Thursday, April 03, 2003

Deadly Khoei factor

by pv vivekanand

A BITTER feud is brewing behind the scenes between
allied forces on the one hand and Iran and
Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiites on the other over what is
emerging as a secret American plan to install
Washington's man in charges of religious affairs at
Shiite shrines in the occupied Iraqi towns of Najaf
and Karbala.
The feud adds to the rift in American-Iranian
relations and to apprehension in Tehran that the US is
seeking to marginalise Iran's strategic religious
interests in the area.
The US could not afford to make a false step with the
Shiites in the south and US commanders are obviously
been coached well. That explains why American officers
and soldiers went out of their way to point their gun
downwards and appeal to Iraqi Shiite crowds that they
were not hostile when they took over Najaf last week.
The crowds were so worked up believing that the
invaders would enter the holy mosque in Najaf that
they challenged the American soldiers and preventef
them from going near the mosque.
Another lesson for the Americans: The Shiites are a
different breed and would not be intimidated even by
military power when it comes to religious affairs and
this is a point they might remember if and when they
try to take on Iran -- the next in President George
Bush's "exis of evil."
The first sign of a secret American plan in southern
Iraq came when Sayyed Abdul Majid Al Khoei, son of
the late Ayatullah Al Uzma Sayyid Abul-Qasim Al Khoei,
appeared in Najaf last week.
Abdul Majid Al Khoei, who fled Iraq in 1991, was based
in London and runnng the affairs of the Khoei
Foundation. His return to Najaf amidst the war gave
immediate rise to suspicion that the US wanted him as
the supreme Shiite leader in Iraq.
Najaf, which lies about 150 kilometres south of
Baghdad and Karbala, which is located about 70
kilometres southwest of the Iraqi capital, have been
the scene of intense fighting between coalition troops
and Iraqi forces, are the holiest in Shiite Islam
after Mecca and Medina.
The Ali Bin Abu Talib Mosque in Najaf is deemed by the
Shiites as the ultimate seat of Shiite authority and
it is a dream of Shiites around the world to see a
grand ayatollah reign supreme there away from the
influence of all non-Shiite elements.
It was this desire that prompted Iran to take
advantage of the war chaos in 1991 to send up to
55,000 Iran-based Iraqi Shiites and elements from the
Iranian military across the border to Najaf with a
view to wrenching control of the holy city from the
Saddam regime. That attempt failed from Saddam struck
back, resulting in fierce clashes in Najaf and the
invaders expelled from the city.
As such, the sudden emergence of Abdul Majid Al Khoei,
who is known to be friendly with the US, has upset the
Iranians as well as the main Iraqi Shiite opposition
group, the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRI), which is backed by Iran.
The underlying fear is that the US, in view of the
SCIRI's close ties with Iran, is seeking to
marginalise the group and install its own man -- Khoei
-- in Najaf.
It was to SCIRI's fighting force, Badr Brigade, that
US Defence Secretary Donald Rusmsfled referred to when
he accused Iran of allowing Iraqi Shiite rebels to to
penetrate across the border into Iraq and create
troubles for the US-British force waging war to oust
Saddam Hussein.
SCIRI has little interest in what is happening in the
north of the country. It maintains a token presence of
some 1,000 fighters near the border in
Kurdish-controlled territory. That force is staying
put and is not part of the Kurdish-American advance
towards Baghdad from the north.
It is no accident that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,
former Iranian president and still an influential
figure in Iran, warned the US against causing any
damages to the Shiite shrines in southern Iraq.
"I am warning the White House and Britain: let not
your vanity or your fervor harm Shiite Islam's holy
sites because Shiites will never forgive you and
they, as well as God, will avenge it in due time," he
said on Friday.
The late Ayatullah Al Uzma Sayyid Abul-Qasim Al Khoei
was one of the most respected Shiite leaders. Known to
be one of the most benevolent and visionaries of
Shiite Islam, he established many welfare centres and
charity organisations whose services were not limited
to Shiites.
Abul-Qasim Al Khoei had been under constant pressure
from the Sunni-led Saddam regime to issue fatwas
favouring the government. In March 1991, following the
quelling of the Shiite revolt in south linked to the
failed attempt to seize Najaf, Abul Qasim Al Khoei was
forced to appear on television with Saddam and pay
tribute to the Iraqi strongman.
The Khoei Foundation says that he was being held under
house arrest -- for having resisted Saddam's demands
following the 1991 chaos -- when he died of a heart
attack in August 1992.
When Khoei died, some of his followers in Iran and
elsewhere accused the Saddam regime of having
engineered his death. They pointed out that the
government had cut telephone lines to his residence in
Kufa on the morning of his death. Later, it became
clear that the lines were cut after the ayalollah died
and the regime had wanted to pick its own time to
announce his demise.
At present, the Shiite religious leader in Najaf is
Grand Ayatollah Mirza Ali Sistani, whose official
title is "religious scientist at Scientific Haoza
(Religious Society) in Holy Najaf Province."
Sistani has denied a US military report that he had
issued a fatwa calling on the Shiites of the town
not to impede coalition military forces.
In fact, on April 1, Mirza Ali Sistani issued a fatwa
calling on "Muslims all over the world" to help Iraqis
in "a fierce battle against infidel followers who have
invaded our homeland".
As the only grand ayatollah of Iraq, Sistani, one of
the give grand ayatollahs alive today, is the most
senior cleric for Iraqi Shi'ites, who form 70 per cent
of ethnic Arabs in Iraq and about 55 per cent of
Iraq's population.
There is not much love lost between the Sunni regime
in Baghdad and the southern Shiites, but the Shiites,
taking a cue from Iranian stands, loathe the Americans
more than they do Saddam.
Contrary to the widespread belief that the Shiites
would opt to embrace Iran at the first given
opportunity, their track record shows that Saddam
managed to retain the loyalty of the Iraqi army, where
Shi'ite conscripts formed a majority during the
1980-88 war with Iran.
Saddam has offered much-publicised prayers at the
Shi'ite shrines in Najaf, Karbala and elsewhere. He
has even published his family tree, which supposedly
showed him to be a descendant of Imam Ali, a cousin
and a son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, entitling
him to the honorific of sayyid (lord or prince)
accorded to the male descendants of the Prophet
Mohammed. The authorities distributed millions of
copies of Sayyid Saddam Hussein's family tree to
emphasise his religious credentials.
Ali is revered by both Shi'ites and Sunnis. Shi'ites
regard him as the only legitimate caliph after the
Prophet Mohammed and Sunnis address him by the
honorific of caliph.
The Iran-backed Shiite opposition group has vowed that
Shiites of Iraq would stay out of the ongoing war to
topple Saddam "until they are certain that the Iraqi
regime's repressive machine has been annihilated."
From the very outset of the war, SCIRI leader Mohammed
Baqer Hakim urged Shiites to remain neutral, blaming
both the Americans and Saddam for the war.
Baghdad countered that call by putting on Iraq
Television Sistani and four other top Shiite clerics
at Najaf calling on Iraqis of all beliefs and ethnic
groups to unite in the defence of their country
against "the enemies of God and humanity."
Against tug-of-war comes the apparent American designs
to control Shiite power in southern Iraq.
According to a SCIRI official, if Washington "tries
to exclude us, we will see what our position will
be." However, "so far this is not the case," said the
official.
That might indeed be the case at this point in time.
But the US would soon find out it has opened not only
a Panadora's box which it won't be able to close but
also stirred a deadly hornest's nest if it tries to
tamper with the sentiments of the Shiites of southern
Iraq.





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