U.S. Authority Challenged by Shiite Leader

By Pamela Constable Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, July 19, 2003; Page A12

BAGHDAD, July 18 -- A leading Shiite Muslim cleric today issued a sharp challenge to American authority and the U.S.-backed Iraqi leadership, announcing plans to form an independent "Islamic army" and denouncing the Iraqi Governing Council as an "illegitimate" body of American "lackeys."

Moqtada Sadr, the 30-year-old activist who heads one of Iraq's major Shiite movements, did not spell out his reasons for raising such an army, nor did he expressly call for the overthrow of the current authorities.

But in an emotional address to several thousand followers during Friday prayers at a mosque in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Sadr called on all Iraqis to reject the 25-member Governing Council, which was formed last week by U.S. occupation officials. He urged followers of his Hawza seminary-based movement to unify their ranks and form a separate council that would represent "justice."

>>> I posted the FT story because of the twist they put into this,another lesson in how one story can be presented in a untrusting manner by the press, I don't think the other shiites are talking in private.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562562219

Shia cleric berates Iraq's new council By Charles Clover in Kufa, Iraq Published: July 19 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: July 19 2003 5:00

With a crowd of tens of thousands cheering "Down with America! Down with Satan!" a popular Iraqi Shia clergyman declared his opposition to the new Iraqi interim administration during a fiery Friday sermon in the holy city of Kufa.

Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the best known Shia preachers in the country, aimed his sermon at US occupation and the 25-member Iraqi administration, known as the Governing Council, created by the US-led coalition last weekend. He asked the Shia population to set up their own governing council, supervised by clerics, to "confront" the new body.

Mr Sadr is probably the most potent political force to oppose the council, and his speech represented a considerable blow to coalition plans to stabilise Iraq by appointing an interim administration.

Mr Sadr is not a high-ranking cleric, but his father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, was revered by the Shia community until his death in 1999.

Mr Sadr has traded on his distinguished lineage, and has focused on building his credibility on the street rather than with the high- ranking clerics who regard him as an upstart. His organisation, the "Sadriun", is able to draw the largest crowds in Baghdad for Friday prayers and demonstrations, and has gained popularity for its anti-western views.

His speech yesterday was clearly designed to discredit religious figures who have joined the council, and force the mainstream Shia clergy to distance themselves from the coalition.

"I will not extend my hand to them [the coalition] even if it costs me my life," said Mr Sadr, who called on worshippers to boycott the council and asked ranking Shia clerics not to recognise it.

Nonetheless, he stopped short of calling for confrontation with coalition authorities: "We will not tell the people to strike America, but we will tell them not to help either," he said. His address coincided with the killing of another US soldier near Falluja, west of Baghdad.

"The council is weak now, it is new, and we must strangle it now in order to weaken it further," he said.

The Governing Council, which held its first session last Monday, is composed of former Iraqi opposition parties, along with a number of political figures who emerged following the war. It has kept a low profile.

Mr Sadr's sermon yesterday appeared to put pressure on the Shia religious establishment in Iraq, a loose grouping of three to four high-ranking clerics who form the Hawza network of religious schools. His followers consider the network to be out of touch and too close to coalition authorities.

Privately, Hawza representatives in turn ridicule Mr Sadr for his youth and lack of distinction in religious studies.

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