Iraq's Yacoubi Charged with Conspiracy to Murder (Moqtada al-Sadr aide)

Yahoo News ^ | 4/05/04 | Reuters

[kattracks]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A prominent Shi'ite, whose arrest by U.S.-led coalition forces stoked violent protests across Iraq (news - web sites), is in Iraqi custody and will be tried for complicity in the murder of a top cleric last year.

Interior Ministry officials said Monday that an Iraqi judge had issued a warrant for the arrest of Mustapha Yacoubi, an aide to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, last autumn.

"Yacoubi is in Iraqi police custody charged with complicity in the murder of Ayatollah Abdul Majid al-Khoei, one of Iraq's leading advocates for human rights," said Deputy Chief Constable Douglas Brand, the British adviser to the interior ministry.

"He awaits trial in an Iraqi court."

Coalition forces detained Yacoubi at his Najaf home on Saturday. Sadr supporters protested across Iraq Sunday, and clashed with security forces in several cities. At least 48 Iraqis, eight American soldiers and one Salvadoran were killed.

Khoei was hacked to death at a Najaf mosque in April 2003 by a mob which also killed one of his aides. Senior clerics at the time blamed the killings on a group linked to Sadr. Sadr's group denied the charge.

Thirteen other suspects were taken into custody in relation to the murder. Brand said several more warrants had been served, but would not say whether one of those was for Sadr himself.

Sadr is a young cleric virulently opposed to the U.S. occupation. He has massive support, especially among poor urban Shi'ites.

His supporters have staged demonstrations in the past week to protest the closure of a militant pro-Sadr newspaper which the U.S.-led authority accused of inciting violence.

Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Kamal said the paper's closure and Yacoubi's arrest were unrelated.

Khoei was killed by a mob at Imam Ali Shrine, days after returning to Najaf from exile when U.S. forces took control. Supporters said he was helping Americans restore order in the city, 100 miles south of Baghdad.

[TrueBeliever9]

Perry Stone's book is an excellent resource to understand the mindset of The Army of Mahdi that has been raised up by Sadr.

page 100: "According to Islamic tradition, one of the three items Mahdi [pronounced ma-ha-di] will restore will be the sword of the prophet Mohammed. This sword will enable the Mahdi to exact Islamic justice, especially on the infidels who resist his leadership. The sword of Islam also alludes to jihad, or a holy war that can be called against the infidels."

Sadr sees his Army of Mahdi as the tool to bring the Mahdi to power over the world.

The jihad that Sadr declared against our troops and the coalition forces on Sunday, by Sadr's own words, aligns itself with the Palestinians.

The color green that you see on the Army of Mahdi is the considered to be the color of Mohammed and the Mahdi.

This is Satan's big move to get the world on his time table! BUT through the prayers of the saints - who are holding up our troops day and night - this will not happen!

[dennisw]

Cleric calls for 'terror raids' after gun battle

Al-Sadr: The first Shi'ite leader openly to urge violence against coalition forces (Reuters)

More on the volatile situation in Iraq from The Telegraph, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

When thousands of Shi'ite Muslims massed around a military base outside the Iraqi holy city of Najaf yesterday, the Spanish soldiers on duty might have thought they were facing another angry demonstration.

Yet the protest was about to escalate into a brutal gun battle, claiming at least 22 lives, while in Baghdad seven American soldiers were killed and at least 24 wounded in fighting with militiamen from Iraq's Shi'ite majority.

The young, bearded figure of Muqtader al-Sadr, a radical Shi'ite leader, was the guiding hand behind the protests. The first Shi'ite leader openly to urge violence against coalition forces, Mr al-Sadr is the son of Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, a revered ayatollah who was murdered five years ago, probably on the orders of Saddam Hussein.

Mr al-Sadr, 30, inherited his father's following among Iraq's impoverished, urban Shi'ites and has become a thorn in the flesh of the coalition. The spark that provoked the crowd to gather in Najaf was the arrest on Saturday of Mustapha Yacoubi, one of Mr al-Sadr's closest aides. More than 5,000 people massed outside the base used by soldiers from Spain and El Salvador, demanding Mr Yacoubi's release.

Among the crowd were gunmen from the al-Mahdi army, Mr al-Sadr's banned militia. Accounts of how the shooting began vary, but a Spanish military convoy seems to have been stoned and the militiamen opened fire. Spanish soldiers and Iraqi police responded and the crowd scattered as a gun battle began.

In the ensuing chaos, 20 Iraqis were shot dead and some 210 wounded. One soldier from El Salvador also died and an American was killed. The base came under heavy fire from Shi'ite militiamen.

