he was killed was only 50 meters away from Sistani’s heavily-guarded residence.
Another aide, Kadhem al-Baderi, in charge of protecting the most sacred Imam Ali Shrine and Sistani himself, was shot dead by gunmen few days before that, outside the city.
The first in this series of assasinations of Sistani’s aides occured just days prior when Sheikh Rahim al-Hassnawi, was shot in front of his home in the town of al-Mishkhab, south of Najaf.
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Can you imagine just waking up one day to discover that Sistani whacked Mookie, snap, just like that?
September 1st, 2007 at 1:24 pmThese devlopments are not unexpected. First let me clean up a point. Sistani is a “Supreme Grand Ayatollah” (SGA) which makes him THE most powerful leader of not only the Iraqi Shia, but ALL the Shia in the world. As such, one Fatwa from him declaring jihad against the infidels (us) and it would uleash a storm of voilence the likes the world has never witnessed. After all, he controls almost 200 MILLION Shia. If only 5% followed his Fatwa you are looking at facing an extremely violet and leathal army of approximately 10 MILLION scattered around the world - all looking to get to paradise. That having been said, the ramifications of SGA Sistani being assasinated are ominous.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:42 pmThe Persians, under the guidance of their new leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 embarked on a perversion of the Shia sect of Islam and made it his/their goal to move the center of the religion from Karbala, Iraq - which teaches a peaceful, leave the running of the country to the technocrats style of religion - to Qom, Iran which teaches a much more violent and theocratic style of the religion. The ruling Ayatollahs in Persia have tried to make this move several times already without success. (It is intersting to note that Khomeini practiced the same beliefs that the current President of Persia practices and that is the belief in the return of the Mehdi who will only make himself known to all at the time of armageddon.) Now here is the real problem…
IF SGA Sistani is assasinated it will, I strongly belive, be at the hands of the Persians, most likley the Badar Organization - not necessarily Sadar as he is an Iraqi Nationalist before he is a Persion - as a member of the Hakim family is the odds on favorite to win the seat and become Supreme Grand Ayatollah and then things will get ugly real quick as I am sure it will not be long before he issues “The Ultimate Fatwa.” Whatever we do here in Iraq, if we do nothing else, we must make damn sure that Sistani stays alive!
“Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the most revered and powerful Shiite leader in Iraq. He is credited with being the man who has allowed Muqtada Al Sadr to remain alive, although he is known to not particulary like Al Sadr, believing the young cleric to be not only dangerous but insane.”
I say one thing for the old guy, he’s got Mookie pegged well. Too bad he hasn’t the sense to kill the nutcase.
September 1st, 2007 at 4:34 pmTo be born into Islam must be like being born into a traumatic, dysfunctional lifestyle. It would be interesting to lock down the population like a psychiatric ward and issue massive doses of propanolol.
September 1st, 2007 at 11:23 pmYikes, I clicked on this link to read the article and the Wicked Witch of the West pops up in the lead picture kissing some old dude. C’mon Pat can’t you post a little sticky note !!WARNING-GRUESOME DETAILS AHEAD!! on the link to the story at least? I almost went blind man. Geeze. I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore Dorthy . May I suggest that someone needs to introduce a quality skin care line in Iraq… Hmm, I see a business opportunity here… Sadly, I think I have had an easier time looking at the pictures of the dead insurgents rather than looking at this alive old crone. Hmm, maybe that should bother me, but it is kinda funny in an ironic sort of way.
I sure hope most of the women don’t look like that or I am beginning to see why the Arab men are so friendly with their goats….
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 am