FYI
Advertisement
Baghdad — As Canadians go to the polls, a campaign of another sort is being waged half a world away in Iraq for the hearts and minds of the country's large and embittered Shia population.
With an appointed interim government scheduled to take charge Wednesday, political thoughts are turning to Iraq's next phase of democratization: the transitional government and the assembly that will write the constitution, both of which are to be elected in January.
Since Shiites are a majority in Iraq, whoever influences them may well determine the outcome of that vote.
Entering the squat, white stucco building that houses Muqtada al-Sadr's offices in the sprawling slums of Sadr City, it's hard to imagine that this is the headquarters for Iraq's fastest growing political movement.
Mr. al-Sadr inherited his position as the head of a huge educational and economic network that is helping Iraq's downtrodden Shia population, who have always been dominated by the country's Sunni population.
His father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, was enormously revered by Shiites but was gunned down by agents of Saddam Hussein's regime in 1999. The younger Mr. al-Sadr, then 18, took control of the social network, but it is what he has done with it in the past 15 months that has catapulted him to prominence.
Sadr City, on the northeast edge of Baghdad, is emblematic of the Shiites' lot. More than two million people live amid the squalor and dusty broken roads. Herds of goats graze on the rubbish.
When Mr. Hussein fell last year, Mr. al-Sadr moved quickly to establish order.
His volunteers safeguarded hospitals and kept people from looting; today they direct traffic at busy intersections.
He proclaimed Islamic rules, closed the music shops and enforced gender separation. Today, every woman wears an abaya, a full Islamic black tunic and head scarf.
"This is the way it should be," labourer Kazim Sabiah, 21, said. "God willing, we will become an Islamic republic like Iran."
Atop Mr. al-Sadr's office, the green flag of the Mahdi Army flutters.
In April, this militia was behind its leader's big play. Mr. al-Sadr ordered the fighters to hold their ground against U.S. forces in the Shia holy city of Najaf, 120 kilometres south of Baghdad. The two sides clashed for several weeks, but the Americans finally withdrew and the Mahdi Army remained on patrol.
This is when Mr. al-Sadr's popularity soared. Pollster Sadoun al-Dulame found that while only 1 to 2 per cent of Iraqis supported him just six months ago, 40 per cent are now strongly behind him, and another 47 per cent somewhat support him.
Friday, Mr. al-Sadr changed tactics again. Sensing public revulsion over the killing of innocent Iraqis by insurgents, he strongly denounced such behaviour and told his followers to avoid violent opposition to U.S. forces and give the interim government a chance to work.
"We want the Americans to go but the best way to achieve that is through the political process," explained Sheik Raeed al-Khadami, a spokesman for Mr. al-Sadr in the nearby community of Kadhimya.
As the sheik spoke, dressed in a white turban, black robe and grey jalabia, a dozen young men on chairs around the room listened intently to every word. Posters of Mr. al-Sadr adorned the walls, juxtaposed with pictures of his father and an Iraqi flag.
"When we stood up to the Americans, our following grew enormously," Mr. Raeed said. "Today, we have more followers than Sistani." He was referring to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, head of the main seminary in Najaf, and always considered Iraq's paramount Shia figure. A few blocks toward the centre of the capital, at the venerable Baratha mosque (site of the prophet Daniel's tomb), Ayatollah al-Sistani's Baghdad representative rejected the notion that the upstart 23-year-old has any real influence
rest here mostly about Iraq
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040628.wshiites28/BNStory/International/
HMMMM
But I'm going back to bed! Sorry.
Can't keep eyes open.
LUB,
LUB,
LUB,