FIREBRAND Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr preached a sermon at the Kufa mosque today after an absence of nearly two months, criticising Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi amid a massive showing by his supporters.
"Allawi, I tell you, what right do you have to order the reopening of the Hawza paper, if you were not the one to shut it down in the first place," Sadr told the faithful, who swarmed into the grand mosque in Kufa, 150km south of Baghdad.
| Ummm, cuz when it was closed we were in charge. Now he is, does that answer your question? |
"Damn him and damn the occupier."
| And a hearty good morning to you |
Allawi ordered Sunday the lifting of a ban on Sadr's weekly paper that had been imposed by former US administrator Paul Bremer at the end of March on charges of instigating violence. The young cleric assured his supporters that he was standing by their side and will continue the struggle for their rights.
"I will never abandon you no matter what, and I am close to you and living the same life as you," said Sadr to loud cheers. "I never fought the occupation to attain any worldly rewards, but for higher and nobler motives."
| "But, I'll settle for being in charge." |
The closing of Sadr's paper and the arrest of one his deputies in late March unleashed a rebellion in Baghdad and the Shi'ite centre and south that left hundreds of people dead.
Bowing to pressure from Shi'ite political and religious leaders, Sadr agreed to a truce in early June and since then he was largely absent from the public eye amid rumours that he may have left Iraq.
| He's been in hiding for all this time and the only thing he can come up with to bitch about is that his newspaper is open for business? Looks like our plan to marginalize him has worked. |
Additional: NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led an uprising against U.S. forces, condemned militants on Friday who have beheaded foreigners in Iraq in the last several months.
| Really? He disapproves of cutting off heads? |
Leading Friday prayers for the first time in two months at the Kufa mosque south of Baghdad, denounced militants from the rival Sunni Muslim faction who have claimed to have cut off the heads of at least three foreigners since April. "We condemn what some people are doing regarding the beheading of prisoners and it is illegal according to Islamic law," al-Sadr said. "Anybody doing this is a criminal and we will punish him according to Islamic law."
| By cutting off Sunni heads. It makes perfect sense, I guess. |
Al-Sadr led an uprising against U.S. forces in Shiite-dominated areas across Iraq beginning in April. He has repeatedly condemned the presence of coalition troops here, but his sermon Friday took aim instead at hard-line militants. At least three civilians from the United States, South Korea and Bulgaria have been beheaded in an effort to scare away countries in the U.S.-led coalition and foreign contractors working here.
| "Damm Sunnis, cutting off infidel heads and taking the spotlight away from me!" |
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