Iraqi Shi'ite leader al-Khoei assassinated in Najaf

Reuters | Thursday, April 10, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

Iraqi Shi'ite leader al-Khoei assassinated in Najaf

KUWAIT, April 10 (Reuters) - Senior Iraqi Sh'ite leader Abdul Majid al-Khoei was assassinated at the mosque in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday, a member of his family foundation told Reuters.

Ali Jabr, a member of the London-based Khoei foundation, confirmed to Reuters by phone that Abdel Majid was dead. The murder is sure to raise tensions among Iraq's majority Shi'ite population.

Majid is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah al-Khoei, spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ites at the time of the 1991 Gulf War.

Al-Khoei's nephew, Jawad al-Khoei, told Reuters from the Iranian holy city of of Qom that Abdul Majid was stabbed to death at the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, one of the holiest shrines for Shi'ite Muslims.

"An hour ago we talked to the persons who were with him at the time of the incident. They said he was martyred by treacherous hands," Jawad al-Khoei said.

[JohnHuang2]

Thursday, April 10, 2003

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[dfwgator]

I hope I'm wrong but I think we are about to see a civil war in Iraq between Sunnis and Shiites.

[netmilsmom]

This is not good.
However, if these people would not get so flipped about having US military in the Mosques, maybe it wouldn't have happened. Maybe.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[AntiGuv]

So it begins. This was the leading pro-western Shi'ite figure of the Iraqi exile community who'd recently returned to Najaf in order to assist in the establishment of an interim authority.

[Thinkin' Gal]

Abdul Majid was stabbed to death at the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, one of the holiest shrines for Shi'ite Muslims

Mosques and blood seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. What kind of stuff happens at an un holy shrine?

[demnomo]

Any word on who were the "treacherous" hands?

This is definitely not good. Wasn't this leader fairly moderate regarding religious implementation? Wasn't he the Shi'ite leader who believed that religious morals should be voluntary and not enforced like in Iran? Or was he the one who called for the Coalition Forces to leave and let Iraqis decide how to deal with their country?

Either way, it's not a good thing...

[Leatherneck_MT]

For some additional insight into the problems we're fixing to face there, you might want to read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Civil war in Iraq may be the least of our problems in Iraq. Hopefully not, but after all, these people are Arabs and very tribal in their attitudes.

Semper Fi

[CasearianDaoist]

There is a note on sky that says he might have survived.

[wesdale]

More information about this person and his leader Sistani was posted previously here. Bad news if true. Was probably killed by an agent from Iran.

[AntiGuv]

This was the moderate head of the London-based Al-Khoei Foundation who promoted the educational, charitable, and political welfare of Shia muslims worldwide. He would've been the leading figure of the Shi'ite community in the post-Saddam era according to indications from reconstruction planning.

The one who called on the Allied Forces to leave swiftly and has also pledged armed resistance if they don't was Hamid al-Bayati of the Tehran based SCIRI (Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq). He will now be the unrivalled titular head of the Shi'ite opposition movement. No, not a good thing at all...

[AntiGuv]

Any word on who were the "treacherous" hands?

Regarding this, I would guess it was a SCIRI operative.

[tomahawk]

Very sad news.

[jraven]

Remember how 911 began with an assasination of a pro-West leader? Is this a "mere" killing...or does it portend something?

[icwhatudo]

Breaking news on Sky>>

An Iraqi cleric, who has been living in London for 12 years, may have survived an assassination attempt at a mosque in Najaf.

Abdul Majid al-Khoei, head of the London-based Al-Khoei Foundation, returned to his home in Najaf last week under the protection of the coalition.

[demnomo]

I'll bet that SCIRI were the treacherous hands. Maybe we are gonna have to go after Iran and Syria... They are causing an awful lot of trouble and haven't gotten the "diplomatic" message from Rumsfield...

I pray that the SKY news report of his having survived may be true. But seeing as someone has already called in saying that he died, I'm not as hopeful...

[BrooklynGOP]

Senior Iraqi Sh'ite leader Abdul Majid al-Khoei was assassinated at the mosque in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday,

In the mosque? Wouldn't that upset the muslim world? /sarcasm

[InspiredPath1]

This is TRULY BAD NEWS if true.

Last week he was quoted saying "A free Iraq shall be a living monument to our people's friendship with it's liberators."

He was for separation of church and state.