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August 21, 2004
Sistani is not a fool
The key point to remember about Al Sadr and the Imam Ali mosque is that the Mahdi army - or rather militia - taking it over had nothing to do with protecting it, and everything to do with protecting Al Sadr. That and trying to turn the Shia community against the Americans and the Iraqi interim government. So far, they have had some success in both areas, but their work is not complete. That's why events keep shifting back and forth so dramatically. Al Sadr can not accept a solution that won't inflame the Shia masses to incite a revolt. By now, he feels that is his only true chance to achieve power. He has nothing to lose.
Sistani, on the other hand, is not about to play his game. This is why Sistani will not formally take control of the mosque until the Mahdi fighters are gone. Thus preventing them from causing an incident then broadening the scope of the reaction by portraying it as an assault on Sistani not just Sadr and his men. What remains to be seen is whether Sistani can pull it off, and get rid of the Mahdi army without compromising his public image as a strong, yet non-violent, opponent to American desires for control. So far Sadr has continued to embrace Sistani as an ally, but there is clearly not a lot of trust between them:
The crisis appeared on the verge of resolution Friday with insurgents' surprising decision to remove their weapons from the Imam Ali Shrine, where they had been hiding, and turn the holy site over to top Shiite clerics.But the two sides were still debating how to arrange such a transfer Saturday.
Al-Sadr aides said they tried to hand the keys over to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who refused to accept them, demanding the shrine be evacuated first.
Sheik Ali Smeisim, a senior al-Sadr aide, said the militants wanted a delegation from al-Sistani's office to first inspect the shrine and make sure its treasures were intact, so that al-Sadr's followers would not be accused of stealing or damaging anything. Only then will the militants leave, he said.
Al-Sistani's aides say they will not send a delegation because of the security situation in the city.
"If the brothers in the office of ... al-Sadr want to vacate the holy shrine compound and close the doors and hand over the keys, then the office of the religious authority in Najaf will take the keys for safekeeping until the crisis ends," Sheik Hamed Khafaf, an al-Sistani aide, said from London where the cleric is undergoing medical treatment. "We cannot receive the shrine compound unless they agree to this formula."
Posted by Mike at August 21, 2004 08:49 PM
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