The violence in Baghdad erupted after militiamen occupied police stations and government buildings in Sadr City, the Shia-dominated slum named after Mr al-Sadr's murdered father.

Earlier thousands of his supporters had taken to the streets of Baghdad to protest over the closure of his newspaper by coalition forces last week. The authorities had accused the weekly paper of inciting violence and banned it for 60 days. US forces responded in strength last night and 10 tanks, supported by two helicopter gunships, were seen to enter the area.

In the city of Amarah, 200 miles south-east of Baghdad, Mr al-Sadr's supporters clashed with British troops. Four people died and five were injured. No British soldiers were hurt.

Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq, accused Mr al-Sadr's militiamen of "crossing a line". He said: "This will not be tolerated by the coalition, it will not be tolerated by the Iraqi people and it will not be tolerated by the Iraqi security forces."

After the turmoil, Mr al-Sadr's office issued a statement telling his followers to "terrorise your enemy".

Saddam heavily repressed the Shi'ites, who comprise about 60 per cent of Iraq's population. So far, most have been quietly acquiescent in the American-led occupation. Sunni Muslim supporters of Saddam's ousted regime have largely mounted the daily round of attacks on US forces.

If the Shi'ites were to rise against the coalition, Iraq would swiftly become ungovernable. Yet despite Mr al-Sadr's private army and his ability to mobilise tens of thousands of demonstrators, he is far from supreme.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the overall leader of the Shi'ites in Iraq, has frequently criticised the American occupation but has so far pointedly refrained from calling for an uprising. This has left Mr al-Sadr with an opening to mobilise the younger, radical Shi'ite masses.

If the Shi'ites do join the violent resistance, the situation will become incomparably worse.

[TrueBeliever9]

Sadr has built the Army of the Mahdi right under Bremer's nose! That is what infuriates me so much!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Reminded of the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, flashy sword vs. Indie's humble gun.

This is Satan's big move to get the world on his time table! BUT through the prayers of the saints - who are holding up our troops day and night - this will not happen!

Bump! Satan, the ultimate sore loser.

[TrueBeliever9]

Imam Mahdi (Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH) by Mufti A.H. Elias and Mohammad Ali ibn Zubair Ali

Who Is Imam Mahdi?

Note: Please do not confuse Imam Mahdi with Hadhrat Isa (Jesus) Alayhis Salaam. They are two different persons, and both will come during the last days. According to Hadeeth, Imam Mahdi will appear first, and Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will appear during Imam Mahdi's lifetime. Furthermore, only Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will be able to kill Dajjal (the "anti-Christ").

The term "MAHDI" is a title meaning "The Guided one".

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mas'ood (R.A.) says that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "This world will not come to an end until one person from my progeny does not rule over the Arabs, and his name will be the same as my name." (Tirmidhi)

Hadhrat Ali (R.A.) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "Even if only a day remains for Qiyamah to come, yet Allah will surely send a man from my family who will fill this world with such justice and fairness, just as it initally was filled with oppression." (Abu Dawood)

His Features

Hadhrat Abu Saeed Khudri (R.A.) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "Al Mahdi will be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high. He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven years."

Other ahadeeth inform us that:

* He will be tall

* He will be fair complexioned

* His facial features will be similar to those of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

* His character will be exactly like that of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

* His father's name will be Abdullah

* His mother's name will be Aamina

* He will speak with a slight stutter and occasionally this stutter will frustrate him causing him to hit his hand upon his thigh.

* His age at the time of his emergence will be forty years

* He will receive Knowledge from Allah.

http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html

[jjm2111]

"Sadr is a young cleric virulently opposed to the U.S. occupation. He has massive support, especially among poor urban Shi'ites."

Hmmmm....massive. For real? Or for Reuters?

[dennisw]

There are always a few phony baloney Mahdi wannabees in the 'Slamic world. One took on the Brits and disgraced them 100 years ago

[dennisw]

Prisoners of the Mahdi; The Story of the Mahdist Revolt Which Frustrated Queen Victoria's Designs on the Sudan ...
By Byron Farwell
Read by Bill Kelsey
Books on Tape , (1994)
An Unabridged Audio Recording
Book Number 3589 - 10 Cassettes
ISBN: 0-7366-2889-4
Genre: History - Africa, Sudan, British Empire

[happygrl]

Thanks for CEE-gar man!

Hooyah!

[InterceptPoint]

"He awaits trial in an Iraqi court."

Or the payment of the required bribes which ever comes first.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Sadr had a following - his father's, inherited, before we marched to Baghdad, and long before Bremer.

Mosques are convenient battle staging areas, aren't they?

[Salem]

Make sure you see TrueBeliever9's content on this thread.