Power Moves May Be Uniting Hard-Liners in Iraq and Iran
June 19, 2003
The New York Times
David Rohde with Nazila Fathi
NAJAF -- In a step that may intensify a struggle between moderates and conservatives in Iraq, a hard-line Shiite cleric recently met with the leadership in Iran, according to his aides.
American military officials confirmed that the cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, had recently traveled to Iran. The trip comes after repeated American warnings to Iran not to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs.
Just what Mr. Sadr did in Iran is uncertain, other than attending the June 4 anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's theocracy.
However, two of Mr. Sadr's senior aides said he had met with Ayatolloh Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious leader; Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of Iran's judiciary; and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's former president.
"Yes, they offered help," said Ahmed Shehbani, a senior aide who said he had traveled with Mr. Sadr. "Either humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people or moral support."
The three Iranian leaders could not be reached for comment. But Iranian newspapers recently reported that Mr. Sadr had met with Mr. Shahroudi and Mr. Rafsanjani.
Mr. Sadr's aides also said Kadhem al-Husseini al-Haeri, a prominent conservative Iraqi cleric who lives in exile in Iran, had agreed to return to Iraq. His return could represent a move by hard-liners to challenge the moderate Shiite clerics who now dominate Iraq. Sixty percent of Iraqis are Shiite Muslims.
Attempts to reach Mr. Haeri in Tehran were unsuccessful. His daughter said he had no plans to return to Iraq.
The significance of the contacts is not yet clear, but they could mark an attempt by conservative forces in Iran to maintain power and for their Iraqi counterparts to achieve power after many years of brutal suppression under President Saddam Hussein.
A senior American official said earlier this month that the existence of a prosperous and democratic Iraq next to Iran would undermine Iran's clerics.
"Elements of the Iranian government have determined that they must defeat us here," said the senior American official, who was speaking in Baghdad. "Najaf threatens Qum."
The official was referring to the struggle between two cities holy to Shiite Muslims — Qum in Iran and Najaf in Iraq.
Clerics in Qum, broadly speaking, endorse the rule of society by religious leaders, in obedience to to religious law.
Najaf, the center of the Shiite world for 1,300 years, is where the body of Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet and the founder of the Shiite faith, is buried. The city represents a more moderate Shiite tradition, which holds that politics corrupts religion and the two should be kept strictly separate.
The battle between the doctrines is centered in Najaf, in two nondescript houses less than 200 yards apart. In one sits Mr. Sadr. In the other sits a man who wants nothing to do with Western materialism, politics or wealth. Yet the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sestani, in his 70's, has proved to be one of America's crucial allies in southern Iraq.
His fatwas, or religious edicts, have discouraged clerics from engaging in politics. During the war, he urged Iraqis to remain neutral.
At the same time, Mr. Sestani is suspicious of American intentions. "We feel great unease over their goals," Mr. Sestani's son and spokesman, Mohammed Rida Sestani, wrote in response to questions from The Washington Post on Saturday. "We see that it is necessary that they should make room for Iraqis to rule themselves by themselves without foreign intervention."
Nearby, Mr. Sadr, back from Iran, fights for a Shiism much more like that which rules Iran. Only 30 years old, he is the son of Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a revered Iraqi Shiite leader assassinated in 1999 by men believed to be acting under Mr. Hussein's orders.
Mr. Sadr's supporters have already established a small number of Sharia courts, where Islamic law is administered, and called for clerical approval of any new Iraqi government. They have been accused of involvement in the April killing of a moderate Shiite cleric hacked to death by a mob after returning to Iraq. They are also accused of threatening women who do not wear veils, store owners who sell alcohol and theater owners who show what clerics deem to be pornography.
Mr. Sadr's main patron is Mr. Haeri, the exiled cleric in Iran. Last week, he issued a fatwa ordering Iraqis not to sell land to Jews in Iraq. And in April, Mr. Haeri, who is based in Qum, issued a fatwa urging Iraqis to resist American influence.
"People have to be taught not to collapse morally before the means used by the Great Satan, if it stays in Iraq," Mr. Haeri wrote of the United States. "It will try to spread moral decay, incite lust by allowing easy access to stimulating satellite channels, spreading debauchery to weaken peoples' faith in schools, governments and homes."
Mr. Haeri, in his 60's, does not have Mr. Sestani's authority, but if he returned to Iraq, as Mr. Sadr's aides say he will, he could mount a challenge to the moderates.
American officials predict that after decades of dictatorship, the Shiite community will spurn any authoritarian rule, secular or religious. And in interviews, Najaf residents emphasized that although they wanted Islam to be part of the government, they also wanted democracy.
"We don't want another oppressive regime like the one we had before," said Laith Hasan Shamsi, the 38-year-old owner of a telephone store. He and other residents spoke of Mr. Sestani with reverence and called Mr. Sadr only a promising young leader.
But a senior aide to Mr. Sadr made it clear that hard-liners see this moment as just the beginning of a long campaign — a battle for the future of Shiite Islam — that will last for years.
"This conflict is not new," the senior aide said. "It won't stop tomorrow."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/international/worldspecial/24CLER.htmllast night you reported that a mullah had been beheaded. Any follow-up to that story?