Shiite Crisis Looming As Wave Of Anti-Sistani Assasinations Grows
We’ve been tracking this.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Two aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani were gunned down in southern Iraq, prompting Basra followers of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric to boycott Friday sermons and call for better protection for the country’s religious leaders.
The deaths brought to at least five the number of al-Sistani aides slain since early August, raising fears about the security surrounding al-Sistani as Shiite militias wage an increasingly violent struggle for power in Iraq’s oil-rich south.
The attacks late Thursday drew protests from al-Sistani’s followers and calls for stepped up protection of the religious hierarchy.
The reclusive spiritual leader has been the target of at least one assassination attempt since 2003. Born in Iran, al-Sistani, who is in his 70s, commands the deep respect of Iraq’s majority Shiites and millions could riot, fuelling sectarian tension, if he comes to harm.
“Security officials … should put an end to the wave of assassinations. Such killings might target prominent figures whose absence if killed might affect the political process,” another al- Sistani aide, Ahmed al-Safi, said in his sermon Friday in Karbala.
Al-Sistani’s representative in the Diwaniyah province, Ahmed al- Barqaawi, was shot to death Thursday night while driving home to the city of Diwaniyah, about 130 kilometers 80 miles south of Baghdad, police officials said.
About 30 minutes later, gunmen opened fire on a car carrying Amjad al- Janabi, a representative of the cleric in the Basra area, 340 miles southeast of the capital. Al-Janabi and his driver were killed, a policeman said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.
Al-Sistani commands a network of representatives across much of Iraq to deliver Friday sermons in their respective towns and collect a religious tax to run his seminaries and charities.
Some of these representatives are senior clerics empowered by the Iranian-born al-Sistani to advise Shiites on religious questions.
Al-Sistani’s followers in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, refused to attend Friday sermons in their mosques, denouncing the latest assassinations of the cleric’s associates, an aide said.
Al-Sistani’s office in the holy city of Najaf declined to comment on the latest slayings. Basra Gov. Mohammed al-Waili called on the government to step up measures to protect clerics.
Rival Shiite groups clashed violently in August in another Shiite holy city, Karbala, during a religious festival that left at least 52 people dead.
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Al-Qaeda at it again
September 21st, 2007 at 9:35 amWe should celebrate this guy’s standing in the Shia community and protect him at all costs. If he is then assasinated, the Shias who follow him would then turn on the militias. He might be an old Muskie, but he’s smart enough to say that mookie is out of his mind.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let’s keep an eye out for this guy.
September 21st, 2007 at 9:39 amThis just shows that Iraq is impossible to govern. What a snake’s nest.
September 21st, 2007 at 9:56 amNot impossible, tough. You have too remember, these people only know that if you disagree with someone you kill’em. They need to be shown how to resolve their differences in a peaceful way. Not to slap leather at the least provocation. But also remember, this was done by terrorists trying to subjugate the population using Saddam’s old methods. And as Anbar is showing, the people are getting tired of this crap.
September 21st, 2007 at 10:29 am[…] Shiite Crisis Looming As Wave Of Anti-Sistani Assasinations Grows — Pat Dollard […]
September 21st, 2007 at 1:03 pmKipp:
So was Germany in 1947. The press said the same thing back then. And now look at Germany. It takes time to build a nation. It took the US ten years to build this nation, a revolution, two civil wars (1860’s and 1960’s)
Iraq ain’t McDonalds…There’s no drive-thru. No Instant stable Iraq…..Great tasks take time and great people to carry out those tasks. The players are in place. The Iraqi political system is in place. Let it work.
September 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm